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Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Yahoo
Middle ground elusive in debate over proposed pet store ban
(Photo courtesy Humane World for Animals) Politicians, government officials, animal activists, and shelter operators pleaded Tuesday with state lawmakers to advance legislation that would prohibit the retail sale of pets in Nevada, while pet store owners warned the measure would put them out of business. 'Public records show that Nevada pet shops import puppies from awful Midwestern puppy mills that no consumer would knowingly support,' testified Rebecca Goff of Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the United States, which released an undercover investigation earlier this year that traced puppies sold in Nevada pet stores to puppy mills. The bill is named for Cindy Lou, a dog that died after its medical needs were neglected by a Las Vegas pet store, according to the investigation. 'Breeding dogs are treated like breeding machines with no regard for their wellness,' Goff said of puppy mills. 'Under USDA standards, they can be kept stacked in wire cages that are only six inches longer than their bodies for their entire lives. They could be bred repeatedly until their bodies wear out, and then they can be killed.' Christy Stevens, executive director and founder of Hearts Alive Animal Clinic, says retail puppy stores flout animal welfare laws and were implicated in two forensic investigations and necropsies (animal autopsies) conducted last year by Hearts Alive. 'In one case, a woman who had been repeatedly sold Yorkie puppies by a pet store was later found to be hoarding animals in appalling conditions,' Stevens told members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee. 'Despite the stores knowing that the puppies were dying in her care, they continued to sell her puppy after puppy, Seventeen dead Yorkies were later discovered in her freezers. This is not an isolated incident. It is evidence of a system where profit is prioritized over animal welfare.' In the second case, authorities found close to 200 dogs, birds, and guinea pigs in a home, hotel room, and vehicle belonging to a Las Vegas couple, and 66 were dead. Dozens of the animals were purchased from the Petland store in Summerlin, where employees were aware of the multiple purchases, testified Gina Greisen of Nevada Voters for Animals. But opponents, primarily industry representatives, complained the legislation would unfairly punish all stores, even those that contend they obtain puppies and kittens from reputable breeders. 'In New York and in California, 93 to 95% of all of the pet stores that were affected and impacted by a pet sale ban closed,' testified Alyssa Miller, a lobbyist for the Pet Advocacy Network, a trade association that represents pet stores. 'The idea that someone can just shift a business model is misleading and is also unrealistic.' PAN is also represented by Nevada lobbyist Alisa Nave, whose family business owns more than a dozen veterinary clinics that serve the same rescue organizations that support the pet store sales ban. Nave declined to comment. Former Republican State Sen. Warren Hardy, a lobbyist representing Humane World for Animals, told lawmakers that given the failure of the federal government to adequately regulate or shut down puppy mills, there's no room for compromise. 'After 12 years of trying, there's no middle ground on this. This is our option.' Eight states, including the entire West Coast and some 500 municipalities, including Clark County, Reno, North Las Vegas, and Mesquite, have prohibited retail pet sales. The majority of pet stores in Nevada, including national retailers Petco and Petsmart, already do not sell puppies, but 'thrive as part of the $147 billion pet products and service industry,' noted Goff. 'We're in a time when we are cutting government personnel at all levels and agencies,' observed Jill Dobbs, executive director of the SPCA of Northern Nevada. 'It is not reasonable to expect there to just be regulations that can be enforced on these businesses.' The Nevada Assembly approved the measure, Assembly Bill 487, following a hearing last month. Without passage by a Senate committee this week, the bill will die. Goff confirms she was told by Senate Democrats to line up the votes to pass the contentious and emotionally-charged measure out of committee if she wanted a hearing. Democratic Committee Chair Michelee Cruz-Crawford, fellow Democratic Vice-Chair Melanie Scheible, and the caucus spokesperson would not respond to questions about the ultimatum, which negates the purpose of a legislative hearing. The hearing appeared on the legislative schedule Monday, after inquiries from news media. The Animal Foundation (TAF), Southern Nevada's primary government-supported shelter, announced publicly Tuesday the facility is currently housing more than 1,000 animals, including 547 dogs, and is on the brink of killing animals to make room for more. Shelters in the U.S. euthanized more than 1 million dogs and cats in 2016, according to Best Friends Animal Society. Last year, that number dropped to below half a million. 'Roughly 7 million people in America are planning to acquire a pet this year, and if just 6 percent more people chose to adopt versus purchase their pets, we would end the killing of dogs and cats in our nation's shelters,' said Julie Castle, the organization's CEO. 'We're in a critical capacity crisis, and are making urgent pleas to the public to adopt and foster,' TAF's CEO Hilarie Grey told lawmakers. 'Right now, we have terriers, Labradors, French and English bulldogs, Aussies, poodles, Cocker Spaniels, even a Papillon.' 'There's no need to continue supporting the puppy mill pipeline, but there's great need for ethical businesses to partner with shelters and rescues to promote adoption while selling pet supplies or services,' Grey testified. 'Sign us up. We will gladly bring puppies and kittens.' Clark County taxpayers spend more than $10 million a year supporting TAF, Commissioner Michael Naft testified, in addition to spending millions more on animal control and code enforcement, 'all with the goal of shelter diversion. We know that pets that come from pet stores end up disproportionately higher in shelters and at our rescues, and we need to put an end to that.' Clark County resident Casey Kern testified there is 'no justification for allowing the sale of commercially-bred animals while healthy, adoptable cats and dogs are being euthanized simply because there aren't enough loving, responsible homes and they cannot be warehoused indefinitely.
