Puppy mills have long been known to exercise inhumane dog breeding practices. Throughout the years, many have fought to identify and abolish the puppy mills that are operating in the country.
Those who strongly despise puppy mills have a new reason to rejoice: Phoenix, AZ, is the newest city in the nation to issue a law that bans the retail sale of dogs and cats that have not come from nonprofit rescue organizations or animal shelters.
The effort really became visible in 2013, after a Phoenix City Council decree helped significantly slash the puppy mill business.
The Humane Society of the United States was one of the major organizations that helped several municipalities defend and set laws against the trade of mill puppies and kittens, and also helped lower the rates of euthanasia.
Read on to find out the wonderful initiative some cities have taken to help the crackdown on puppy mills.
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Recently, in an effort to help shut down puppy mills, Phoenix, AZ passed legislation requiring all pet stores to sell only rescue animals.
Phoenix joins a list of more than 59 cities which have passed similar laws that require the adoption of shelter and rescue animals.
There is no actual legal definition for a "puppy mill." But one thing is clear: They are commercial dog breeding facilities that care more about making profits than about the health and wellbeing of the puppies that are sold.
Animal activists are extremely happy about the decision made in Phoenix — but some pet store owners strongly oppose the ruling. They maintain that their businesses only buy dogs from USDA-licensed breeders.
In addition to rescuing animals from puppy mills, the humane organizations are also helping to lower the rates of euthanization (which was at 27 percent for shelter animals last year). Pet stores will now make animals from overcrowded shelters their prior
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