Rosenthal unleashes bill to shut ‘puppy mills’
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELL-DOMENECH
A new bill could bring “puppy mills” in New
York grinding to a halt.
Upper West Side Assemblymember Linda
Rosenthal and Queens state Senator Michael Gianaris
introduced a piece of legislation on March 11
that would ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet
stores in New York State.
The proposed bill’s purpose is to shut down socalled
puppy, cat and rabbit “mills,” which churn out
most of the animals for sale in pet stores across the
country.
“We must end the puppy-mill-to-pet-store pipeline,”
Rosenthal declared.
“There is absolutely no reason that anyone should
spend thousands of dollars on an often-unhealthy pet
that was bred in abject horror, when shelters and rescues
statewide are bursting at the seams with healthy
and innocent animals in need of ‘fur-ever’ homes,”
the assemblymember said.
The animals in the pet factories are confi ned to tiny
dirty cages, don’t have regular access to food or clean
water, don’t receive routine veterinary care and are
forced to constantly breed.
“These badly-regulated commercial dog breeders
have only one goal: breed the highest volume of puppies
possible at the lowest cost for the retailer,” said
Bill Kezer, senior director of state legislation for the
ASPCA, Northeast region.
Instead of pet shops getting animals from these
mills, the bill calls for space to be set aside in the
stores for shelters and animal-rescue centers to show
animals that are available for adoption. This is something
that some large chain pet stores, like Petco, already
do.
According to a Petco representative, no actual dogs
or cats have ever been sold in their stores. Petco eventually
stopped selling rabbits in 2008.
The Humane Society has a database of “puppyfriendly’
pet stores that connect customers with rescued
animals or make space for them in their stores.
Citipups is a Downtown-based store specializing in
selling puppies, especially small breeds and miniature
versions of large dogs. It has a Village shop, at 45
Christopher St., which has been there for 30 years,
and a newer Chelsea storefront, on Eighth Ave. between
17th and 18th Sts.
According to David Barton, Citipups’ general manager,
there will always be a demand for non-rescued
animals.
“They are not going to stop anything,” he said.
“People want little dogs and little purebreds.”
In Barton’s opinion, if the bill passes, it would simply
fuel increased online sales of dogs and cats, which
are harder to regulate. Instead, he said, breeders
should be more heavily regulated and inspected.
In early January, California became the fi rst state in
the nation to bar pet stores from selling dogs, cats and
rabbits unless they come from shelters.
In related news, Rosenthal has also introduced
a bill to ban the manufacture and sale of fur pelts
in New York State. In addition to fur coats, the ban
would also apply to the coyote-fur trim on the hoods
of Canada Goose parkas, a Rosenthal spokesperson
confi rmed.
Rosenthal has another pending bill that would ban
cat declawing, which the spokesperson noted, is actually
“the amputation of the third digit” of a cat’s toes.
Yet another Rosenthal bill would see perpetrators of
harmful acts against animals prosecuted not under
the Department of Agriculture and Markets, as they
are now, but under the Penal Code.
COURTESY A.S.P.C.A.
A dog at a puppy mill in Missaukee County,
Michigan, that was ultimately rescued.
Schneps Media TVG March 21, 2019 11