California did the right thing!
Dear friends around the world,
I was extremely happy to read this article. I hope other states and countries will follow this example and have something similar in the very near future.
It breaks my heart to see animals that are abandoned, abused, hungry and in pain. I myself have experienced hunger when I was young, so I understand deeply the suffering of not having food to eat and not having someone to seek solace in. I certainly do not wish that any sentient being, either human or animal, has to go through this painful process. Ultimately, all sentient beings are capable of feeling, therefore it is very important that we take good care of our pets because they feel what we feel too.
It is typical of people to fall in love with a puppy, kitten, bunny or any other animal in a pet store, and that is where people often make the ‘mistake’ of bringing the pet home. Living with a pet comes with great responsibilities, so we have to make sure we are ready for it. Once the pet comes home with us, it is our responsibility to take care of the pet and love the pet for the rest of its life. It is like raising a child, if the child misbehaves or does not remain cute anymore, we cannot just abandon the poor kid simply because he or she is not cute anymore. This very same logic should also be applied to animals. They are not objects, they are made of flesh, just like you and I.
California has passed a landmark law that will literally change history and save many animals from so much suffering. They have made it so pet shops can only sell dogs, cats and rabbits only if the pets come from shelters or non-profit organisations. This means that animals will no longer have to suffer unnecessarily due to breeding farms.
Most likely, this signals the end of animal breeding farms in California as it is no longer legal to buy from them. Though to an ordinary person they may think that this is nothing special, it is actually something extraordinary and life-changing. Animals bred in these farms are not only sold in pet shops, they are bred for painful scientific research, product testing and many other cruel activities. Not only that, many of the animals are the result of inbreeding, something that leads to a lot of health related complications for the poor animals. Inbred animals are more likely to receive negative recessive genes from their lineage causing them to have severe health problems such as cancer and tumours; eye and heart disease; joint and bone disorders; skin, immune system and neurological diseases; and even epilepsy.
Since this law prohibits pet shops from buying animals from such places, these farms will slowly go out of business. This is actually something positive as it ends the suffering for these animals. It is very important to have this law to ensure the quality of life for these animals. Once we stop supporting breeding farms, it discourages these farms to stop breeding animals incessantly just so that we can enjoy a cute pet or perform animal testing.
Most of the time, once these pets start getting ill or get older, they are discarded and left to endure the pain of hunger, loneliness and illness. This law is unique as it also tackles this problem, ensuring that those animals in pet shops are exactly those that were deemed ‘unfit’. This way, it encourages and teaches us to love and care for the pets for who they really are, and not just for their looks.
I am very excited to read this article. It shows that animal activism is on the increase, and this is something badly needed in our world because it is based on compassion for animals. As California spearheads this, I pray that it will encourage and inspire many other states and countries to follow suit and act from compassion towards animals. Please do share this article with your family and friends to create more awareness.
Tsem Rinpoche
California limits pet store sales of cats, dogs and rabbits to rescue or shelter animals only
By Susannah Cullinane | Updated 0919 GMT (1719 HKT) December 30, 2018
Pet store operators will face $500 per animal penalties for breaching the act.
(CNN) California pet stores soon will be allowed to sell dogs, cats and rabbits only if they come from shelters or non-profit rescue organizations.
Under legislation going into effect on January 1, store operators also will have to be able to provide records of origin for the animals or face a $500 penalty per animal.
The Pet Rescue and Adoption Act was introduced by assembly member Patrick O’Donnell and signed into law by California Governor Jerry Brown in October 2017.
Under the law, individuals are still allowed to buy from private breeders, but stores are prohibited from doing so.
In a press release issued at the time, O’Donnell touted the law as an end to “puppy mills” and “kitten factories.” California is the first state in the country to introduce such legislation.
O’Donnell called the law a “big win for our four-legged friends” and also for taxpayers, who he said spent more than $250 million a year to house and euthanize shelter animals.
The act specifies that pet store operators can sell dogs, cats and rabbits only from a public animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter, humane society shelter, or rescue group in cooperation with an animal shelter.
It requires “each pet store to maintain records sufficient to document the source of each dog, cat, or rabbit the pet store sells or provides space for, for at least one year, and to post, in a conspicuous location on the cage or enclosure of each animal, a sign listing the name of the entity from which each dog, cat, or rabbit was obtained.”
The stores also will be required to give public animal control agencies or shelters periodic access to those records.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/12/30/us/california-dog-cat-rabbit-sales/index.html?no-st=1546401739
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This is a piece of amazing news! I can’t imagine the work, protests and support that went into this before the city actually passed such a law. Kudos for all the animal activist that made it possible that fight against animal cruelty in general.
Puppy mills are one of the places where animals are being abused for human’s selfish needs. Many dogs are living in horrendous environments with little to no freedom, caged for their entire life. Females are repeatedly inseminated to produce litters after litters with no good food to replenish the toll that giving birth had taken on their bodies. Many of them will die at a much earlier age and exhibit signs of mental illness.
The puppies produced are not optimum in their health because the mum’s poor health and many of them die prematurely. Those that survived will be taken away from their mother from a young age and sold to pets shops. Many pet shops sell puppies from puppy mills and this created the demand for puppy mills to exists. That is why this law that was passed is very powerful and it hits the direct reason why puppy mills existed in the first place. This is a huge step and I hope there will be more of such laws that protect the welfare of animals be adopted by more cities.
Wonderful …. California pet stores soon will be allowed to sell dogs, cats and rabbits only if they come from shelters or non-profit rescue organizations. The Pet Rescue and Adoption Act was introduced which limits and control the sales for the prevention of cruelty to animals shelter. Finding homes for those animals and not on encouraging the horrible trade of dogs and cats that come out of puppy mills. A good approach indeed , hope more could be done.
Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this wonderful news.
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