California Is First State To Require Pet Stores To Sell Rescue Animals

LOS ANGELES, CA – California is the first state to require pet stores to sell rescue animals, thanks to a law signed by Governor Jerry Brown last Friday. Starting in 2019, pet stores will begin the transition to selling animals from shelters or adoption centers. If stores don't comply, they'll be looking at a $500 fine for each animal for sale that isn't a rescue, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The bill is aimed at reducing the number of animals in shelters, as well as how many animals come from mass breeding businesses such as puppy mills.

Elena Bicker, the executive director at Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation, told ABC News that "the problem is puppy mills, and this law is specifically targeting shutting down and not supporting puppies being manufactured in unsafe, unsociable, and horrific conditions."

The American Kennel Club has voiced opposition to the new law, saying that it will increase the likelihood that people purchase pets that aren't a good fit for them and then end up leaving them in shelters, according to Huffington Post. More than 200 cities and counties across the country have similar protections,

More than 200 cities and counties nationwide have similar protections, including 36 cities in California that already had bans on puppy mills prior to this new law, Huffington Post reported.

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