Mamaroneck, New York, made history in February 2016 when the town council passed the first ban on the retail sales of dogs and cats in the state of New York:
The Village of Mamaroneck becomes the first municipality in New York to pass a ban on commercially-bred animals within its borders.
The usual pushback was attendant with the ban with one council member frightened of litigation from stores or even from the state which made it difficult for local jurisdictions to ban stores in 2000.
A 2000 state law that created the state licensing and inspection program for pet dealers prohibited municipal oversight of pet stores and home-based breeders. The state Agriculture and Markets Department had few inspectors and in the past five years levied penalties only in about 50 of 800 failed pet dealer inspections, [senior state director of ASPCA government relations for the Northeast, Bill] Ketzer said. “Local governments were kind of growing increasingly frustrated with their inability to protect themselves locally.”
The previous law didn’t cover wholesale pet sales from large-scale breeding facilities, also known as puppy mills, which is as important if not more so than regulating local pet stores, Ketzer said.
Westchester lawmakers want to combat ‘puppy mills’
But the rest of the council was having none of it, with the mayor stating,
When you’re a responsible elected official, you can’t be intimidated by what could happen. You can’t govern scared. I have full confidence that this law will stand any appeal.
Mayor Norm Rosenblum
The ban was not challenged.
Later that year, New York Attorney General’s Office sent a letter to the state’s municipalities and county governments urging them to pass pet dealer/puppy mill regulations within their jurisdictions. Article.
Just one month later, in March 2016, Mount Pleasant, New York, passed a ban.
But recently, the Mount Pleasant town council wanted to amend their law by removing shelter and rescue language.
The ordinance when passed in 2016 read:
§ 84-1 Prohibition on sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in pet stores.
Municipal code
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell any live dog or cat in any pet store, retail business or other commercial establishment located in the Town of Mount Pleasant, unless the dog or cat was obtained from an animal shelter or a humane society located in the County of Westchester, or a nonprofit rescue and humane organization registered with the New York State Department of Agriculture.
B. For purposes of this section, a rescue and humane organization is defined as a New York State nonprofit corporation that is exempt from taxation under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3), participates in early age spay/neuter of animals, complies with state and local laws regarding the humane treatment of animals, and whose mission and practice is, in whole or in significant part, the rescue and placement of dogs and/or cats.
As of September 2019, the ordinance reads:
§ 84-1 Prohibition on sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in pet stores.
Ordinance
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to sell any live dog or cat in any pet store, retail business or other commercial establishment located in the Town of Mount Pleasant.
Both our Google Map entry for Mount Pleasant and the Jurisdictions roster have been updated.
