Our draft response to legislative questionnaire
1. What do you see as the key issue(s) raised by the bill?
The key issue is that current California law fails to identify or stop the sources of illegal or unethical pet sales—including backyard breeders, puppy mills, online scammers, and underground brokers—because enforcement is aimed only at direct sellers. These operators hide behind fake names, online ads, and interstate transport networks that make tracing impossible.
Our bill closes this gap by targeting the common denominator of all these operations: advertising and transport. Every commercial seller must advertise or ship animals to make money. By making platforms, publishers, airlines, and ground carriers responsible for verifying seller compliance before accepting ads or shipments, the bill cuts off access to the market for every non-compliant actor, regardless of size or location.
This approach is comprehensive, enforceable, and built around the simple principle:
If you can’t prove compliance with state law, you can’t advertise or transport animals into our state.
2. Describe in detail the problem in law.
How we know this is a problem
The problem:
• California’s existing statutes prohibit pet stores from selling animals supplied by commercial breeders and regulate brokers in limited ways.
• However, the law does not provide any mechanism to identify or stop individuals or businesses that operate entirely online or across state lines.
• Anyone can post an ad on a website or social-media page, use a fake name, collect deposits, and ship sick or misrepresented animals into the state.
• Enforcement agencies have no registry, no verification mechanism, and no way to trace the source once animals are shipped or ads are deleted.
Evidence:
• Investigative journalism (e.g., Los Angeles Times, 2024) documented thousands of animals imported under false paperwork, often from out-of-state puppy mills, and revealed that records were routinely destroyed or falsified.
• Consumer-protection complaints filed with the Attorney General and humane societies consistently show scams, sick puppies, and lost deposits.
• Local rescues and shelters report increased intake of animals bought online and surrendered shortly afterward, often with health or behavior issues.
• These patterns are widespread and documented; enforcement officials acknowledge that the lack of traceable ads or transport records is a major obstacle.
The current law punishes small-scale violators who can be caught, but lets the large-scale online trade continue unchecked.
3. How does your solution address the problem?
Our bill attacks the problem at its root — the advertising and transport systems that make illegal sales possible.
Key features:
1. Advertising Verification: Any website, publication, or platform that accepts ads for the sale of a dog, cat, or rabbit must verify that the seller is compliant with state law—registered, holding sales tax numbers, valid veterinary health documents, and disclosing origin.
2. Transport Verification: Airlines, ground carriers, and other transport services may not accept animals for shipment unless the shipper provides proof of compliance.
3. Liability and Safe Harbor: Platforms and carriers that ignore verification duties face civil penalties; those that implement state-approved verification systems are protected by safe-harbor provisions.
4. Record Retention and Reporting: Ads and shipment records must be retained and made available to enforcement agencies, enabling tracing and transparency.
5. Exemptions: Genuine shelters, rescues, and service-animal programs are exempt.
By placing responsibility where the money flows—on the platforms and carriers that enable sales—the bill removes the infrastructure that underground breeders and scammers rely on to reach buyers.
4. Source — Who is requesting introduction?
Sponsor: Fair Pet Foundation and FairPetLaws.org
Proposed by: John Ross
Our director developed the proposal after years of documenting untraceable online pet sales and fraudulent underground breeding operations.
5. Background Information
• The 2019 retail pet-store ban reduced visible commercial sales but drove the trade online.
• Websites and social-media ads replaced store windows, and animals are now shipped into California daily from out-of-state mills and backyard breeders.
• Previous bills addressed brokers and contracts but never solved the identification problem—no mechanism exists to detect or intercept these sellers before they reach consumers.
• This bill provides that mechanism by targeting the points of visibility—ads and transportation.
6. Contact Information
Carolyn Coradeschi
Fair Pet Foundation
Carolyn@FairPetFoundation.org
7. Legislative History — Similar Bills
Several bills (e.g., AB 519, AB 506, AB 2248, SB 312) sought to curb online pet sales and brokered animals, but none included a workable system to identify or block underground sellers.
They failed to reach the actual access point—the advertisement and transport channels—and therefore could not be effectively enforced.
8–9. Session / History / Why Past Efforts Failed
Past efforts targeted only direct sellers or brokers, not the advertising or shipping systems. Lawmakers cited enforcement difficulty and definitional issues. Our bill resolves this by using verification tools (state registry, Sales Tax Numbers and California Certificates of Health) and leveraging the business models of large intermediaries who already screen users for payment and fraud purposes.
10. Is your proposal different? How?
Yes. It is comprehensive and preventive, not punitive or piecemeal.
Instead of chasing violators one by one, it removes their ability to reach the market.
All prior legislation left loopholes for “private sellers,” “online advertisers,” or “transporters.”
Our bill unifies those categories under one rule: no ad or shipment without proof of compliance.
11. Relevant studies, audits, or reports
• Los Angeles Times investigative series (2024): “Inside California’s Underground Puppy Pipeline.”
• Consumer protection reports (California AG, BBB, and humane societies) documenting widespread pet-sale scams.
• Data from shelter intakes showing correlations between online puppy sales and surrender spikes.
• USDA/APHIS animal transport regulations (as baseline comparison).
These sources demonstrate both the scale of the online trade and the enforcement gaps.
SUPPORT / OPPOSITION
12. Likely Supporters
• Animal-welfare and rescue organizations (Fair Pet Foundation, ASPCA, Humane Society affiliates, ALDF).
• Consumer-protection advocates.
• Local governments and shelters burdened by abandoned or sick imported animals.
• Responsible breeders who already comply with health-certificate and disclosure laws.
13. Likely Opponents
• Large online classified and social-media platforms that profit from animal-sale ads.
• Airlines and transport companies that currently accept bulk puppy shipments without verification.
• Trade associations representing high-volume breeders and brokers.
14. Anticipated Concerns & Responses
Concern: “This creates new burdens on platforms and carriers.”
Response: The bill provides safe harbors for good-faith verification using simple, automated checks (upload of state registration or CVI). Platforms already verify identity and payment information; compliance screening is comparable.
Concern: “This could affect legitimate rescues or private re-homing.”
Response: The bill explicitly exempts registered rescues, shelters, and genuine private transfers that do not advertise animals for sale.
Concern: “Interstate commerce or preemption issues.”
Response: The law applies only to advertising or transport transactions that target California consumers or involve animals entering the state, a traditional and lawful use of state police power for consumer protection and animal welfare.
15. How would this affect Assembly District 44?
• Consumers: Fewer scams and healthier pets.
• Local shelters: Reduced intake of sick or abandoned imported animals.
• Legitimate rescues: A fairer marketplace where compliance is rewarded.
• Platforms/Carriers: Incentive to adopt automated verification, boosting public trust and reducing fraud.
Summary Message for Lawmakers
Our bill doesn’t chase violators one at a time — it turns off their microphone.
By holding advertisers and carriers accountable for verifying compliance, we finally make it impossible for unlicensed breeders, puppy mills, and scammers to profit in our state.
