New York bans pet stores from selling cats, dogs, rabbits

New York on Thursday became the latest state to ban the sale of cats, dogs and rabbits in pet stores in an attempt to target commercial breeding operations decried by critics as “puppy mills.”

The new law, which was signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul and takes effect in 2024, lets pet shops work instead with shelters to offer rescued or abandoned animals up for adoption. It will also ban breeders from selling more than nine animals a year.

“This is a very big deal. New York tends to be a big purchaser and profiteer of these mills, and we are trying to cut off the demand at a retail level,” said Sen. Michael Gianaris, a Democrat.

He added that the puppy mill industry treats animals “like commodities” and said “there is no pet store not affected.”

Pet shops have argued that the law will do nothing to shut down out-of-state