Popularly known as the “puppy mill ban” and “The Humane Pet Act,” the recently introduced Colorado House Bill 20-1084 seeks to establish certain standards for the care and treatment of dogs and cats by commercial dog and cat breeders.
In addition to a requirement that no breeder have more than 25 adult, intact dogs or cats over six months of age, the bill offers a restriction that cats and dogs cannot be bred more than once per year, and no more than six times in their life, and bans the sales of pets in public places, including parks, parking lots, flea markets and, most conspicuously, pet stores.
Additionally, animal shelters and rescues would be barred from buying them from breeders, brokers and auctions.
According to the language of the bill, “There is a nationwide epidemic of the sale and purchase of dogs and cats that come from high-volume commercial breeding establishments, commonly referred to as ‘puppy mills’ and ‘kitten mills.’ The documented abuses endemic to puppy and kitten mills include overbreeding; inbreeding; minimal veterinary care; lack of adequate and uncontaminated food and water; lack of socialization, exercise, and enrichment; poor sanitation; confinement in cramped, unsanitary cages; and exposure to extreme temperatures.”
As a result of overbreeding, the bill maintains that animals suffer from “a lack of genetic testing, a lack of proper veterinary care, overcrowding, and other substandard conditions at breeding facilities, during transport, and in some cases at pet stores; dogs and cats born in puppy and kitten mills often have health issues that affect both the animals and the families they end up with, including parasites; respiratory issues; infectious diseases; and skin, eye, ear, neurological, and skeletal disorders.”
The bill, co-sponsored by Rep. Monica Duran and Sen. Mike Foote, both Democrats, is backed by the Dumb Friends League and Humane Society of the United States.
But it has generated strong opposition from others, including the National Animal Interest Alliance, American Kennel Club, American Dog Breeders Association and pet store operators.
On its website, the National Animal Interest Alliance suggests that “the statements in the legislative declarations of this bill are distortions and half-truths. At worst, they represent a systematic misrepresentation of the source of animal-welfare problems in Colorado. If the proposals that flow from these declarations are implemented, they will harm Colorado’s animals and pet buyers and undermine the current trajectory of animal welfare progress in the state.
“The biggest animal welfare problem in Colorado — and the one that needs further regulation — are the tens of thousands of poorly regulated, often sick, dogs pouring into the state for fee-based adoptions.”
The American Dog Breeders Association terms the bill “a regulatory scheme that asks lawmakers to restrict or eliminate the most highly regulated source of dogs in the state — commercial dog breeders and pet stores — and swap them for rescue dogs with unknown backgrounds and minimal oversight.”
In Pueblo, Pet Paradise has been a fixture for nearly half a century. Although the popular South Side store does not sell cats, on the average, from 20-40 dogs a month, purchased from licensed breeders, are sold.
Margaret Richards, the store’s assistant manager, believes it unfair that the bill lumps together “puppy mills” — along with private citizens who sell animals out of parking lots or at flea markets — with regulated and licensed pet stores.
“First off, we do not support ‘puppy mills.’ That’s a fight we also are in,” said Richards, who has worked at Pet Paradise for 12 years. “That’s why we are regulated, and that’s why we only purchase puppies from licensed breeders, who also are regulated within the state. So this is coming at somebody who already has the rules and regulations in place.
“The puppies we purchase from the breeders are vet checked and are up-to-date on all vaccinations. We have very happy and social puppies that come in, and we have people come back and say, ‘We want another puppy from that same breeder.’ We have that all the time.”
Banning the sale of dogs in pet stores like Pet Paradise, Richards believes, “will only fuel the ‘puppy mill’ business. In my opinion, it’s the wrong course to take.”
Citing the house bill as “an extreme measure which unfairly bans the sale of dogs and cats by licensed, inspected pet stores throughout Colorado, and will result in the ultimate closure of small businesses,” Rocky Mountain Pet Dealers Association has employed a lobbyist to campaign against its passage.
“We’ve been here for 45 years and we have a very solid reputation,” Richards added. “We have a great rapport with customers, many of them repeat customers, who come back for our puppies, our business, for everything. We are a ‘mom and pop’ shop that our customers believe in.”
Justin Lee, Pet Paradise’s manager, said if passed, the bill will have an adverse affect on the store, its employees and the community in general.
“Everybody believes that if an animal is in a pet store, it came from a mill,” Lee said. “And that’s not necessarily true. Our breeders are licensed by the state and inspected by The Pet Animal Care Facilities Act. I understand the banning of ‘puppy mills,’ but concentrate on dealers not doing it correctly and not doing it by the rules of the state.”
jpompia@chieftain.com
Twitter: @jpompia
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