Ban On Sale Of Dogs And Cats At Pet Shops In Moorestown Under Consideration

MOORESTOWN, NJ — Moorestown Council has taken a step to squash the sale of animals bred in mills in the township. Council unanimously approved a proposed ordinance on introduction to ban the sale of dogs and cats at pet shops at its Sept. 25 meeting. The public hearing and final vote is scheduled for council’s next meeting, on Monday night, Oct. 23.

“This is not a ban on the sale of dogs and cats at all, just from pet shops,” explained Moorestown Councilwoman Victoria Napolitano, who pushed for the proposal to be introduced. “You can still buy from a breeder, and you can still buy from a rescue. This is aimed at preventing the sale of dogs and cats that come from puppy and kitten mills, which is a major problem in this state and in states across the country.”

There are currently no pet stores in Moorestown, but Napolitano pointed out that a new pet store is always a possibility at the Moorestown Mall. She said this legislation would make sure that wouldn’t happen.

Similar efforts at the state level have so far been unsuccessful. Earlier this year, the State Senate and State Assembly passed similar proposals to amend the "Pet Purchase Protection Act" to include banning the sale of animals from breeders and puppy mills. The act initially went into effect in 2015, but only covered the sale of sick animals supplied by puppy mills.

However, Gov. Chris Christie vetoed that legislation, and an attempt to override that veto was pulled earlier this year. Ray Lesniak, a Democratic State Senator representing the 20th District who sponsored the senate bill, told nj.com at the time that he’d rather see the attempt pulled rather than fail and be killed altogether. The full text of bill S3041 can be seen on the New Jersey Legislature’s website.

Dogs and cats in puppy mills spend much of their lives in small cages and female dogs are bred as frequently as possible, Camden County officials said when they passed similar legislation, known as Norman’s Law, at the county level in 2015.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, any high-volume commercial breeder that sells dogs for profit without providing public access to the breeding site, and breeds female dogs every time they come into heat, which is stressful to the animal’s system is a puppy mill. The result is animals that are weak and perpetually sick, such as the puppy Napolitano’s family had when she was a child.

“When I was a child, my family bought a puppy that came from a puppy mill,” Napolitano said. “She had thousands of dollars of medical issues throughout her life that affected her quality of life.”

The puppy was born with liver problems, suffered at least one seizure and dealt with bladder and kidney stones her whole life, Napolitano said.

“It was sad to see, she constantly had issues,” Napolitano said. “She did live a long life, but not every family can afford to care for a dog like that. We don’t want to see a family bring home a pet and have to give it up or, God forbid, put them down because they can’t care for them.”

Napolitano said she now has a dog that came from a rescue, and that everyone she knows who has a rescue dog says they are happy animals.

“There’s so many dogs and cats out there who are already in need of a home,” Napolitano said. “There’s just no reason that they should be mass bred.”

See related: Adoption Fees To Be Waived As Burlington County Animal Shelter Celebrates Expansion

Patch file photo courtesy the Brandywine Valley SPCA