Illinois Bans Retail Sale of Pets in Stores - National Humane Education Society

Paws Up! To Illinois Governor Pritzker for signing a bill that will require pet stores to only offer shelter animals up for adoption.

August 28, 2021

Illinois has just joined ranks with California and Maryland for banning retail pet stores from selling animals obtained from commercial breeding facilities, or puppy mills. Retail pet stores often get their supply of puppies, kittens, and other companion animals from commercial breeding facilities that are infamous for their lack of concern for the well-being of the animals in their charge. Often times, these puppies that are sold to retail stores are not given proper veterinary care and are susceptible to many illnesses that manifest after they have been sold to unsuspecting customers.

Here are just a few reasons why puppy mills should no longer be in operation:

• Dogs live in wire cages stacked on top of each other. Urine and feces fall through the cage floors onto animals below.
• Puppies and breeding dogs in mills are given little water and food and no veterinary care.
• Puppy mills do not have adequate temperature controls.
• Puppies and breeder dogs are raised in the absence of enrichment with no human interaction.
• Many puppies are fed kibble laced with antibiotics to keep bacterial infection at bay. Meanwhile, they are not vaccinated against diseases like parvo virus or distemper.
• Breeder dogs are forced to produce litter after litter until they die; they do not leave the puppy mill. Puppies may become breeders or are sold wholesale to pet stores.

Illinois Governor Pritzker and state legislators took a stand against the cruel and inhumane institution of commercial puppy breeding by enacting HB 1711 . While the state cannot ban the facilities from existing, the state can persuade them to leave by limiting how and where the animals can be sold. So, 180 days after the signing of HB 1711, commercial puppy mills in Illinois will no longer be able to sell animals in retail stores!

From now on, retail pet stores may only source animals from animal shelters or animal control in the state of Illinois.

Take Action: Way to go, Governor Pritzker! Take a moment to say THANK YOU to Governor Pritzker for helping to reduce animal suffering in the state of Illinois. Don’t live in Illinois, California, or Maryland? Contact your state representatives and tell them to pass a similar law in your state!