Attention all animal lovers out there: we have some good news.
As many people already know, there are countless animals throughout the United States in need of adoption. When people go to get a pet, they sometimes don’t consider the animal’s origins. With a growing awareness of what our animals go through, the recent trend has been to push for adoption rather than getting animals from puppy mills or breeders.
Fortunately, a law in California was just passed which may change this situation.
That’s because last week, Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill making it illegal for pet stores to sell animals from puppy mills.
For those who don’t know, a puppy mill is a facility dedicated to breeding puppies for short-term sale. As a result, their conditions are dirty, overcrowded and unsafe. The dogs are unsupervised and the female dogs are bred almost no recovery time. Because there is little regulation for these operations, the puppies resulting from them may be born with genetic defects as well.
Fortunately, Governor Brown’s law, AB 485, will be effective as of 2019 to provide some protection.
Still, the move has been met with some negative reactions from both the American Kennel Club and the US Department of Agriculture.
For their part, the AKC wrote about the law on their website. More specifically, the organization has said that the bill misrepresents a complex problem:
“Proponents make inflammatory allegations about abuses by breeders (whom they collectively call “puppy mills”) or unsubstantiated or false claims of animal population issues . . . It has never been more important than it is now for all dog lovers and those concerned about the future of our breeds to work together to preserve the freedom of individuals to choose from a variety of pets and to find one that is the right match for their lifestyle.”
Despite objections, however, many other places across the country have been following suit.
In addition to the state-level law, more than 200 cities and counties across the United States (including 36 cities in California) have already passed similar restrictions. Regardless of where we fall on the political spectrum, we can all agree that taking on a pet is a big responsibility that requires careful consideration.
For those who own pets or are thinking about it, what do you think of this new law? Tell us in the comments below!
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