California, Urge State Lawmakers to Stop the Puppy Mill Pipeline

Keeping Puppy Mill Cruelty Out of California

ASPCA Position: Support

While retail puppy sales ended in California a few years ago, an investigative report conducted by the Los Angeles Times uncovered a disturbing underground puppy resale market that uses deceptive tactics to keep the puppy mill pipeline alive in the Golden State.

In partnership with the ASPCA and San Diego Humane Society, state lawmakers have introduced a package of bills to close these legal loopholes and keep puppy mill cruelty out of California for good.

Each bill attacks the problems from a specific angle. As a package, they will disable the out-of-state breeders who continue to trick unknowing Californians into purchasing cruelly bred dogs. We need your help to pass them before the 2025 state legislative session ends in August.

1. Closing the “Puppy Broker” Loophole (A.B. 519)
A puppy broker is a middleman who obtains puppies in bulk from commercial breeders and resells them to consumers. This bill will clearly define the term “broker” under California law and prohibit them from selling or transferring a dog, cat or rabbit for profit in California. People can still obtain a pet directly from a breeder, breed-specific rescue or shelter, but this bill closes a loophole that has enabled consumer fraud and animal cruelty.

2. Protecting Pets from Predatory Practices (A.B. 506)This bill relates to puppies purchased online and shipped to individuals in California. Many websites that sell puppies are giant, largely unregulated marketplaces, representing puppy mills all over the country. These sites function as puppy brokers, too (see above). This bill will stop them from charging predatory, nonrefundable deposits and require the websites to disclose the original source of each pet, making families less likely to be tricked into purchasing from a puppy mill.

3. Puppy Importation Transparency Act (S.B. 312)This bill also relates to puppies purchased online and shipped to individuals in California. It will protect the health and welfare of puppies transported into the state for sale by improving protocols around health certificates, the official documents certifying a pet’s health. The bill will define the criteria for a complete health certificate and require that these certificates are submitted to state authorities within 10 days of transport. Most notably, this bill boosts transparency by requiring state authorities to make health certificates publicly available in compliance with the California Public Records Act.

What You Can Do

Please use the form below to send pre-drafted messages to your state lawmakers, urging them to pass all three bills. Let’s stand up for vulnerable animals and shut down California’s puppy mill pipeline for good.

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