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Californian Law Change Means Pet Shops Can Sell Only Rescued Animals

posted by martyb on Monday December 31 2018, @02:28AM   
from the can-you-lease-a-pet,-instead? dept.

takyon writes:

Californian law change means pet shops can sell only rescued animals

California is set to become the first state in the US to ban the sale of non-rescue animals in pet shops.

The new law, known as AB 485, takes effect on 1 January. Any businesses violating it face a $500 (£400) fine.

The change means cats, dogs and rabbits sold by retailers cannot be sourced from breeders, only from animal shelters.

Animal rights groups have heralded it as a step forward against so-called "kitten factories" and "puppy mills".

Previously: California Commercial Pet Breeding Law Passed, Signed

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Original Submission

• Re:.. (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 01 2019, @01:07AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 01 2019, @01:07AM (#780464)

  I used to volunteer at a no kill* shelter.

  There is some truth to this. There are a lot of pit mixes in the pound / shelters. A large part of the problem is that folks get pits when they are puppies. Then, when the puppy grows up, these folks realize they are not capable of keeping the pit in a manner that is both safe and healthy for the animal, and safe for their family and neighbors. The other issue is that as puppies get big, people's hearts grow small-- a problem that affects more than just pits.

  But, the pound/shelter "inventory" does get added to pretty regularly, so just keep visiting over about a month, and you will probably find a pup you will fall in love with (best thing ever was meeting pups out with their new families [in the park, walking, etc.], and seeing the joy on both pup and people's faces).

  But, I agree that I wouldn't want a pit (or rottie) in my home, since both breeds have an issue with "snapping" and, while rare, the bloodbath that results is nothing I want my family involved in.

  But, some folks want pits, and as you point out, a lot of people want to get rid of their pits. So, we did the best thing we could come up with, and made sure all the animals from the shelter were spayed/neutered, so we would not be making the unwanted pit problem any worse (or unwanted pup problem, in general, any worse).

  Disclaimer: Californian that supports this law. And, if eventually we need to import pound pups from out of state (preventing those pups in out-of-state kill shelters from unnecessarily dying), then that is a great problem to have.

  * Ours was a real no kill shelter. Sadly, many so called no kill shelters kill *a lot* of pups, cats, and other animals. The small print they use to justify this, states that they can euthanize unadoptable or sick animals. Of course, unadoptable, is conveniently defined as the animals that they kill.

  Parent