On February 16th, the city council of West Hollywood, California, unanimously passed legislation banning the sale of puppy mill dogs and pet factory cats in pet stores. When the law goes into effect later this year, West Hollywood pet retailers will only be allowed to sell dogs and cats from rescue organizations or from the municipal shelter system.
The law is the second such ordinance passed in the country, following the ban on dog and cat sales in South Lake Tahoe (also in California). The ordinance was passed with very little opposition, with a Los Angeles Times poll indicating an approval rate of 78% for the new legislation and 22% believing that government was overreaching.
Animal protection advocates who are hopeful that similar ordinances will be adopted in other cities around the nation celebrated the decision. Animal welfare advocates contend that puppy mill sales not only contribute to animal cruelty, but that the sales exacerbate the pet overpopulation crisis. According to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), between three and four million unwanted companion animals are killed in the nation's shelters every year.
"This is the beginning of the end of puppy mills," said Ed Buck, Director of Social Compassion in Legislation, an organization that was instrumental in getting the law passed. "There are more than ten thousand puppy mills that treat dogs like cash crops," said Wayne Pacelle, president of the HSUS. "They're churning out puppies for the pet trade at the same time that animals in shelters and rescue groups are struggling to contend with the problem of too many animals, too little space. [The ordinance] will save lives in this community and we're watching it nationwide."
The West Hollywood ban on pet factory sales stems from a thorough citywide investigation by the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) into L.A. pet stores and the mills in the Midwest that supply them. Elite Animals, a West Hollywood pet store, was protested by local activists for five and a half months after CAPS undercover investigators, including this author, discovered that the store was selling under-age puppies from Moscow, violating federal law (Farm Act of 2008).
Elite Animals was also accused of selling dogs from a substandard breeding facility in Minnesota, which had been cited by the USDA with multiple violations of the Animal Welfare Act. This author provided the city council and the owners of the pet shop with evidence from the USDA licensed breeding operation in Minnesota that showed sick and wounded dogs crammed into wire cages, exposed to freezing temperatures, and living in their own waste.
Elite Animals has since stopped selling animals but so far, has refused to work with local rescue organizations. A children's playpen that used to display puppies remains empty in their window.
The ordinance was drafted with help from CAPS, the Animal Legal Defense Fund, the HSUS and the city attorney. Dr. Alan Drusys, chief veterinarian for the County of Riverside, California, spoke to the city council at the public hearing. "This legislation"”I'm sorry to say, is very much needed in California and the rest of the country."
Michael Haibach, deputy to Councilmember Jeffrey Prang told me, "Since the passing of this ordinance, we have been contacted by numerous cities, from British Columbia to Italy, to the state of Maryland, to Toronto, Florida, Texas"”I have forwarded copies of this ordinance to all of them who want to emulate what we did in West Hollywood. In addition to that, we've gotten umpteen letters of support, emails, phone calls"”it's non-stop."
"Protecting sentient beings who depend wholly on their human caretakers is about values and choices," Dawn Armstrong, director of Lake Tahoe Humane Society, told the Los Angeles Times. "Store by store, city by city, state by state, without pet store outlets, puppy mills will not survive."
