Because of a vote by the Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, LA is now the largest city to have a ban on the sale of cats, dogs, and rabbits acquired from commercial breeders.
Under the new law, individuals can still buy animals from breeders if they want to, but retails shops cannot sell them – they are only permitted to adopt out animals that come from shelters, humane societies and registered rescue groups. This new ordinance was designed to target puppy mills and backyard breeders, and also to cut down on the vast number of animals that are euthanized in LA shelters every year.
A temporary ban had been in place in Los Angeles since 2013 and was set to end, but City Council voted to make it a permanent ban instead, in response to a huge push from animal activists in the area.
Los Angeles is not the only city to ban the sale of bred animals, however. Click here to see a list of all the cities that have enacted a retail pet sale ban.
