A very merry Christmas for animals
In the news: State bans declawing and online broker sale of commercially-bred kittens, puppies, and bunnies. No Kill Sheltering. Boiling lobsters alive to be banned. State bans Horseshoe Crab harvesting. U.S. military banned from conducting painful experiments on dogs and cats. Military also banned from shooting live animals. State bans abalone harvesting through 2036. A new year, a new opportunity to save lives.
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
State bans declawing and online broker sale of commercially-bred kittens, puppies, and bunnies
On January 1, California’s new welfare laws will take effect, most notably a ban on cat declawing and a ban on third-party pet brokers from selling, offering for sale, or making available for adoption dogs under one year of age, cats, or rabbits.
Declawing cats causes long-term harm that extends far beyond the initial surgery. Declawed cats suffer from chronic pain, impaired mobility, and permanent nerve damage. And contrary to conventional dogma, studies also show that banning the practice does not lead to cat relinquishment as “owners are able to manage normal scratching behavior and retain cats in their homes without needing to resort to onychectomy [declawing].”
Meanwhile, pet stores generally get their animals from Commercial Breeding Enterprises (CBEs), commonly known as “puppy mills.” CBEs engage in systematic neglect and abuse of animals, leaving severe emotional and physical scars on the victims. One in four former breeding dogs has significant health problems, is more likely to suffer from aggression, and is psychologically and emotionally shut down, compulsively staring at nothing.
In 2017, California became the first state in the nation to pass legislation banning the retail sale of commercially-bred dogs, cats, and rabbits in pet stores. (The law became effective on January 1, 2019.)
These laws serve three purposes:
Encouraging people to adopt/rescue;
Educating the community about dog, cat, and rabbit abuse in mills; and,
Stopping that abuse.
And they work. “Nebraska Department of Agriculture records show that half of the state’s commercial dog and cat breeders have left the business” because of retail pet store sales bans.
The California legislature then passed a law banning the financing of dogs and cats purchased online, aiming to reduce the number of commercially-bred puppies and kittens entering California through online sales. Now, California has taken another step to reduce the number of milled animals entering California.
As many CBEs pretend to be small hobby breeders by selling pets through online brokers, AB 519, passed by the legislature and signed by the Governor, prohibits third-party pet brokers from selling cats, puppies, and rabbits bred by others for profit in California.
No Kill Sheltering
The No Kill Advocacy Center published its Winter 2025 issue of No Kill Sheltering. As a thank-you, patron-level donors of my Substack page also receive it.
The current issue covers:
How to reform the local pound;
Ending animal cruelty through technology;
The last gas chamber;
A noble legacy saves over 2,000,000 animals (you can make it more);
A glimmer in the dark: 2025 in review.
And more.
Boiling lobsters alive to be banned
