Gov. Stein vetoes bill giving protections to ‘puppy mills’
WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Animal welfare advocates across North Carolina are applauding a veto made by Governor Josh Stein on a piece of legislation that would have given more legal power to pet stores.
Last week, Governor Stein vetoed House Bill 96. The bill was originally intended to address squatters—which Stein said he supported—but a last-minute amendment included in the bill would have given more legal protections for pet stores that source from “puppy mills.”
“Puppy mills” are large scale breeding operations that house animals in abusive conditions for the sake of profit.
The protections would have prohibited local governments from enacting any laws regulating businesses that sell animals.
“We really didn’t like the fact that the people on the ground in those counties who know what’s going on, and knows who the bad actors are, they weren’t going to have the tools in their hands to enact the legislation at their local level would put these pet shops out of business,” Lee Vanormer with Paw’s Place said.
Paw’s Place is a rescue shelter in Winnabow that often takes in dogs from puppy mills after they’re raided.
She says some of the dogs they take in have never felt grass beneath their feet.
“That’s the most horrifying thing,” she said. “The first time we take them out of the van and put them on the ground, they just stand there frozen because their little paws have only ever felt metal frame underneath them.”
In North Carolina, there are very few regulations over how dogs and cats can moved or sold.
“Local governments are where most animal care and control measures come out,” Kelsey Gilmore-Futeral explained.
Gilmore-Futeral is a legislative attorney with Best Friends Animal Society. The nonprofit has helped more than 270 municipalities and eight states to pass bans on the sale of puppies.
She says one concern with puppy mills is that the conditions can foster diseases and inbreeding.
“Or they have predatory lending practices,” Gilmore-Futeral noted. “A lot of the pet stores will sell you a $5500 puppy at 200% financing. So, it is really a consumer protection issue and a health and safety issue that should remain within the control of the local jurisdiction.”
Even without a statewide ban, Vanormer hopes people will turn to shelters instead of pet stores.
“They come with a heart ready to just give love and affection,” she said.
Glimore-Futeral says if you do choose to purchase a puppy, you should always ask to see the mother and father, and where the puppy was bred. If the store won’t tell you, it’s possible the puppy came from a puppy mill.
WWAY reached out to the New Hanover County Board of Commissioners for comment on the veto.
Stephanie Walker sent us the following statement:
“I believe in protecting animal welfare and supporting local communities that take action to prevent the cruelty of puppy mills. I oppose adding major policy changes — like the pet shop provision in HB 96 — into unrelated legislation without public input or a proper hearing. It’s a disservice to transparent government and to the people we serve. We should be strengthening protections for animals, not undoing them behind closed doors.”
