Photo courtesy of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
AB 485, the Pet Rescue and Adoption Act, will be brought up to the State Senate for a vote during the week of September 11. The bill will make it illegal for dogs, cats and rabbits to be sold in any California pet store unless the animal was “obtained from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or nonprofit.”
Assembly Member Patrick O’Donnell authored the bill and introduced it to the Assembly on February 13 (full text and history available here). The bill passed the Assembly vote as well as the Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee; the ASM Appropriations Committee; and the ASM Business and Professions Committee. Assembly Member O’Donnell’s office and the bill’s supporters, notably Social Compassion in Legislation and its founder, Judie Mancuso, are asking other supporters of the bill to contact their Senate Representatives to ask them to support them as well. Representatives can be found by following this link.
Detractors of the bill include the Pet Advisory and Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC). The organization claims that a statewide ban on retail sales of animals puts pet lovers at financial risk by making the state’s warranty law unenforceable and will reduce Californians’ access to healthy pets. They also expressed concern about the loss of jobs of people in the pet-retail business.
Supporters of AB 485 cite the number of pets, dogs in particular, that stock pet stores. They are obtained by puppy mills, businesses that mass-breed “pedigreed” puppies in inhumane conditions and sell them to the public at inflated prices. Purchasers of these puppies have reported illness and death resulting from the breeding practices and unhealthy conditions (see “Public Requested to Send Input to Assembly Member O’Donnell’s Pet Rescue and Adoption Bill” for O’Donnell’s statement and related articles). At the same time, several pet stores have been closed by protest; others have been adopting out shelter and rescue pets and selling supplies for their care. The number of animal lovers in the state seems to keep them in business.
Calls to two pet stores in the area gleaned the information that customers are strongly advised that the puppies purchased there are to be used as companion animals and not for breeding. All the puppies, however, are sold intact, some younger than 4 months old. Animals adopted from shelters and rescues either have been spayed or neutered or will be before they are given to the adopter.
The result of the vote will be announced in this column.