Legislation/Policy Article used with permission from All-Creatures.org

In Defense of Animals reports that Florida has passed new bills intended to protect children and animals from abuse and discourage businesses from selling sick animals.

Florida Passes Bills to Protect Animals & Kids From Cruelty & Regulate Pet Sales
From Staff, IDA In Defense of Animals, idausa.org
August 2026

Images from Canva

In good news for animals, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed bills to crack down on cruelty and puppy mills and improve consumer protection in Florida.

In May, the governor signed HB 599, which creates new felony offenses for adults who cause or encourage minors to take part in anything defined as aggravated cruelty, animal fighting or sexual abuse involving animals, while also requiring minors convicted of animal cruelty to undergo a psychological evaluation and treatment.

It also increases penalties for animal fighting, expands the state’s animal abuser registry to include more information to avoid confusion, and gives law enforcement more tools to protect animals by giving local governments the ability to raise civil penalties for violations and imposing tougher penalties for repeat offenders.

We thank everyone who took action to support this bill, especially our supporters in Florida who signed our alert.

He also signed SB 1004, which will require businesses that sell animals to be more transparent about medical history and financing terms, which will crack down on predatory financing deals and allow consumers to end agreements if they get sick animals. It will also require dealers to provide veterinary records, educate consumers about their rights to return sick animals and seek reimbursement for veterinary costs, and make violations enforceable under Florida’s Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

These legislative changes to protect animals build on last year’s passage of Dexter's Law and Trooper's Law, respectively named after two dogs who suffered abuse, to increase penalties for animal cruelty and create the abuser registry.

You can help keep the momentum for animals going by visiting our Animal Companions campaign and signing and sharing our latest alerts.

---

Posted on All-Creatures.org: August 9, 2026
Return to Legislation/Policy Articles
Read more at Companion Animal Care