By Carol Tannenhauser
On Thursday, Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill prohibiting the sale of puppies, kittens, and bunnies in retail pet stores throughout the state.
The new legislation is “aimed at cracking down on high-volume breeding facilities, known as puppy mills, that have a reputation for poor living conditions, animal abuse, and often produce animals with health issues,” according to the Daily News. It was sponsored by Upper West Side Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, and State Senator Michael Gianaris.
“The signing of this law sends a message that New York State will prioritize the humane treatment of animals over the financial interests of a barbaric industry that inflicts pain on animals and consumers alike,” Rosenthal said in a press release.
The new law allows pet shops ‘to display animals for prospective owners at adoption events in conjunction with local adoption agencies,” the News noted — and to charge rent for it, The New York Times added.
“People would still be permitted to buy the animals directly from breeders, an attempt to allow prospective pet owners to visit and buy from responsible breeders,” The Times said. “But part of the legislation’s intent is to encourage people to adopt pets from shelters and rescue organizations, which say they are overflowing with dogs, many of which were abandoned by people who sought pets during the pandemic.”
The ban will not be implemented until December 2024.
Thank you Assemblymember Rosenthal, – always caring for animal welfare. Now if we could just get rid of the poor carriage horses, who keep collapsing on our streets.
Unfortunately, there will be puppy mill puppies in store windows for two more years! Despite having bipartisan support, Gov. Hochul didn’t sign the bill as passed by State Legislature in June. Rather, as indicated in the linked Times article, there were changes made and it doesn’t come into effect until December 2024. So, if prospective dog owners continue to purchase puppies from pet stores instead of adopting until then, the many, many abandoned pandemic dogs will still be left without homes. As such, please adopt. There are all kinds of great dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds and mixes that need homes. (Take a look at Petfinder.com and you can see, for example, oodles of doodles, Boston Terriers, Goldens, Shih Tzus, and adorable mutts.) And, if you can’t adopt, please purchase from a responsible breeder; the Human Society has a checklist to help identify one that can be accessed from this link. https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/how-find-responsible-dog-breeder
I LOVE that this has finally been passed into law here in NY (now on to the rest of the States that still allow it). However, was there any provision made all those puppies (and kittens and bunnies, too) already in the pipeline in NY pet stores? Are those left to be sold or are they grandfathered into the new law in some way?
It seems to me that with two years advance notice, those puppies, kittens, rabbits, will have been sold. No one is going to breed animals they would end up getting stuck with. They have plenty of time to sell what stock they have.
stupid. not easy for NYC folks to buy pups from a kennel in NYS 4 hours away
It’s state-wide; what does this comment even mean?
There are plenty of adoptable animals in NYC. And there are breeders of all types of dogs much closer than you may realize. The AKC Marketplace is a great resource to find breeders.
AKC is a listing resource but inclusion doesn’t necessarily mean that the breeder is ethical. At the very least, breeders should be health checking the breeding dogs – this includes OFA testing (which can be easily verified and should only be done after the dogs are two years old). Breed specific parent clubs are a good place to start and will have a list of what tests are required.
Also -‘expect to wait! Good breeders keep waiting lists – they don’t breed indiscriminately and normally will not have puppies just ready to purchase!!
More like Jersey.
Thank you, Assembly Member Rosenthal!
This is such good news and a step toward ending speciesism. And yes, to Lauren’s point below, adopt! Never buy an animal. Agreed that we need to keep fighting to end carriage horses and police horses. Animals are not ours.
better late then never.
“We must fight against the spirit of unconscious cruelty with which we treat the animals. Animals suffer as much as we do. True humanity does not allow us to impose such sufferings on them. It is our duty to make the whole world recognize it. Until we extend our circle of compassion to all living things, humanity will not find peace.”
-albert schweitzer
now let’s stop the cruel treatment of birds who spend their entire lives in cages.
Thank you Linda Rosenthal. If only it could be implemented sooner than two years away!
Wait I’m confused. Is the state shutting down the pet storefronts? Or just prohibiting them from displaying the puppies and kittens in the windows? Because the latter would be meaningless.
Neither. Check out the first sentence again. The new law prohibits “the sale of puppies, kittens, and bunnies in retail pet stores throughout the state.”
Are dogs and cats going to be banned in addition to puppies and kittens and bunnies?
Recently attempted to adopt a dog from ASPCA. “He’s on hold for another shelter” I was told for 2 weeks. So, this dog, who had no home, could not be adopted because he had to go to another shelter somewhere to find an new home. Insane. Cruel. They tried to bait n’ switch me with some nervous rotti instead (no, thank you). The pet rescue industry is picking up right where the pet stores left off.