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LA City Council approves motion to ban sales of animals from puppy mills
Puppy sales are a multi-million dollar industry in the United States, but many puppies are procured by less-than-legitimate means. The L.A. City Council is hoping to do something about that.
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LA City Council approves motion to ban sales of animals from puppy mills
Los Angeles is one step closer to prohibiting pet stores from selling dogs and cats that don’t come from shelters.
It's a drive to get rid of notoriously inhumane puppy mills— and the councilmember behind it says he's learned from personal experience.
A "puppy mill" is what many call the cramped farms and cages in which dogs are bred to birth puppies for sale in pet stores. After their fertility wanes, breeding animals are often killed, abandoned or sold cheaply to another mill, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
City Councilmember Paul Koretz says his dog died of a serious illness which he now believes was picked up in a puppy mill.
That loss led him to sponsor a motion making it illegal in Los Angeles to sell an animal that’s not a rescue. The city council approved the motion on Wednesday by a vote of 11-1.
It would not apply to legitimate breeders who treat their animals humanely.
Koretz says puppy and kitten mills keep their animals in horrible, inhumane conditions, leading to disease, and behavior problems. The mills also contribute to overpopulation, and the euthanasia of hundreds of thousands of animals.
The motion will now be drafted into an ordinance which will pass through the council again before — if it passes — going to the mayor for his signature.
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