End puppy sales at pet stores
Whether you consider them a pet, man’s best friend or part of the family, animals we welcome into our homes deserve to be properly cared for and treated with dignity, and the families bringing them in deserve honesty and transparency about the health of their new pets. Regardless of your political leanings, animal welfare and consumer protection are two priorities we can all agree on. The humane treatment of companion animals is a bipartisan issue. That is why I was pleased to learn that the Orange County Board of Commissioners is considering a proposal that would phase out the sale of puppy-mill puppies in pet stores and go a long way to protect local consumers.
We took the fight for a statewide ban to Tallahassee earlier this year and regrettably came up short. I am committed to trying again, but we can’t discount the impact that can be made by individual cities and counties when it comes to protecting these animals. I urge commissioners to support this ordinance, and join the nearly 80 cities and counties across Florida and over 380 localities nationally that have already enacted this policy.
Stopping pet stores from importing and selling puppies from cruel, out of state industrial-scale breeders that treat dogs as little more than puppy-producing machines is a reasonable and muchneeded measure. As president of the Seminole County Chamber of Commerce, I am committed to policies that encourage job creation and prosperity, but not through the inhumane treatment of animals and deceptive consumer practices.
The retail pet industry is already moving away from selling puppies, with most pet stores in Orange County and across the state focusing instead on the sale of pet food, products, and services like grooming and day care. The American Pet Products Association recently announced that Americans spent more than $100 billion on their pets last year, with products and services dominating.
Too many pet stores in Orange County are still clinging to the outdated and controversial business model that relies on the sale of puppies. With frequent reports of stores selling sick puppies, deceiving consumers, and sourcing puppies from breeders with egregious animal welfare records — plus an ongoing lawsuit filed by Attorney General Ashley Moody against one Orlando store for selling sick puppies and misrepresenting their health — the Orange County Commission has an exciting opportunity before them to take a positive step for pets and people.
First, we are not talking about actual “products” here, but rather pets who will be welcomed into homes and cherished by their new families. When pet-store customers end up with a sick or behaviorally challenged puppy or learn the puppy came from a breeder they would never knowingly support, they are very likely to keep their beloved puppy anyway. Second, pet stores do not need to rely on repeat customers like most businesses do. They sell one puppy for several thousand dollars and know they will likely never see that person again. Last, and perhaps most importantly, there is a serious lack of transparency, with pet-store staff trained to tell customers what they want to hear about the quality of their breeders and the health of their puppies, even though the opposite is often true.
It is unsettling to think of even one family going to a pet store to bring a new puppy into their lives, only to end up with a sick puppy requiring expensive veterinary care and causing so much heartbreak. On top of this, many end up financing the puppy based on promises of low interest rates, only to be turned over to third-party lenders that often include interest rates well over 100% in the small print.
I am confident that when county commissioners peel back the layers of the problems posed by puppy stores, they will make the right decision and pass an ordinance to phase out the sale of puppies in pet stores. This would ensure these businesses transition to a humane model that does not include selling live pets. I will keep working on this issue statewide, but in the meantime, I look forward to seeing the problem addressed in Orange County.
Jason Brodeur, a Republican, serves the 9th District in the Florida Senate.