New York State, and Governor Kathy Hochul, won a court ruling over a law they claim helps pets, but in reality drives egregious pet mill operations underground, while at the same time shuttering businesses that kept a watchful eye and safe conditions for our beloved pets.
New York’s Puppy Mill Act will go into effect as scheduled on December 15 despite all efforts to delay it and allow time for something more sensical to be worked out. The Act bans pet shops from selling dogs, cats, and rabbits in New York.
Suffolk State Supreme Court Justice Frank Tinari's ruling said plaintiffs in the two cases, including three pet shops on Long Island, did not prove they would be irreparably harmed if the emergency injunction was not granted. This is even though the evidence was clear that this law would drive many, if not most pet shops out of business while doing nothing to shutter puppy mills.
From the perspective of generational pet shops, New York State is implementing a state takeover of their business via an onerous law.
When asked who benefits and whom is harmed by this law, Jon Gill, Creedon & Gill, P.C., attorney for the pet shops said it was clear. Good families who want healthy pets will now have a lot less choice. Shelters cannot provide the pure-breed companion animals that the public wants. Puppy mills will continue to thrive under the new law because people will still seek purebred pets. But, they won't have the security of knowing the mother and the pups are healthy and well-treated.
Gill said the clear ‘winner’ here is the government, “if you live in New York and you want a pet, you have to buy from a government-subsidized rescue or a government-run shelter. They are the only two places you can go.
“The shelters down here have just received huge grants from the government. The city shelters recently got $10.6 million to upgrade their shelters. The government just shut down this industry and made it a government monopoly,” Gill said.
Jessica Selmer, third-generation owner of Selmer’s Pet Land said, “In 1939 my immigrant Grandfather pursuing the American Dream opened his store in South Huntington, NY. He named it “Selmer’s Pet Land”. My father was born in that home that ultimately became a thriving business. This business defined my family and its legacy for 84 years in what is believed to be the oldest pet store in the United States.”
“Until…. Animal activists no longer felt that animals should be offered as companions. These activists felt that freedom of choice was irrelevant, and all animals should be from unregulated rescues,” Selmer added. Activists were relentless in their protests and lobbying.
There is a special irony that pet shops were considered “essential” in New York during COVID, and now the state thinks nothing of enacting legislation that puts them out of business.
Selmer said in her submission to the court, “The final blow was the signing of that misguided law by Governor Hochul put forward by Assemblywoman Rosenthal (a well-known extreme activist) and Senator Gianaris. It was a difference of opinion between unchecked activists and families who preferred to obtain their furry family member from a well-respected, well-regulated brick-and-mortar facility. We were deemed essential during the heartbreaking pandemic.”
Gill said, “I was surprised. I thought the judge was going to grant us a hearing to call witnesses to establish that this law was irrational.”
Instead, Judge Tinari ruled against the injunction without even having a hearing and listening to the evidence.
"My clients are disappointed with the court's decision as it spells the end of their long-standing legitimate retail businesses here in New York State," Gill said. " A hearing would establish that this puppy law was based on nothing more than a false narrative, and has no rational basis to its end goal of eliminating puppy mills."
Gill made it clear this ruling essentially closed his client’s businesses and that of hundreds of other pet shops across the state. “I'm going have to check with my clients if they want to continue because what's the point if we win the case two years from now after they are already closed.”