In the 1989 Michael Moore documentary “Roger & Me,” a woman sells her rabbits for “pets or meat.” She shows Moore how she clubs to death the cuddly bunnies, unless a person buys them to keep as pets. Moore focuses on the pets-or-meat woman to tell the story of desperation in Flint, Mich., a community impoverished by the auto industry’s ups and downs.

The people who stand in retail store parking lots and on street corners selling puppies and giving away kittens tell a story, too, about Spokane. It’s a story that animal advocates hope is changing with enactment of an ordinance making it illegal to sell, give or barter away animals in public spaces anywhere in Spokane County.

“A lot is said about a community by the way they handle their animals. Are the (animals) family members or are they are chattel to sell? We need to be a more humane community and this is one of the ways we get there,” said Gail Mackie, executive director of SpokAnimal.

The ordinance became effective Jan. 1 in Spokane County and in the city of Spokane Valley. A similar ordinance has been the law in Spokane for six months. In that time, animal control experts have learned a lot about the people who sell animals in open lots, especially those who sell puppies. Many operate puppy mills in rural counties and travel here because of the bigger customer base. When the city ordinance was passed, puppy sellers simply took their “wares” a few blocks or a few miles to public spaces in Spokane County and Spokane Valley.

This ordinance works well on several levels. Philosophically, it says that animal control and care is a community value. Practically, it should reduce the number of puppy mills in the region. Take away the market and the incentive leaves, too. It also will diminish impulse buying. Mackie points out that impulse buyers, no matter their good intentions, often are unprepared for the responsibilities of owning pets. She doesn’t mind that pets can be sold through classified ads, because people who buy that way have done some research and they can check out the conditions of the homes selling the animals.

But she and other animal advocates believe the best way to acquire a pet is through adoption. Shelter-bought animals are licensed, spayed or neutered and given a free vet check. Owners are given instructions and advice. These actions help prevent abuse and cut down on the community’s strays.

The county and Spokane Valley ordinance prohibits animal selling and giveaways at garage and yard sales, too. The city ordinance does not. The city should add this provision as soon as possible. Then the region will send a unified message of respect for the animals born and raised here, as well as the humans responsible for them.