New York State Governor Kathy Hochul is expected to sign off on a bill prohibiting residents from buying dogs, cats, or rabbits from retail stores.
An upcoming New York State law intended to ban pet stores from selling furry friends to customers has already passed the Senate and Assembly, and is now on Hochul’s desk for final approval.
If and when Hochul approves the legislation, residents will be left with three options to add a pet to their families. The first option would be to purchase a pet from a breeder, which is not banned by this legislation. The second option would be to adopt a pet from a shelter or dog pound. The third option would be to head to another state to buy a pet from a retailer.
The purpose for this bill is because retail stores obtain the pets from puppy mills. Lawmakers accuse the mills of mistreating the animals from birth. According to the bill, animals face “cruelty, physical and psychological abuse” when bred by puppy mills which sell the animals to retailers.
The proposed law has drawn a mixed response.
Libby Post, the Executive Director of the New York Animal Protection Federation, said, “New York can no longer by complicit in animal abuse. As long as we allow the flow of puppies, kittens and rabbits into New York State from mills across the country, we will be.”
Opponents of the legislation have argued that adopting pets from shelters sometimes means extensive veterinarian bills to nurture the pets back to health.
