Ban on pets being shown lifted

Joan Collins PIMECO (the Small and Medium Sized Business Association) has expressed its satisfaction with the ruling by the Balearic High Court lifting the prohibition of exhibiting animals for sale in shop windows which was imposed on June 24 2004. The association also demanded that Palma council give compensation for the damage done to businesses during the two years it has taken to resolve this situation. PIMECO argued that a shop window was the “most important” advertisement for a business, as it is the place to exhibit the product in which the establishment specialises. One of the affected shopkeepers is Antonio Gonzalez, owner of Tot Cans, a pet shop situated in the Calle Capitan Salom in Palma. During the ban Gonzalez has had to watch his sales diminish because he could not show the animals which he had for sale in his shop window. “When I got this busines this ban was already in force. I think it was a big mistake and it has directly affected my sales”, he said. He doesn't believe that the ban by the council served any useful purpose, and was glad that it had been removed, fixing the press announcement to the door of his shop. “I had the windows covered so there was very little light in the shop and it was very gloomy”, he said. He still remembers the damage that this measure did to his business. “It was like a kick in the teeth. Clients were always asking me why I couldn't put animals in the window, they didn't understand it”. Erika, one of his clients, also shares this view. “The animals should be in the window so that people can see them, although at times it makes you feel a bit sad that the animals are in there”, she confessed. It is the same for Eva. “I don't understand why they stopped putting animals in thewindow. It is one thing to have them there, but quite another not to look after them. That it what should be banned. But the client needs to see the breeds before entering the shop”, said this young woman after buying a collar for her dog.” Manuel Martinez, owner of Tropical Mon near the Plaza de Madrid, gave his opinion of the ruling. “There should be a law to regulate this. There are some places where animals can be exhibited in shop windows and there is nothing wrong with it, but there are places where the sun is shining on the window and it is necessary to protect them”, he said.