Naperville Passes On Puppy Mill Ban Proposal

NAPERVILLE, IL — The Naperville City Council Tuesday chose again to pass on voting on an initiative to take steps against puppy mills, Daily Herald reports. The decision to eliminate a portion of the proposal about a four-year animal warranty and a statewide law about animal sourcing pleased some animal lovers and disappointed others after a four-year effort to get the council to adopt an overall ban of "puppy mills."

The proposed ordinance initially included measures requiring pet stores to provide records of breeder inspection, proof of where the dog came from, along with requiring a four-year warranty on pet purchases. The warranty portion was also omitted from the final animal control ordinance.

Councilwoman Judith Brodhead told Patch the four-year warranty did not receive enough support for a vote.

Instead, the finalized animal control ordinance addresses such issues as unattended pets left outside and pets who bark excessively, according to Daily Herald.

Kerin Thomas Smith, founder of Go Humane Naperville, said the council did the right thing by passing on the part of the ordinance that included the four-week warranty, saying that essentially treated "puppies as products."

Smith told Patch, "What Naperville needs, instead, is to catch the wave of a real humane reform sweeping the nation. Over 260 cities, 2 states and 3 states on the cusp have adopted or will soon adopt a ban on the sale of commercially bred dogs (puppy mill dogs)."

Such a sweeping bill was not presented at Tuesday's meeting, but animal lovers are hoping to regroup for when the council will hear that type of ordinance.

Correction: The original article said city council voted down the puppy mill ban. Instead, they dropped the part of the ordinance that would have required

Image via Shutterstock

More via Daily Herald