New York Pet Shops File Lawsuit to Preserve Sales of Dogs, Cats, and Rabbits
Retailers contend that an impending law prohibiting sales will remove a key revenue stream from pet stores and potentially lead to a black market.
A coalition of pet advocates and retailers is mobilizing against a New York state law that will soon restrict pet stores from selling puppies, kittens, and bunnies.
The Virginia-based national organization Pet Advocacy Network (PAN) along with six retailers has filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction against this law. The complaint, submitted to the Supreme Court of Suffolk County on Nov. 27, argues that the measure targets “compliant businesses” and will “needlessly and unconstitutionally eliminate the retail pet sale industry in New York.”
Pet retailers were provided a two-year period to adapt to these changes.
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The press statement indicated that the act “bans retail pet shops from selling, leasing, or transferring ownership of dogs, cats, or rabbits.”
“Pet stores may still collaborate with registered, nonprofit animal rescue organizations to highlight animals available for adoption.
“The legislation permits pet stores to charge reasonable rental fees to rescue groups for the space to display pets available for adoption.”
Proponents of the ban argue that it offers a more effective way to diminish animal abuse in the state.
“If you close down puppy mills in New York State, pet stores will source animals from puppy mills in other states,” stated Harry Hovel, chairman of the New York State Humane Association, in comments to The Epoch Times.
“Banning retail sales of dogs, cats, and rabbits by pet stores is the only truly effective approach to combating puppy mills. These are incredibly cruel establishments. This new legislation has the potential to prevent numerous instances of cruelty.”
Opponents of the pet sales prohibition assert that addressing rogue operators is a more viable strategy than an outright ban on the sales of popular pets across the state.
Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal (2nd L) urges New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to sign bill A. 740-A, allowing municipalities to oversee the source of animals sold at pet stores and the conditions of breeding facilities, at New York City Hall on Nov. 1, 2013. Samira Bouaou/Epoch Times
“The repercussions are already visible, as cherished small businesses that have served communities across New York for decades are shuttering their doors.”
The lawsuit claims that by banning a legal and regulated business that has functioned under strict guidelines for many years, the law will “encourage the proliferation of illegal markets.”
As outlined in the complaint, the law would deprive stores of “their principal revenue source,” and the ban would negatively affect breeders, landlords, employees, and consumers, leading to store closures.
One plaintiff, Westchester & Manhattan Puppies, is facing “imminent closure … and will have to lay off 25 employees,” according to the complaint.
The complaint also states that the law does not offer any compensation to pet store owners for the financial losses anticipated as a result of the ban and that the income from renting store space to shelters for showcasing animals is “impractical and insufficient” to cover the expected losses.
A Regulatory Taking
In addition to the injunction to prevent enforcement of the new law, the plaintiffs are asking for a declaratory judgment to affirm that the law violates the due process clause of the New York Constitution and constitutes an unlawful regulatory taking without fair compensation.
The court is also requested to declare that the unlawful deprivation of property use, without any form of just compensation, is illegal under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
