With a recent under-cover investigation into a Petland in Sarasota, Florida revealing frequently sick puppies as well as dead puppies in freezers, we must have a law passed in our county to ban the retail sale of puppies and kittens. This is not the first investigation into the national chain that has revealed these heart-breaking conditions; Petland also came under fire in 2018 when an investigation into two of their stores revealed the same information, and yet has nothing has been done to stop them.
With a Petland located right here in Kendall, action must be taken to ensure that no more animals suffer at the hands of this company or any other retail pet store. Though a larger scale State level ban would accomplish even more, local level bans are critical to reducing the demand for inhumanely sourced puppies. Awareness of the cruelty that occurs in puppy mills has been growing and many towns are calling for laws that would prevent puppy mills from selling to retail breeders.
These innocent animals deserve to be born and raised in good conditions with plenty of space, nutrition, and veterinary care. Dogs in puppy mills, however, will never be able to experience that. They are kept in cramped and unclean conditions which leads them to have many health issues. These puppies remain ill even after being sold to retail stores, which leads to high death rates in the stores and after adoption.
Banning the sale of puppies and kittens will help limit the places that puppy mills are able to sell to and can hopefully bring about the end of this inhumane practice. No animal should have to suffer for our enjoyment, and Miami-Dade County should no longer contribute to supporting the abuse of animals for profit.
The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida has been instrumental in in the protection of animal rights here in Florida and have had several major accomplishments in this field. Reaching out to them and asking that they look into this important cause is one way that we can bring awarness to this issue and get a major name to back this initiative. They can be contacted through their website at arff.org.
