California becomes the first state to require pet stores to sell rescue animals

I don't support this at all. Puppy and Kitty mills are disgusting but stores should be allowed to sell products that are legal to own to fulfill customer demand.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/esse...htmlstory.html

California will be the first state to require pet stores to sell rescue animals under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday.

Starting in 2019, pet stores will transition to selling dogs, cats and rabbits from shelters or adoption centers. Stores can be fined $500 for each animal for sale that is not a rescue.

“This is a big win for our four-legged friends, of course," said bill author Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) in a statement.

The bill, AB 485, is aimed at reducing the number of animals in shelters and businesses with mass breeding operations, known as "puppy mills" or "kitten factories."


The advocacy group Social Compassion in Legislation and multiple animal rescue, welfare and shelter groups supported the measure.

The American Kennel Club and California Retailers Assn. were among the groups that opposed it.

“AB 485 blocks all of California’s pet lovers from having access to professional, licensed, and ethical commercial breeders,” said Sheila Goffe, vice president of government relations for the kennel club, in a statement. “This is not good for Californians or their companion animals.”

I agree with this bill. You can still contact a breeder if you want a specific animal. The less stores promote puppy mills the better.

i think i agree with this bill, though i am cautious and do not know that much about it. hopefully without the easy access to puppies at their local pet shop, this will curb impulse and ignorant purchases, and cause people to do research before making the decision to own a puppy/kitten/rabbit/etc. i want to be optimistic. i really hope this hurts mills in California.

what's your argument against, bcr? i'm sure you know much more about it than i do.

The law will not stop the mills - they will simply sell direct using CL or FB - nor will it change the behavior of people who let their unfixed mutts run loose to create more pound fodder.

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Originally Posted by bcr229

The law will not stop the mills - they will simply sell direct using CL or FB - nor will it change the behavior of people who let their unfixed mutts run loose to create more pound fodder.

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that was my first thought, too: CL. i wonder if there are any statistics out there about pet "adoptions" through social media that could support or undermine this bill. i do like the idea of mills needing to jump through more hoops and it becoming more difficult for them to make their money; i think that's a good thing, tho short-sighted.

i also agree that this doesn't help people understand the need to spay/neuter their pets to help control pet populations. i honestly think education is the way to help stop these mills. i feel that's a whole other conversation, tho.

i do hope this bill helps in some way. only time will tell.

I was rather surprised by this because I thought it was ALREADY outlawed here in CA. I haven't seen dogs or cats for sale here at any pet shop or mall shop since the late 80s.
Even the petcos/petsmarts and local dog/cat food supply shops only work with rescues already.

I like the idea behind it to promote people adopting but I think it may be a bit misguided and people shouldn't be restricted from buying a pure breed if that' what they want. However CA loves to put laws on every and anything /shrug

Backyard breeders and mills have always sold on CL and will continue to do so as long as people are willing to support/buy from them, sadly.

It seems to me that this bill would take legitimate businesses out of the equation (who probably already have it in their best interest not to do business with puppy mills).....and force sales of pure bred animals to private breeders who will now look to profit on this new legislation by catering to new market conditions.

In return, you just created a surge of black market pet dealers and in the process created more puppy mills to fill the demand. The price of pure bred animals will rise and you'll see numerous shady individuals who will attempt to capitalize on that, and you can't tell me California currently has the resources to enforce it.

I can't say I support this although I believe it's well-intentioned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

I don't support this at all. Puppy and Kitty mills are disgusting but stores should be allowed to sell products that are legal to own to fulfill customer demand.

http://www.latimes.com/politics/esse...htmlstory.html

California will be the first state to require pet stores to sell rescue animals under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday.

Starting in 2019, pet stores will transition to selling dogs, cats and rabbits from shelters or adoption centers. Stores can be fined $500 for each animal for sale that is not a rescue.

“This is a big win for our four-legged friends, of course," said bill author Assemblyman Patrick O’Donnell (D-Long Beach) in a statement.

