Legislation introduced last year in the New York Assembly and Senate to prohibit the sale of dogs born on “puppy farms” has been amended to substitute the term “puppy mills.”

The companion bills, Assembly 8502 and Senate 5608, define a “puppy mill” as “any business which breeds dogs for sale to pet dealers and sells or transfers more than 75 dogs for the purpose of resale to others”—the same definition used for “puppy farm” in the 2007 versions of these bills. This amendment essentially calls all puppy dealers and breeders puppy mills, even those that maintain the highest standards of care for their animals, said the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (Washington) in a recent Pet Alert.

The bills restrict a pet dealer or any person from selling, purchasing or receiving any puppy bred, sold or transferred by a puppy mill. The proposed legislation would have a “dramatic” impact on the availability of puppies for resale in New York, said PIJAC.

Although the legislation ostensibly is intended to address conditions in substandard facilities, there is no correlation between the size and quality of a facility, PIJAC maintains. The trade organization is continuing its talks with Republican Sen. Andrew Lanza, the bill’s sponsor.

Assembly Bill 8502 sits in the Assembly Committee on Economic Development. Senate Bill 5608 was passed by the Senate Committee on Consumer Protection with the amended language and has been placed on the Senate calendar for further action. [May 2008 PET AGE]