SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Assemblyman Todd Gloria, D-San Diego, announced a new bill he is sponsoring to try to end the practice of pets being bred and sold for profit.
Gloria is sponsoring the legislation as pet stores throughout California continue to sell animals from "puppy mills" and "cat factories" -- where animals are bred for sale in large litters under inhuman conditions.
According to Gloria and several animal welfare organizations such as the San Diego Humane Society and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, these animals are often unhealthy. This is turn leads to "heartbreaking discoveries" once these animals are taken home.
The San Diego Humane Society found last June that three local pet stores were violating existing California laws against selling cats, dogs or rabbits from animal mills, finding 102 violations in total.
Existing legislation limits animal sales to pets from animal shelters or rescue organizations.
Among those announcing the new legislation and how it tightens restrictions will be Dr. Gary Weitzman, CEO of San Diego Humane Society, Bill Ganely, chief of San Diego Humane Society's humane law enforcement and Susan Riggs, senior director of state legislation for the ASPCA.
