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Aurora, CO, Bans the Retail Sale of Commercially-bred Dogs and Cats in Pet Stores

From Nathan Winograd
August 2023

Pet stores can partner with rescue groups and animal shelters to have animals available.

caged Puppy

Aurora, CO, passed a law banning the retail sale of commercially-bred dogs and cats in pet stores. Under the new law, pet stores can partner with rescue groups and animal shelters to have animals available.

Such laws do three things:

  • Encourage people to adopt/rescue
  • Educate the community about dog and cat (and rabbit) abuse in mills
  • Stop that abuse

And they work. Thanks to the passage of these laws nationwide, the number of commercial breeders in the U.S. has declined by 30%, and “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business.”

Pet stores generally get their animals from Commercial Breeding Enterprises (CBEs), commonly called “puppy mills.”

And CBEs engage in systematic neglect and abuse of animals, leaving severe emotional and physical scars on the victims.

One in four former breeding dogs have significant health problems, are more likely to suffer from aggression, and many are psychologically and emotionally shut down, compulsively staring at nothing. 

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