On Thursday, the Governor of New York signed a controversial bill into law that will ban the commercial sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits from pet stores in the state. This is, of course, disastrous news for owners of pet shops, some (but not all) of which operate scrupulously and comply with existing animal welfare laws. Advocates of this law are heartened by the move, claiming that it will eliminate the market for despicable puppy mills, which hopefully will be the case. But opponents point out that not everyone is comfortable adopting animals from a shelter and some people prefer the pet shop experience, so those people will be less likely to wind up with a pet. It’s a complicated situation to be sure. One New York paper talked to the owner of a pet shop who sees his future going up in smoke. (The City)

Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday signed into law a bill that will ban the sale of dogs, cats and bunnies by retail operations starting next Demember.

Animal welfare advocates applauded the new law they say will eliminate the market for unscrupulous commercial breeders that have provided pet stores with living merchandise in bulk but don’t provide their animals adequate food or care.

But the mood was very different inside of Astoria Pets, where a small golden puppy lay asleep atop a bed of shredded paper inside a glass case facing Astoria’s bustling Steinway Street — its body curled and its head tucked into its tail.

This story really hits me on an emotional level and I’m not sure how this is going to work out. My wife and I have been involved in animal welfare for decades. (We actually met while volunteering at a Humane Society animal shelter.) As such, I’ve long been an advocate of the “adopt, don’t shop” motto. I’ve also volunteered with animal control officers at times and I’m aware of how awful the conditions are at puppy mills.

But at the same time, I just hate to think of even more animals going without homes, with some of them destined for euthanasia if they wind up someplace other than a no-kill shelter. It seems to me that for those not inclined to go to shelters, the closing of these stores will only drive more pet seekers into the arms of puppy mills or out-of-state stores.

Banning all stores seems like an overly excessive measure. New York already has a law on the books (the Animal Welfare Act) that requires pet shops to source from USDA-licensed breeders. This is supposed to keep puppy mills out of the loop. Instead of passing this new law, how about putting more resources into enforcing the existing laws?

Of course, the USDA breeders aren’t dealing in “mutts.” They deal in purebreds. But you don’t see too many mutts in pet stores anyway. Those are the pets that wind up in shelters waiting to be adopted.

This law will also essentially cut off the market for rabbits which many people like to keep as pets. You don’t generally see a lot of rabbits in the shelters. (They show up occasionally, but they are far less common than dogs and cats.)

There was clearly a need for something to be done to improve the state of animal welfare in New York. But this heavy-handed sort of ban just isn’t the answer. The legislature should reconsider and either amend or repeal the law.