The Louisville Metro Council in Kentucky recently passed a new law in favor of pet lovers. Breeders’ behavior towards the cats and dogs they raise, and subsequently sell, has long been up for debate. The new rule will help reduce the number of puppy and kitten mills operating in the area while ensuring a pet’s health over profit. This is all thanks to the Council banning pet stores from selling canines and felines.
Louisville Metro Council’s ban on selling dogs and cats passes 21-3
The Louisville Metro Council voted at the end of September to approve the ban. While the ban itself will not go into effect until next year, stores are required to display the associated breeders’ contact information effective immediately.
As per Louisville Public Media, the Louisville Metro Council’s new ban doesn’t, however, restrict breeders from selling pets in the area. As such, breeders will still be able to sell directly to people who are willing to buy from them. Furthermore, the ban doesn’t impact pet stores’ partnerships with adoption agencies and animal shelters.
The new rule was introduced in the council more than a month ago by Stuart Benson. The District 20 Republican was not in favor of adding exceptions as many people, according to him, weren’t doing “the right thing.” As such, proposed amendments to the ban — which would essentially take the teeth out of the new rules — were defeated by a vote of 13-10.
Another politician, Andrew Owen, spoke in favor of the law during the Louisville Metro Council meeting. Owen co-sponsored the legislation with Benson. He noted that the ban would make it harder for unethical breeders to work. Saying, “If puppy mills don’t have a place in which they can sell their animals, then the number of animals being bred by puppy mills goes down.”
Eventually, the rule was passed by a vote of 21-3. As such, Louisville will become the third city in the state to adopt such a ban. Both Elizabethtown and Radcliff formerly passed similar ordinances.
Louisville’s new ban issued a year after the Puppygram investigation
As per WDRB, Louisville Metro Council’s new ban was in part inspired by their investigation into Puppygram last year. The shop is located on Hurstbourne Parkway and sells “purebred puppies” and supplies. Soon after several pet parents purchased their dogs from the shop, the animals started showing signs of illnesses.
April Gilmore bought her Dalmatian, Kairi, from the pet store. Gilmore already had a dog named Kimber. However, the new member of the family started coughing the following day. Gilmore took Kairi to the vet when her symptoms got worse, where she was diagnosed with two curable respiratory illnesses along with canine herpes. Since it is highly contagious, Kimber was also infected.
April Gilmore wasn’t the only pet parent who purchased a dog from Puppygram. Another woman bought her dog Louie from the store and even had to take out a loan to make it happen. However, soon after, she realized that something was wrong. Louie wouldn’t eat or drink water. He eventually started vomiting and falling over. He was diagnosed with a parasite called Giardia.
Bans that impose stricter rules around unethical dog breeding will prevent the same situations from befalling future pet owners.
