Activists to Protest Petco for Selling Live Animals

A previous DxE protest at a Petco in Alameda, CA

WHAT: Protest asking Petco to stop selling animals 

WHEN: Saturday, June 20th at 3:00pm
WHERE: Petco (3012 Bridgepointe Pkwy, San Mateo)

San Mateo, CA – With Bay Area cities moving to ban the retail sale of animals, animal rights activists with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE) are turning up the pressure on Petco’s San Mateo location this Saturday, June 20th, urging Petco to stop the retail sale of animals at all locations. This protest is a part of a broader campaign to expand California’s ban on the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores to include all species. 

Petco is a leading pet supply company and in 2025 generated a revenue of $6 billion. The majority of animals sold at Petco are sourced from cruel industrial breeding factories or are poached from their native habitat. Recently, DxE members investigated Petco locations throughout the Bay Area and found sick animals, enclosures with no enrichment, and a hamster repeatedly pacing back and forth, indicating mental distress. Investigations of the San Francisco and San Mateo Petco locations found overly crowded fish tanks with deceased fish and filthy reptile enclosures. Multiple animals were being sold at a 50% discount, a tactic to get rid of unsold animals that have been at the store for more than 5 months, according to an employee. Petco sells animals to customers without any background check or vetting process. 

Last month, Albany City Council unanimously voted to draft an ordinance banning the retail sale of live animals, becoming the first city in the Bay Area to do so. More recently, the San Francisco Commission of Animal Control and Welfare, an advisory body that focuses on local animal issues, unanimously voted in support of a retail animal sale ban within San Francisco proper. The Commission sent their recommendation to the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Daniel Lurie.