After New York became the eighth state to prohibit the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits, Kathleen Schatzmann feared the worst.
The legislative affairs manager for the Animal Legal Defense Fund realized it would only be a matter of time before the ban — which went into effect Sunday — would encourage a New York City pet store to move to New Jersey.
It took only one day, she said.
“We are opening the welcome mat for New York stores to set up shop in New Jersey,” Schatzmann told New Jersey lawmakers Monday.
Under the Puppy Mill Pipeline Act, which was signed into law two years ago by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, it is still legal to adopt pets through humane societies, animal rescues and licensed breeders in the Empire State, although critics of the law say it’s going to result in the closure of puppy-selling pet stores.
That same fear has prevented a nearly identical measure in New Jersey from advancing beyond a committee hearing in the state Legislature, according to some officials.
Garden State lawmakers met in Trenton on Monday to discuss advancing the bill, which would end the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores. It aims to stop the flow of animals from abusive puppy-mill breeding facilities while encouraging adoptions from overflowing shelters.
Although their number is falling, 17 retail stores still sell puppies in New Jersey.
“This bill will close six stores in the state (and) that will put 115 employees out of work,” said Tom Leach, spokesman for the New Jersey Coalition of Responsible Pet Stores. “I’m sure it’ll close more. As a coalition committed to animal welfare, we share the Legislature’s interest in shuttering sub-standard breeders and keeping puppies bred in inhumane conditions out of New Jersey.
“However, this legislation will create a pet sales market in New Jersey without guaranteed health checks or warranties, without facilities inspections, without consumer protections and without animal welfare safeguards.”
After an NJ Advance Media investigation revealed that a flawed system leaves animal lovers with no idea whether the dogs sold at local shops were sourced from puppy mills, New Jersey lawmakers in both legislative houses introduced a bill to curb the puppy mill-to-pet store pipeline.
But the legislation has languished despite widespread support from animal welfare organizations, non-puppy-selling pet stores and veterinarians. Nearly 150 municipalities in the state already ban retail animal sales.
The bill (S2511, A4051) is supported by the Humane Society, which in April reported at least three New Jersey pet stores had obtained puppies from a Midwest puppy mill that had been cited with more than 120 federal Animal Welfare Act violations. Its report followed an NJ Advance Media investigation from November 2023 that found at least eight of New Jersey’s then-18 licensed dog-selling stores obtained puppies from breeders that had recently been cited by federal or state enforcement agencies.
But the bill remains in committee.
New Jersey lawmakers failed in their bid for a statewide ban in 2017, two years after enacting the Pet Purchase Protection Act, a state law that prohibits stores from buying puppies from breeders who are not in compliance with state and federal requirements.
”It’s a misconception that the legislation would force any business to close down,‘’ said Brian Hackett, director of government relations for the Associated Humane Societies, New Jersey’s largest animal sheltering and protection organization. “The businesses that are sourcing from horrible places will have ample time to transition to a more humane business model. They can do what the overwhelming majority of pet stores that don’t sell puppies already do, which is they sell products, services like boarding and grooming, and sometimes they partner with shelters and rescues where they have a community-based business model.‘’
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Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com.
