Lawmakers discussed a bill Thursday that would ban pet shops from selling dogs and cats.
It’s aimed at encouraging people to adopt shelter pets and stop the mass production of puppies and kittens that are sold in retail stores.
Pet stores that broke the law would be fined $500 per violation and may have their licenses suspended or revoked.
We’re told three states and about 250 cities and towns have banned this practice already.
“Having them being bred just to sit in a small crate, in a lot of cases in a retail store, for several weeks in some cases until someone comes in and buys them when there’s shelter pets that need to be adopted, to me it doesn’t make any sense and so that’s why we’ve introduced the bill,” said bill sponsor Sen. Ben Chipman, D-Portland.
Similar legislation was passed in 2015 but was vetoed by then-Governor LePage.
