Stop Pet Stores From Profiting Off Animal Suffering

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Sponsor: FreeKibble

Every puppy sold in a pet store keeps a mother dog trapped in a cage—act now to break the cycle of cruelty.

Stop Pet Stores From Profiting Off Animal Suffering

Every time someone buys a puppy or kitten from a pet store, there's a high chance that animal came from a large-scale commercial breeding operation—a puppy or kitten mill. These facilities treat animals like products, not living beings. Breeding dogs and cats are locked in filthy cages, denied proper care, and forced to produce litter after litter until their bodies give out1.

Pet stores don't just overlook this cruelty—they fund it. Nearly all puppies and kittens sold in retail stores come from these commercial mills2. Marketing terms like “USDA-licensed” or “family-raised” are meant to comfort buyers, but they obscure a system built on lifelong confinement, suffering, and disposability.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees licensed commercial breeders, has failed to act. In 2024 alone, despite hundreds of documented violations—including denying animals food, water, and medical attention—only two dealers lost their licenses. Not a single dog was removed from an abusive facility3.

Why Retail Sales Must End

Retail pet sales are the retail front of the puppy mill industry. Without pet stores, commercial breeders would lose a primary source of profit. That’s why more than 400 cities and multiple states have already passed bans on retail pet sales—and why a federal law is the next essential step4.

These policies work. When pet stores are required to partner with shelters and rescues instead of mills, it saves lives, reduces shelter overcrowding, and ends the suffering upstream. Families still find loving animals to bring home—but without fueling cruelty behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, thousands of animals in shelters wait for homes. Many of them were surrendered after being purchased from pet stores, sick or traumatized, and more than their new families could manage5. Ending retail pet sales isn’t about limiting choice. It’s about doing right by the animals we claim to love.

This Industry Will Not Change Without Action

Petland remains the last major national chain still selling puppies—and it’s linked to dozens of facilities exposed in the Horrible Hundred reports for repeated neglect, disease outbreaks, and even animal deaths6. They won’t stop unless forced to.

At the federal level, the USDA has failed to enforce even its own minimal standards. And without congressional action, retail stores will continue to sell animals bred in cruelty while consumers are left in the dark3.

We must demand better. No store should profit off abuse. No dog or cat should be born into misery just to sit behind a glass wall.

Stand Up for Dogs and Cats

Join the call for a nationwide ban on the retail sale of commercially bred dogs and cats. Urge the Secretary of Agriculture and members of Congress to take immediate action and require pet stores to partner with animal shelters and rescues instead.

Let’s stop cruelty where it starts. Sign the petition today.

More on this issue:

  1. Best Friends Animal Society, "What Are Puppy Mills and Why Are They Bad?."
  2. PAWS, "Buyer Beware: The Problem with Puppy Mills and Backyard Breeders."
  3. ASPCA (2024), "Puppies Left to Perish: USDA’s Failure to Protect Vulnerable Dogs."
  4. Humane World for Animals, "Puppy Mills."
  5. Rover, "Can You Spot the Difference Between a Puppy Mill and a Reputable Breeder?"
  6. Humane Society of the United States, (2025), "2025 Horrible Hundred Report."

The Petition

To the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and Members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce,

We, the undersigned, call upon you to introduce and support federal legislation that would prohibit the retail sale of dogs and cats sourced from commercial breeding operations, and instead require all pet stores in the United States to partner exclusively with shelters and animal rescue organizations.

Each year, millions of puppies and kittens are bred in large-scale commercial facilities, also known as puppy and kitten mills, where animals are treated not as sentient beings, but as inventory. These animals suffer in overcrowded, unsanitary cages with little to no veterinary care, human interaction, or space to move. Their sole purpose is to reproduce, litter after litter, until they are no longer profitable and are discarded.

Pet stores serve as the primary sales outlet for these cruel industries. Though often marketed as family-owned or USDA-inspected, many stores receive animals from mass-breeding facilities known to violate even the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act. Meanwhile, millions of healthy, adoptable animals are euthanized each year simply because they lack homes.

This is not just an animal welfare issue—it is a matter of public trust, consumer protection, and basic human decency. Americans deserve to know that their purchases are not funding suffering. The animals who share our homes and lives deserve better than to be born into misery so that pet stores can profit.

We urge you to act now. Ban the retail sale of commercially bred dogs and cats nationwide, and require that all retail pet sales come exclusively through verified shelter and rescue partnerships. Doing so will close the pipeline of cruelty that feeds puppy mills, relieve the burden on our shelters, and offer second chances to animals who need them most.

Together, we can shape a future where compassion, transparency, and responsibility define how we treat companion animals. By taking this step, you will help ensure a better future—for animals, families, and communities alike.

Sincerely,