California Just Banned Pet Stores from Selling Dogs from Puppy Mills

Dalmatian puppies — (Image credit: Getty)

Some good news, finally: the state of California has banned the sale of puppies from puppy mills. Rather than selling pets that may have come from puppy farms, pet stores must now co-ordinate with animal shelters, and help to house rescue dogs, cats, and rabbits.

Puppy mills often don't take care of the dogs they produce, with puppies forced to live in confined and unclean conditions. Thanks to the new legislation brought in by the state of California this week, dogs, cats, and rabbits produced purely for sale or profit will be illegal to sell in pet stores.

Matt Bershadker, CEO of the ASPCA, told Business Insider, "This landmark law breaks the puppy mill supply chain that pushes puppies into California pet stores and has allowed unscrupulous breeders to profit from abusive practices."

Bershadker continued that the legislation was intended to send "the clear message that industries supporting animal cruelty will not be tolerated in our society."

According to The Independent, "36 cities across the state, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego," already have bans in place, so the new law consolidates the policy across the state. Breeding for profit will hopefully, soon, be a thing of the past.

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.