Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Hopewell Borough may join the growing list of towns that do not allow pet stores to sell puppies and kittens that were acquired from so-called “puppy/kitten mills,” or commercial breeders.
Borough Council considered introducing an ordinance at its June 1 meeting that would allow a pet store to sell puppies and kittens – but only if they came from an animal shelter or an animal rescue organization.
But Borough Council wanted more time to review the proposed ordinance before taking action. It may consider introducing the ordinance at its July meeting.
There are no pet stores in Hopewell Borough.
The proposed ordinance, which is based on a model ordinance prepared by NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills, would not allow a pet store to “sell, deliver, offer for sale, barter, auction, give away or otherwise transfer or dispose of cats or dogs.”
Instead, the proposed ordinance would permit pet stores to collaborate with animal shelters or non-profit animal rescue organizations – such as SAVE – to offer space to showcase adoptable dogs and cats.
The ordinance would not ban consumers from acquiring animals from an animal shelter or rescue group, or from hobby breeders where they can see the conditions in which the puppies and kittens are bred.
The proposed ordinance, which is based on a model ordinance drawn up by attorneys for the Humane Society of the United States, grew out of a presentation to Borough Council last year by NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills.
NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills has been lobbying towns since 2015 to adopt an ordinance regulating pet shops, and thus far more than 100 towns have done so.
The goal of the ordinance is to encourage people to adopt dogs and cats from shelters and non-profit animal rescue groups, thus preventing them from being euthanized. About 21,000 dogs and cats are killed each year in New Jersey, according to NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills.
Animal advocacy groups and the pet industry have agreed that a puppy mill is a dog-breeding operation that offers dogs for monetary compensation or remuneration, according to Jeanne Clayton, a member of NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills.
Puppy mills do not allow for the physical, psychological or behavioral needs of the dogs to be met because of inadequate housing, shelter, staffing, nutrition, socialization, sanitation, exercise, veterinarian care and/or inappropriate breeding.
“Simply stated, a puppy mill puts profit ahead of the health and well-being of an animal,” Clayton said.
The Humane Society of the United States estimated that there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the country, but only 2,000 are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture – and those puppy mills only follow the minimal standards imposed by the federal Animal Welfare Act, according to NJ Residents Against Puppy Mills.
An estimated 108,000 female dogs are kept for breeding and more than 1 million puppies are produced at licensed puppy mills, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
More than 3 million unwanted dogs and cats are euthanized every year nationwide, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