The bill, AB 485, is aimed at reducing the number of animals in shelters and businesses with mass breeding operations, known as "puppy mills" or "kitten factories."


The advocacy group Social Compassion in Legislation and multiple animal rescue, welfare and shelter groups supported the measure.

The American Kennel Club and California Retailers Assn. were among the groups that opposed it.

“AB 485 blocks all of California’s pet lovers from having access to professional, licensed, and ethical commercial breeders,” said Sheila Goffe, vice president of government relations for the kennel club, in a statement. “This is not good for Californians or their companion animals.”

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Great law. Need it here in Canada. All 4 four legged friends I ever have had have all been rescues. My current dog which I have had for 10 years was a rescue from the states. Apparently a product of strays that were homeless due to Katrina.

Ugh. More nanny state laws.

These laws are well intentioned but they will not have much affect on some people or ensure that less people have a predictable pet. I am pretty confident in the behaviour of a pure bred subspecies of Testudo graeca tortoise and far less in interspecific (hybrids) of the various subspecies.

As an example I currently have three tortoises of the same species but differing subspecies only one of which has purely one subspecies as ancestors the other two have different subspecies for ancestors. Every pet shop I've visited that has the same species has proven to only have interspecific hybrids of the subspecies of the species of tortoise I have. Currently Testudo graeca (Mediterranean spur thighed tortoises) have at least 20 subspecies. If I want to breed my pure bred Testudo graeca ibera male tortoise to a purebred female of the same subspecies then I'm up the proverbial creek without a paddle as all the tortoises available and that I have seen in many years aren't of his subspecies.

If a similar law in the UK was passed then my chances at breeding pure Testudo graeca ibera tortoises goes straight to hell. As it is without such a law and with all the cross breeding between testudo graeca subspecies I have yet to find any pure bred ibera subspecies to mate him with. I have two other interspecific hybrids of the subspecies but this law if someone sets it up in the uk will have an impact on spur thigh keeping. One of my interspecific hybrids at the age of 4.5 actually chases me round the house biting my feet while my pure bred ibera despite having been owned by me and my family for over two decades has never done that.

I can only say that this sort of law worries me since it could have a major effect on animal keeping and make animal keeping of the more unusual or specific subspecies of animals a nightmare.

In CA the law only applies to cats, dogs, and rabbits... so far.

I don't think it will solve much... People that would impulse buy a "cockapoo" or whatever from their local store will now turn to the local paper, CL, etc. and find an even cheaper listing by a BYB or puppymill... These people probably won't jump through the hoops a good breeder would want them too (application, answer questions, waiting list, etc.) so will just spend their money at the local BYB instead.

At least stores are (I believe) required to do vaccinations and health checks on the dogs they sell... Not so with the BYB option.

I could see this law being broadened to ban sales of any living animal other than a rescue too..which would put most reptile and fish shops out of business.

I support both rescue and buying from a good breeder, I believe people should have a choice in where they get their pets and that the stray / shelter problem is almost entirely due to impulsive and irresponsible buyers...Those discarding their pet or not getting it spayed / neutered and letting it roam and create a litter. Responsible breeders screen those people out and offer to take back their animals if you can't keep them,also their animals typically don't end up in shelters. ... I could also see this law broadening to "Any animal sales other than rescue" outside of stores...This would keep good, responsible breeders from producing animals and that, I believe, is the end goal of the AR groups anyway.

Note that I don't agree with or support stores selling animals from puppy mills, but I don't think laws are the way to go to end the practice.

If the goal were to shut down backyard breeders then the state could require any pet sold or rescued to be up-to-date on vaccines and have a vet health certificate. Unfortunately around here they advertise puppies in CL or FB, people buy them, and a week later all heck breaks loose in the pet forums because dozens of buyers paid cash for parvo+ puppies that died. Meanwhile the seller's profile is long gone.

It's a bad law and it's been pushed by Animal Rights extremist groups for a specific reason... to help eliminate owning pets. Period.

Why is it bad???