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Bill would expand ban on retail pet sales statewide
Cindy Lou, a Havenese puppy kept in an employees' bathroom at Puppy Heaven in Las Vegas while ill. (Photo provided by Humane Society of the United States) Efforts by local governments to put a kink in the pipeline between midwest puppy mills and Nevada are being derailed by neighboring municipalities that permit retail sales of dogs and cats, say advocates of legislation that would expand the bans statewide. The bill is sponsored by Assemblywoman Natha Anderson and was heard Tuesday by the Assembly Committee on Natural Resources. 'Eight states, including the entire West Coast and nearly 500 localities, including Clark County, Reno, North Las Vegas, and Mesquite have prohibited the sale of puppies in pet stores,' testified Rebecca Goff of Humane World for Animals, formerly the Humane Society of the U.S. 'Assembly Bill 487 can bridge that divide and allow us to bring our nation one big step closer to that day when puppy mills must no longer exist.' The City of Henderson allows pet sales at existing stores, while the City of Las Vegas has refused to ban sales, prompting retailers affected by the ban to move across city limits and into pet store-friendly territory. Regulations imposed by Las Vegas in lieu of a ban have increased transparency and 'exposed just how awful the puppy mill pipeline is,' Goff told lawmakers. 'It's crucial that this should be tackled statewide, rather than a patchwork of ordinances.' An undercover investigation by the Humane Society released in January alleges pet stores in Southern Nevada are keeping sick puppies without seeking veterinary treatment, and in at least one case, failing to obey a law requiring regular veterinarian visits for animals for sale. The legislative measure is named for Cindy Lou, a sick Havenese puppy kept in a pen in the employee bathroom at Puppy Heaven and allegedly denied medical care until animal officials who were tipped off the illness required the store to take her to a veterinarian, where she died, according to the investigation. 'Her story is a heartbreaking example of what happens when profit is placed above animal welfare,' testified Christy Stevens, executive director of Hearts Alive Village, who described horrific incidents of animal cruelty and neglect that were allegedly known to a Las Vegas pet store that continued to sell animals to the alleged perpetrator. 'These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a systemic problem.' Clark County's largest shelter, the Animal Foundation, as well as the Nevada Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals support the measure. The legislation would permit pet stores to hold adoption events for shelters and rescues. It prohibits the sale of pets on street corners, parking lots, and other public places. A violation of the proposed law would be a misdemeanor. The legislation would give the 15 retail stores that sell pets in Nevada a year to adjust their business model. The Retailers Association of Nevada is neutral on the legislation, testified executive director Bryan Wachter. 'The vast majority of pet stores in Nevada already do not sell puppies, but rather thrive as part of the $147 billion pet products and service industry,' Goff testified. Pet store puppies are likely to be sick or have behavioral issues, making them more likely to land in local shelters, supporters of the measure said. Amy Jesse of Humane World for Animals noted a report from the Centers for Disease Control that traced a drug-resistant, multistate human infection outbreak to 'puppies from breeders and distributors sold through pet stores as the outbreak source.' Of 149 retail store puppies, 95% received one or more courses of antibiotics. The bill is opposed by pet stores, some of which are named in the Humane Society investigation, including the owner of Petland in Henderson. Ken Kirkpatrick, owner of Petland in Boca Park, testified he and his staff have provided pets and peace of mind to Las Vegans since 2001 in a highly regulated environment. He predicted backyard breeding will expand. thanks to demand from families 'who can't adopt from shelters or rescues because they want a specific breed, or they need a hypoallergenic dog.' Kirkpatrick noted a review of the Animal Foundation's adoption list revealed 200 dogs for adoption. For a population of 2.5 million people, 'it's really not that many dogs.' On Tuesday, the Animal Foundation listed 370 dogs for adoption. Last year, the shelter euthanized more than 3,300 dogs, down from just under 3,900 the previous year. Assemblywoman Heidi Kasama, a Republican from Clark County, said her family visited a shelter recently while looking for an addition to the family 'and for some reason it was just not a right fit. I wanted a smaller dog, and we ended up at a pet store.'
