Pet store owners rejected the bill, saying it mischaracterized all pet stores as complicit in animal cruelty and the puppy mill pipeline, and would bankrupt them if passed. Emilio Ortiz, director of Citipups, a pet store with two locations in Manhattan, said the company carefully purchased the hundreds of puppies it sells each year from about 30 different breeders across the country, which he said exceeded state-mandated standards and provided “a great living position for their dogs.” A bill banning the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in New York City pet stores, passed by lawmakers in June, awaits a decision from Gov. Kathy Hochul. “With so many good animals to save, there is no need for abusive puppy mills to supply pet stores, especially when less than two percent of pet stores` revenue [$130 billion national] comes from the sale of pets,” Gianaris said in a statement Thursday. “I hope Governor Hochul will sign this legislation soon so we can better protect animals from the scourge of puppy mills.” “I don`t think this legislation in itself puts anyone out of business,” said Bill Ketzer, senior legislative director of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. “If there`s anything driving them out of business, it`s consumer education, because people realize it`s a cruel and broken system. What you`re doing when buying a puppy from a pet store is supporting an inherently cruel and broken system that can`t be fixed. “Eight to five percent of our business is puppies, so you`re making it illegal for pet stores to sell pets, how are they going to stay in business?” Emilio Ortiz, Citipups` manager at Chelsea, told the Post on Wednesday. Pet stores have fiercely opposed the legislation, arguing that the bill would bankrupt them, result in hundreds of workers being unemployed, make it harder for people to get a pet in the state, and could lead to an underground market for pet sales — arguments that supporters of the law dismissed as excessive. Gary Nudelman, owner of NY Breeder and NYC Breeders pet stores in the backcountry, said his nearly 40-year-old small business would be forced to close if the law was signed.
Pet stores could expose their pets to potential owners at adoption events in partnership with local adoption agencies. A secret investigation last year by the Humane Society of the United States found that many New York pet stores were receiving puppies from breeders with poor conditions. The pet store industry has accused shelters and rescue organizations of hypocrisy, arguing that they operate with few regulations in New York, though a second bill on Hochul`s desk would aim to change that by introducing uniform standards for veterinary care and housing rescued animals. A move to stop the sale of live animals raised or sold in inhumane conditions in New York could force local pet stores to close their doors. Right now, out-of-state puppy mills ship their puppies to pet stores in New York City, where they are marketed as healthy puppies by responsible breeders, which is far from the truth. Puppies sold in pet stores come from commercial breeding farms designed to put profit before animal welfare. Breeding dogs in these facilities are often kept in overcrowded cages throughout their lives, without adequate housing, veterinary care, food or socialization. They are not pets; Their only value is to produce puppies that are shipped and sold to pet stores.
These puppies can suffer from serious health and behavioral problems, and families are often unprepared for the financial loss and heartbreak that comes with buying a sick puppy. He added: “We would be completely bankrupt” if Ms Hochul signed the bill, noting that about 90% of the store`s revenue came from the sale of puppies. The bill aims to shut down that pipeline by banning the sale of animals at New York`s roughly 80 pet stores — known for their ubiquitous puppy storefronts that can cost thousands of dollars — and encouraging New Yorkers to adopt pets from shelters. People would still have the right to buy the animals directly from breeders, an attempt to allow potential pet owners to visit and buy responsible breeders. Forty Years of Fighting for Animals: The Animal Legal Defense Fund was established in 1979 to protect animal life and promote animal interests through the legal system. To accomplish this mission, the Animal Legal Defense Fund brings effective lawsuits to protect animals from harm. provides prosecutors with free legal assistance and training to ensure that animal molesters are punished for their crimes; supports strong animal welfare laws and fights against harmful laws; and provides resources and opportunities for law students and professionals to advance the emerging field of animal rights. For more information, see aldf.org. The lawsuits have helped fuel support for a ban, though the industry believes the ban on puppy retail sales will lead to a cascade of unintended consequences, including more online fraud and less legal protection for consumers adopting sick puppies.
About a quarter of the puppies sent for sale at New York City pet stores come from dog brokers. This cruel and broken system becomes possible because it is still legal to sell dogs in New York City pet stores, making New York one of the largest markets in the puppy mill industry. If the Puppy Mill pipeline bill goes into effect, New York will shut down that pipeline and prevent cruel factories from accessing New York communities. Nearly half of the puppies sold at New York City pet stores come from Missouri, which has the highest concentration of puppy mills in America, according to the ASPCA. Ortiz, who met with state lawmakers and the governor`s office to lobby against the bill, argued that the biggest hurdle to the industry is a “distorted view and public narrative” that all ranchers and pet stores are bad actors. In response, he began creating videos designed to take a behind-the-scenes look at how stores treat the pets they sell.