An anti-puppy mill bill passed in the California State Senate Tuesday.
AB 485 Pet Rescue and Adoption Act passed with a 32-0 vote. It will ban all California pet shops from selling dogs, cats and rabbits from high-volume breeding facilities. Instead, pet shops will be required to get animals from local shelters and rescues.
Puppy mill dogs are typically kept in overcrowded and unsanitary kennels, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
To maximize profits, female dogs are bred repeatedly with little time to recover between litters and are killed when they can no longer reproduce. Puppies often arrive at pet shops or in new homes with diseases ranging from parasites to pneumonia, the ASPCA said.
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AB 485 was authored by Assembly Members Patrick O'Donnell and Matt Dababneh and sponsored by animal advocacy group, Social Compassion.
"I thank my Senate colleagues for their support on this critical measure and for defending the voiceless," said Assemblymember Patrick O'Donnell (D-Long Beach). "AB 485 gives so many shelter animals the chance to find their forever homes, while simultaneously cutting off the outlet for puppy mill animals into our state."
Dustin Siggins, the director of communications for the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council says the organization is against the bill the way it is currently written.
"Two amendments introduced last week stripped consumers of 17 protections, most of which have been in place since 1996, regarding purchases of pets at pet stores," said Siggins in an email to NBC 7 Wednesday. "This series of amendments radically changes Assembly Bill 485, and verifies in statute what PIJAC and the industry have been warning about since the bill was introduced: that consumers will lose valuable protections under this bill, and that pet health will suffer.
He goes on to say that the changes to the bill, "deny cosumers the right to warranty protections at pet stores and deny consumers the right to veterinarian inspections after cats or dogs arrive at a store."
