New York State has officially banned the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores in hopes of improving pet adoption rates and ending the pipeline from factories to puppies.
“New York’s dogs, cats and rabbits deserve loving homes and humane treatment,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said of the new law. “I am proud to sign this legislation, which will take significant steps to reduce harsh treatment and protect animal welfare across the state.”
The legislation was signed on Thursday and will go into effect in 2024.
The governor’s office said the law also aims to “prevent the buying and selling of animals from large-scale abusive ranchers who lack adequate veterinary care, food or socialization.” Often these animals have health problems resulting from poor husbandry and can cost families thousands of dollars in veterinary care.
The law does not cover purchases of dogs, cats or rabbits from breeders or adoptions from shelters. It also doesn’t prohibit New York residents from buying a pet from a retail store in another state and bringing it home to New York, according to the governor’s office.
A section of the law will allow pet stores to charge shelter rent if a shelter uses its space to house adoptions of dogs, cats or rabbits.
Other states that place restrictions on buying pets at pet stores include California, Illinois, Maryland, Maine and Washington.
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The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals called the passage of the law a “major victory”.
“We hope this huge step by New York State encourages other states to take similar action to prevent the cruel commercial pet industry from stocking pet stores within their borders,” says an ASPCA news release. “We stand ready to support these initiatives so that together we can end puppies nationwide.”
However, not all pro-pet groups agree.
Mike Bober, president and chief executive officer of the nonprofit Pet Advocacy Network, said the new law was “misdirected” and “would lead New York pet stores that reunite families with pets to shut down, lay off employees and have a negative knock-on effect in their communities in times of economic turmoil.
Bober has indicated that he would prefer a law regulating unregulated breeders rather than pet stores.
“It’s a loss to New Yorkers that lawmakers haven’t directly targeted unregulated ranchers who abuse animals,” he said.
Many pet stores in the US, including Petco WOOF,
and PetSmart, they don’t already sell dogs or cats, but instead hold adoption events in their stores.
There are only about 80 pet stores in upstate New York that sell these animals, according to a July New York Times report.
