Shut Down the Puppy Mill Pipeline into Connecticut!

CT H.B. 5112 — Ends the Retail Sale of Dogs, Cats and Rabbits

ASPCA Position: Support

Sponsors: Rep. Amy Morrin Bello

State lawmakers have introduced legislation that will shut down the puppy mill pipeline into Connecticut. This bill would prevent commercial breeders (puppy mills) from trucking cruelly bred puppies into your community’s stores, ending the Constitution State’s participation in the horrific puppy mill pipeline. Cats and rabbits are also included and protected by this bill.

New York, Maryland and California have passed similar laws, and a growing number of states are considering their own. Connecticut needs to catch up!

The Pipeline

Connecticut pet stores often advertise that their puppies, kittens and rabbits are “top quality” and come from “responsible breeders.” The sad reality is that those animals are trucked in from out-of-state commercial breeding facilities (for dogs, they are also known as puppy mills). These commercial breeders treat animals like products; their only goal is to produce the highest number of animals at the lowest possible cost. As a result, animals are often sick, injured or malnourished and are confined to filthy, crowded cages.

Many of these animals pass through middlemen, called brokers, who buy high volumes of puppies, kittens and rabbits from poorly regulated, licensed breeders. These animals are then resold to pet stores in Connecticut. Through this pipeline, pet stores have misrepresented and disguised the reality of where their animals come from, exploiting animals and deceiving consumers.

This harmful system is driven by profit and greed. It continues to exist because Connecticut law still allows the sale of cruelly bred dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores. A prohibition on these practices went into effect in New York in 2024, leading unscrupulous retailers to eye opportunities in surrounding states, like Connecticut.

What You Can Do

Contact your state lawmakers today. Please use our brief form below to send a message urging them to shut down Connecticut’s puppy mill pipeline.

Advocacy Alert

Your Message

Subject Shut Down Connecticut's Puppy Mill Pipeline!

Dear Legislator,

Message

As an animal advocate and your constituent, I am reaching out to urge you to pass H.B. 5112 before the 2025 legislative session ends. This important measure will stop cruel breeders from selling their dogs in Connecticut’s pet stores.

Puppies sold in pet stores come from commercial breeding operations known as “puppy mills” that are designed to prioritize profit over the well-being of the animals. In these operations, dogs often spend their entire lives in wire crates without adequate shelter, veterinary care, food or socialization.

New York's law prohibiting the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores went into effect last year. Without quick action, I am concerned that these cruel businesses may move from New York to Connecticut, bringing more heartbreak to families and pets in our communities.

Year after year, the pet industry has demonstrated that it is not interested in ensuring the welfare of the dogs it churns out, nor is it interested in transparency or public accountability. These poorly regulated commercial dog breeders have only one goal: to breed the highest volume of puppies possible at the lowest cost for maximum profit. Enough is enough.

This legislation would shut down the puppy mill pipeline that transports cruelly bred animals from puppy mills across the country to Connecticut’s pet stores. It will also better protect our state’s consumers, public health and animal welfare--while still permitting stores to provide space for rescue groups and shelters to adopt animals into loving homes.

If the legislature fails to act, pet stores will continue operating with impunity, profiting from cruelly bred animals. It is time for the state to outlaw this practice for good by enacting H.B. 5112 this legislative session.
Thank you for your time and consideration of my views.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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