The Connections Bridgewater-Somerville April 2019

APRIL/MAY 2019 THE BRIDGEWATER-SOMERVILLE CONNECTION PAGE 9 Over the last few years, a small group of activists in New Jersey have embraced a national campaign promoting misinfor- mation and emotion in an effort to r emove consumer choice and drive all dog s ales to under-regulated shelters and res- c ues through the adoption of local ordi- nances that ban the sale of puppies in pet s hops. While such ordinances may seem li ke a productive prohibition in the best i nterests of municipal residents, please know such ordinances do nothing to stop puppy mills. They do, however, allow puppy mills to prosper. New Jersey’s pet shops do not obtain animals from inhumane puppy mills. Despite outrageous claims from animal activists, this fact is already a strict require- ment of existing New Jersey law – the Pet Purchase Protection Act (PPPA). The PPPA i s the most demanding law of its kind in t he country. All puppies sold in pet stores in New Jersey come from breeders licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and comply with very strict standards of care. Complemen- tary state and federal laws ensure that New Jersey has the most comprehensive animal welfare standards for pet stores in the country. The activist community claims that pet shops only sell puppy mill puppies by conflating USDA licensed breeders with imagery depicting sub-standard, large- scale breeding facilities that could not pass the multiple levels of governmental over- sight required of USDA licensed breeders. Meanwhile, their efforts helped put this law in place, requiring that pet shops only obtain puppies for sale from breeders licensed by the USDA. Not one puppy mill across the country has been closed as a result of the 130 or so municipal pet shop ban ordinances. Pet shops are statutorily prohibited from sell- ing a dog from a puppy mill. Even if you believe the activist marketing efforts that all pet shop puppies are from puppy mills, the statistics demonstrate that closing every pet shop will not slow the increasing number of puppy mills dogs being import- ed into New Jersey. Yet, the shelters and rescues in New Jersey that allow puppy mills to exist continue to grow largely unchecked by state and local inspectors. As the number of dogs available for adop- tion continues to shrink, you will see New Jersey’s shelters and rescues bringing in even more puppy mill animals to help keep their “retail rescue” operations in business. Over the last few decades in New Jer- sey and elsewhere, campaigns to end “pet overpopulation” have been so successful that there are simply not enough adopt- able dogs available for our residents. New Jersey’s shelters and rescues import at least 10,000 known dogs into the state and many more that occur without any regula- tory oversight and tracking statistics. Gone are the days when shelters actively sought to have zero dogs available for adoption. Puppy mill dogs are bundled together and distributed to shelters and rescues by hun- dreds of puppy brokers across the country with little to no oversight, concern about animal welfare, or disease prevention. Please remember, pet shops are the only option in New Jersey that guarantees animal health and consumer protections with a full refund for sick puppies and a requirement that the shop cover the costs of veterinary care. Shelters and rescues have no similar statutory obligations. Until we reform New Jersey’s shelters and rescues, real animal welfare for animals suffering in puppy mills will not occur. Celebrating our 25th Anniversary This Year! SHAKE A PAW - SPCRA 14 Route 22 West • Green Brook NJ 08812 732-968-2522 www.theconnectionsnj.com