Three new laws will implement more stringent health and transparency rules in the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits — including prohibiting pet sales by brokers — in an effort to stop the flow of animals coming from out-of-state breeding operations into California, according to a news release from the California State Legislature.
The three bills — collectively known as the “Stop The Puppy Mill Pipeline” legislative package, titled for the infamous dog-breeding operations — were signed into law Thursday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The package implements health certification requirements, voids contracts between brokers and consumers that require deposits and bans brokers from selling animals in the state. They will go into effect Jan. 1.
The laws were prompted by an investigation by the Los Angeles Times into California’s puppy market that uncovered “misleading marketing tactics, predatory financial behaviors, and a gap in regulations (which) allowed online brokers to take advantage of consumers and allowed puppy mills to continue to reach Californians when searching for a new companion,” officials said.
“Californians who want to welcome a pet into their home will no longer have to wonder if their dog or cat came from a cruel out-of-state breeding operation,” the author of AB519, Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, said in the release. “Bringing a pet into your home is a big decision, and many of us love and treat our pets like they’re a part of the family. So it is heartbreaking when our pets quickly develop health and behavioral problems – and thousands of dollars in vet bills — due to being the product of poor genetics, unsanitary environments, and significant stress.”
Another new law, SB312, implements a requirement that dogs imported into the state for the purpose of selling or transferring ownership have a health certification completed by a veterinarian dated no more than ten days prior to arrival in California. That health certification should be submitted to the Department of Food and Agriculture, where it will be publicly accessible.
“This law will help shut down deceptive puppy sales and expose the cruelty that still exists in far too many places,” the author of SB312, State Sen. Thomas J. Umberg, D-Santa Ana, said in the press release. “I’m grateful to the advocates, journalists, and responsible pet owners who helped shine a light on this issue—and proud that California is once again leading the way.”
Other bills in the package require the disclosure of medical information to buyers, bar contracts with nonrefundable deposits, and bans the sale of cats, rabbits and dogs under the age of one year by brokers.
The bills received “overwhelming bipartisan support” in both houses of the state legislature, officials added. The bills were also praised by animal rights organizations.
“California has again strengthened its commitment to animal welfare and consumer transparency,” Dr. Gary Weitzman, president and CEO of San Diego Humane Society, said in the release. “This package of laws … builds on existing safeguards and sends the clear message that puppy mill cruelty has no place in our state.”
Brittany Benesi, senior legislative director for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’s Western division, said in the release that the laws mean that California has “officially put a stop to the puppy mill pipeline from using its most deceptive techniques to ship sick, cruelly bred puppies into the state to profit off of unknowing consumers.”