On Thursday, December 15th, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed a law banning the sales of cats, dogs, or rabbits in pet stores beginning in 2024 in order to reduce the demand of pets from inhumane breeding operations called ‘puppy mills’.  New York is the latest addition to the list of states banning such sales after California first enacted a similar law in 2017. 

Instead of buying the popular pets to sell from these puppy mills, the law will instead require pet stores to work with responsible shelters and private breeders. Senator Micheal Gianaris says the law will force people to be more aware of where the animals are coming from. “If a consumer went to a mill and saw the awful conditions, they wouldn’t buy these animals,” he said. “Dealing with a breeder allows people to see where their dog comes from, and it cuts off the middlemen that serve as a way to wash off the awful activities that take place at the mill.”

Despite Hochul softening the blow to pet stores by pushing it to 2024 and allowing pet stores to charge rents to shelters, pet store owners are outraged at the new law. Many claim that it will destroy their businesses, and the law is counterproductive, citing the breeders are from out-of-state and the law weeds out the responsible pet stores as well as the bad. One of the biggest protesters is the People’s Union to Protect Pet Integrity (PUPPI), a collection of pet store owners. PUPPI president Jessica Selmer has called the law “careless” and “counterproductive” and states her belief that the governor will “reconsider legislative remedies.”