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New York bans pet store sales of milled pets

From Nathan Winograd
December 2024

Pet stores generally get their animals from Commercial Breeding Enterprises (CBEs), commonly known as 'puppy and/or kitten mills.'

puppy mill

On December 15, New York will become the latest state to ban the retail sale of commercially bred dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores. California (whose ban also includes rabbits), Maryland, Illinois, and about 400 cities nationwide ban the practice, requiring pet store owners who want to have animals to partner with rescue groups and shelters. (While Maine has a prohibition against new stores doing so, it grandfathered in existing ones.)

Pet stores generally get their animals from Commercial Breeding Enterprises (CBEs), commonly known as ‘puppy mills.’ CBEs engage in systematic neglect and abuse of animals, leaving severe emotional and physical scars on the victims. One in four former breeding dogs have significant health problems, are more likely to suffer from aggression, and are psychologically and emotionally shut down, compulsively staring at nothing.

These laws serve three purposes:

  1. Encouraging people to adopt/rescue;
  2. Educating the community about dog, cat, and rabbit abuse in mills; and,
  3. Stopping that abuse.

And they work. “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business” because of retail pet store sales bans.

Posted on All-Creatures.org: December 2, 2024
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