A pet store selling rescues means that instead of a rescue using volunteer resources to research a potential owner, or making sure a dog/puppy is a good match for a particular home... you have a store who will hand out the dog/puppy to anyone in a sale situation.

Respected and humane breeders of dogs will lose one more venue to provide well bred pets. Now they'll be reduced to competing with the random mutts who go prego wandering the streets and real mills that need to unload puppies and retired breeders.

Rescues and shelters have another place that will compete for potential homes. They can and will lose donations, exposure, resources and homes for pets.

The breeders that WILL shut down are the good breeders, the ones that do things right. The "mills" won't shut down, they'll just get reassigned as a "rescue" and sell more pups, sell on CL, or ship the pets out of state.

Once the small breeders are gone, the AR groups head for the easiest of pickings, the big mills. Make no mistake, there's plenty of laws about humane treatment of all animals. The AR groups could help make sure they're enforced but they don't. They go after other targets because they don't want humanely bred and owned pets. They want no pets.

Most people have already joined in... look at how you vilify any dog breeder. They are either a "puppy mill" or a "backyard breeder". The only distinction anyone makes between the two is how many dogs they have or which catch phrase the speaker likes best.

It sounds well intention-ed, but its a really ineffective law.

For one, like Wolfy said, any rescue animal should be re-homed with at least SOME effort on placing it in the right home. This is an animal that has already been passed along for various reasons, so the chance of a failed adoption is higher, esp. if you "sell" them to whomever fancy looking at them, without knowing the issues that animal may have.

On top of that, I have long said...ANY AND ALL sales of Cats and Dogs (puppies and kittens) should be outlawed in petstores. All over the country. It is way overdue. Petstore sales are a HUGE sales outlet for puppy mills. Will they find other ways ? Yes. But this would deeply cut into their profit and be a big step towards shutting them down. The big Mills are actually huge corporations (Hunte) that have huge trucks, trucking animals all over the country. Shutting down sales in only one state won't hurt them much at all.

They also "pay the right people" to make sure that laws WILL NOT change. This is a far bigger problem then just private mills here and there. This is a big business in the US.

I'm from Europe, we haven't had puppystore sales of dogs and cats ever since I can remember. There are no mills (country I'm from). The shelters aren't overly full and the euthanasia rate is low. As a matter of fact, animal rescue groups routinely import dogs from other countries, to be rescued and adopted.
Interestingly enough, when I grew up there, "spaying and neutering" was also NOT a thing. Rarely done. Yet, you didn't have all those backyard breeders, full shelters, and everyone breeding everything with private parts. Perhaps it has more to do with responsible pet keeping. Laws that are harsh on animal abuse AND neglect. You don't find animals running loose, chained in yards, out breeding.

This problem here with over population of dogs and cats is huge. The Mills are a big part of the problem, and shutting them down will require a lot of effort. Like I said, they are deeply imbedded and they make sure that laws favor them. Then you have the irresponsibility of pet owners. Breeding everything, letting their animals run loose, neglect, abuse, etc.

Yes, the "spay and neuter" movement is a good one, but if that is the only part that keeps going, it will not work. Its like treating a symptom without taking care of the cause.

I'm all FOR Rescue and I'm also FOR responsible breeding. The responsible breeders I know and would buy from would NEVER ever sell their pups/kittens to a petstore or even on craigs list. I'm not elitist, I simply prefer to buy from someone that takes this as serious as I would. That includes all health testing, careful selection, breeding to BETTER the breed, with emphasis on health, personality and also correct conformation. That does not mean someone that "shows" and only cares for "looks".

Its time to support rescue better and also not to make new laws that actually hurt the responsible breeders, rather then the mills and backyard breeders or irresponsible pet owners.

Its a big problem, really, with lots of nuisances. But you have to start somewhere. Outlawing petstore sales across the country would be a huge step in the right direction buy you bet that there will be people fighting that tooth and nail. People that have help in higher places.

Rescues should never be "sold" in petstore either, what a crazy idea. Petstores should "host" rescue group and allow them to present the animals that are ready for adoption, to help match them with the right home.