California Just Banned Pet Stores from Selling Dogs from Puppy Mills

Some good news, finally: the state of California has banned the sale of puppies from puppy mills (opens in new tab). 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, (opens in new tab) "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 (opens in new tab), "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.