A New Maryland Law Bans Pet Shops From Selling Dogs And Cats
Maryland is only the second state in the country - after California - to ban pet stores from selling puppies and kittens, which animal rights advocates say will help reduce demand for dogs born in “puppy mills.”
The law went into effect on January 1, 2020 and allows pet shops to host adoption events with rescues and shelters, but they can no longer sell puppies or cats. Governor Larry Hogan signed what was called the “No More Puppy and Kitten Mills” act into law in April 2018 but challenges postponed its effective date until January 1 of this year.
John Goodwin is the Senior Director of the “Stop Puppy Mills Campaign” at the Humane Society of the United States. He argues that pet shops are a major reason why puppy mills exist. “Pet stores rely on high-volume, mass production facilities called puppy mills to fill all of these glass display cases filled with a large number of puppies,” said Goodwin, who also added, “Under USDA regulations, a mother dog may never put-set a paw on a blade of grass and she may be killed once she’s been bred every heat cycle and her body is worn out. Those are atrocious standards and that’s why states are taking action. You can’t count on the Federal government.”
The new law does not impact Maryland’s private breeders.
On Tuesday, October 1, 2019 several new laws took effect in Maryland. One of those laws holds pet owners accused of animal cruelty more financially accountable for their actions. HB 135 requires defendants in animal cruelty cases to pay for the treatment and care of displaced animals until the court case has been heard and custody has been decided. In the past, animal shelters would have to shoulder the costs of care and treatment for the animal, and they couldn’t adopt the animal out until the case and custody were decided. Paying for the most basic treatment for these animals could quickly get expensive for shelters.
Animal shelters usually do not have a lot of information on the dog that’s been rescued and turned over. Have they been vaccinated, do they have any parasites, etc. So, shelters generally go through with all the necessary treatments and all those things add to the cost.
For descriptions of other Maryland animal cruelty laws, such as animal abuse or neglect, aggravated animal cruelty, abandoning animals, tethering dogs outdoors, ear cropping, poisoning dogs, leaving/rescuing pets alone in cars and organized dogfighting or cockfighting, go to www.lawyers.com/legal-info/criminal/animal-law/animal-cruelty-laws-in-maryland.html.