Bill that would stop pet stores from selling animals from puppy mills takes big step towards becoming law

HOUSTON - On Wednesday, the Texas House passed HB 1818.

"We are so excited about House Bill 1818," said Tena Lundquist Faust co-President of Houston PetSet. "This is an important bill for the state of Texas and for the animals in the state of Texas."

The bill would stop the pipeline between puppy mills and the pet stores in Texas that sell them.

"We define a puppy mill as a commercial facility that essentially puts profits over the welfare of the animals they have in their care," said Lauren Loney Executive Director of the Humane Society of the United States.

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That non-profit did an expose on puppy mills that sell to Texas pet stores, most are from out of state.

"Profit is placed over the welfare of these animals and ultimately the consumer as well because these puppies can also get humans sick," Loney said.

Under current law, pet stores are not required to tell you anything about the animals health.

"The city of Houston already has an animal overpopulation crisis," said Gloria Zenteno, founder of Barrio Dogs. "We don’t need businesses selling puppies for thousands of dollars that end up being sick."

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HB 1818 would require pet stores to sell animals from shelters and rescue groups that desperately need homes. Those animals are all vaccinated spayed and neutered.

"We are still euthanizing at least 100,000 plus animals each year in the state of Texas," Lundquist-Faust said. "It really doesn’t make any sense to bring animals from outside the state of Texas into a state where we are killing them essentially."

The bill would not affect licensed legitimate breeders or counties with less than 200,000 residents.