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Victory for companion animals! California’s capital, Sacramento, has just passed an ordinance banning the sale of commercially-bred dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores in the city.

Instead, pet shops will be required to partner with animal rescues and shelters in hopes of saving innocent lives while decreasing demand for puppy mill breeding. This follows in the footsteps of San Francisco and Los Angeles who have already instated similar laws.

The fluffy puppies we see in pet shop windows may be too cute for words, but if these animals could talk, we would be crying instead of cooing over them. When animals are bred to be commercially sold, profits are of the utmost priority, meaning the health and well-being of the animals are neglected. Thanks to the work of incredible organizations like The Humane Society of the United States, the truth about puppy mills has been exposed.

Animals are kept in unbelievably filthy, unhygienic conditions, many of whom suffer from injuries and ill-health due to neglect and improper care. Dogs used for breeding are kept in cramped cages for the entirety of their lives, where they are forced to always be pregnant or nursing a fresh new litter. Babies are then shipped off to be sold as soon as they are able to open their eyes.

Many people are still completely unaware that puppy mills exist, so please share this with your friends and family as a lesson why it is so important to adopt, not shop.

In addition to the California cities that have banned the commercial sale of animals in pet stores, major cities like Chicago and Phoenix also have similar laws in place, proving that public education on the topic of breeding is igniting serious change!

Image Source: Alex Kourotchkin/Shutterstock