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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.<\/p>\n
Florida has more puppy-style pet stores than any other state in the nation, according to Humane World for Animals.<\/p>\n
The organization\u2019s Florida State Director, Kate MacFall, explained that those types of stores often rely on puppy mills with inhumane conditions to stock their kennels.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf someone wishes to breed, then there should be some guidelines, and currently there are not,\u201d MacFall said.<\/p>\n
In recent years, there have been efforts to require breeders to be licensed by the state and implement best practices to improve conditions.<\/p>\n
There have also been attempts to create consumer protections to ensure pet owners aren\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n
But those efforts have largely fallen on deaf ears.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt 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\u2019re able to get this done,\u201d Governor Ron DeSantis said during a Tuesday press conference.<\/p>\n
Now, there\u2019s renewed hope, with Governor DeSantis throwing his weight behind all of those proposals ahead of the upcoming session.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019ll be good for Florida. I think it will be good for everybody, but it will particularly be good for man\u2019s best friend,\u201d DeSantis said.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
MacFall said she is hopeful the Governor\u2019s support will finally get the pet protection proposals over the finish line.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re 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,\u201d MacFall said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear whether all the proposals will be packaged into a single bill or filed as separate pieces of legislation.<\/p>\n
Session starts in January.<\/p>\n
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