A change in a city law passed Thursday will require pet shops in the City of Miami to sell animals only from local breeders and shelters, a step toward eliminating the sale of puppies that come from puppy mills.
Still, customers interested in specific animals can purchase pets from “hobby breeders,” which the county regulates.
Because the city also regulates pet stores’ business tax receipts, it can decide what the shops are allowed to sell.
“I’ve been very careful with this legislation to protect the rights of the stores to allow them to continue to function under new regulations that do not allow them to utilize puppy mill puppies,” city commissioner Ken Russell said.
Russell was adamant that the new legislation is not a ban on animal sales in the city.
“The stores will be able to source animals from the shelters to adopt or sell in those stores, and they can still find great animals at those shelters,” Russell said. “We have thousands of animals in our shelters who are ready to be adopted or sold.”
