COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bipartisan proposal at the Ohio Statehouse aims to reverse a preemption law from 2016 that allows puppy mill sales in retail stores.
House Bill 443 could allow local municipalities to prohibit pet stores that use breeders that could potentially fuel puppy mills, its sponsors said. The primary goal is to crack down on retail stores that are believed to be contributing to the puppy mill issue.
Buying pets from puppy mills can lead to emotional trauma for families and unhealthy pets, the proposal's supporters said.
What You Need To Know
- House Bill 443 is currently in House Government Oversight Committee
- The proposal still needs to hear proponent and opponent testimony
- Sponsors said their goal is to help families and animals affected statewide
“You have these people who are paying thousands of dollars for these dogs and unknowingly not knowing that they’re sick,” said State Rep. Michele Grim, a primary sponsor of the bill.
“It’s gut-wrenching,” said State Rep. Sara Carruthers, who is also a primary sponsor of the bill. “Then you might have to put them down because you can’t save them. It’s horrible.”
Grim said this topic is critical for pet owners statewide. She said part of her inspiration to put forth this legislation was after she heard a few lawsuits which were filed by three families against Petland. Those families said the store sold them puppies with health issues. She said many retail stores could sell animals with health conditions.
“Those plaintiffs had dogs that died, sometimes days after they were purchased,” Grim said.
Critics of the proposal said a few lawsuits do not prove that one retail store is guilty of contributing to puppy mills across the Buckeye State.
Elizabeth Kunzelman, the vice president of legislative and public affairs for Petland, suggested that retail chains often cannot control if animals are born with deformities or if an illness comes into their stores. She stated that changing the requirements already in place in Ohio could create more challenges when it comes to in ensuring animals are bred in safe environments.
“I think it’s also important to understand that anyone can file a lawsuit,” Kunzelman said. “Whether it has merit or not. We have been removed from two of those lawsuits. There are 926 municipalities in Ohio. If you remove that state-level oversight, then you could have 926 different sets of laws regarding pet stores. What they can sell and what they can’t sell, plus, who inspects them for fines. So there would be no consistency.”
Another issue with the current law is a lack of a clear definition of a puppy mill, said Kathy Hessler, assistant dean for animal legal education at George Washington University Law School.
“What people refer to as puppy mills are these sort of intensive confinement situations where many animals are raised in what people might consider an economically efficient manner,” Hessler said. “But, it’s actually a pretty egregious manner in terms of animal welfare, in terms of the well-being of the animal.”
House Bill 443 is gaining substantial support from the Humane Society of the United States. The organization’s Ohio state director said it could help protect people and pets. He mentioned the emotional value of a pet to a family and how much of an impact a pet can have.
“Right now, not only does Ohio at the state level lack protections for animals and consumers,” said Mark Finneran, the Ohio state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “We actually go the other way where we have a state preemption law that prevents cities, and other home rule municipalities from making rules in order to stop the sale of puppy mill dogs in their community.”
The proposal is currently in the House Government Oversight Committee where it will hear proponent and opponent testimony soon.