JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis is calling on the Florida Legislature to take aim at puppy mills and support a host of pet protection proposals in the upcoming legislative session.
Florida has more puppy-style pet stores than any other state in the nation, according to Humane World for Animals.
The organization’s Florida State Director, Kate MacFall, explained that those types of stores often rely on puppy mills with inhumane conditions to stock their kennels.
“If someone wishes to breed, then there should be some guidelines, and currently there are not,” MacFall said.
In recent years, there have been efforts to require breeders to be licensed by the state and implement best practices to improve conditions.
There have also been attempts to create consumer protections to ensure pet owners aren’t left in financial ruin by signing onto expensive payment plans, which can often be enforced even if a new pet becomes severely ill or dies soon after being purchased.
But those efforts have largely fallen on deaf ears.
“It always seems like the public supports it and then some way it gets killed here, it gets killed there or whatever. We want to make sure that we’re able to get this done,” Governor Ron DeSantis said during a Tuesday press conference.
Now, there’s renewed hope, with Governor DeSantis throwing his weight behind all of those proposals ahead of the upcoming session.
“I think it’ll be good for Florida. I think it will be good for everybody, but it will particularly be good for man’s best friend,” DeSantis said.
The Governor also called for increased criminal penalties for those who abuse animals in front of children, a requirement for pet stores to free up some of their store space to host shelter animals and the establishment of an animal abuse hotline.
MacFall said she is hopeful the Governor’s support will finally get the pet protection proposals over the finish line.
“We’re chipping away at it, and the more and more people care about protecting pets and realize the connection between the puppy mills and the retail sale, the more traction this will get because most people really do want to protect pets,” MacFall said.
It’s unclear whether all the proposals will be packaged into a single bill or filed as separate pieces of legislation.
Session starts in January.
>>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<<
[DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks]
[SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
