Retail dog sales to continue in Indianapolis, as new state law voids Indy ban

The Indianapolis City-County Council's attempt to outlaw the sale of dogs in retail pet stores has now been overruled at the state level, as Gov. Eric Holcomb this week signed a bill reversing the city's ban in favor of proposed regulations.

House Bill 1412, dubbed the "canine standard of care" bill, will require pet stores and animal care institutions to register with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health and be subject to inspection. But it also nullifies ordinances, such as Indianapolis', that prohibit the sale of dogs at pet stores. Opponents argue the bill will allow sales from inhumane commercial breeders, commonly referred to as "puppy mills," to run unchecked.

Thanks to the new state law, four pet stores in Marion County that would have had to either stop selling dogs or change their business model will likely be able to continue doing so.

"I'm disappointed that there were 21 local ordinances passed across the state, but the General Assembly didn't see the diversity of political opinions these represent and give some deference to cities to manage their animal populations themselves," said Councilor John Barth, a Democrat representing Indianapolis's 7th District who helped craft its ordinance.

"Carmel and Indianapolis, which have differing political philosophies, were completely aligned on this issue," he said.

More: Controversial 'puppy mill' bill passes Indiana House

What the bill says

The new law will require the Board of Animal Health to establish a public registry of commercial dog brokers, breeders and retail pet stores. It also requires the Board to conduct inspections of these facilities but does not share specifics on who must inspect where and when.

The stores and other entities will need to publicly post confirmation of their registry with the state. The law also requires retailers to accept the return of a dog within three days, for any reason, without charging more than 10% of the dog's sale cost as a return fee.

Retailers and breeders may be fined or have privileges revoked by the Board if found to be in violation of the law.

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Beau Baird, R-Greencastle, said during a January committee hearing that his bill would "address the root causes of unethical breeding practices."

Baird called the bill "anti-puppy mill." He cited 2023 committee hearing testimony on a previous version of his bill in which he said the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals explained that local ordinances banning the sales of puppies does not effectively decrease demand to puppy mills.

"This measure aims to empower consumers by providing them with the essential information about the dogs they are purchasing, fostering transparency and responsibility in breeding practices," Baird said during the hearing.

The ASPCA disagreed with Baird's characterization of its statements, telling IndyStar that it opposed HB 1412.

"HB 1412’s singular goal is to insulate pet stores and their suppliers by preventing localities in the state from enacting ordinances that prohibit cruelly bred dogs from being sold. The remaining provisions included in the bill are there simply as window dressing and do not add any meaningful restrictions on where pet stores can source dogs,” said Sana Azem, ASPCA senior legislative director for the Midwest division.

Indianapolis's ban

Last March, the City-County Council adopted Proposal 57, which banned the sale of commercially raised dogs, cats and rabbits in retail pet stores. Businesses were given a two-year grace period to adapt to the change and could continue to sell animals sourced from rescues.

The Council argued this move, which had already been adopted in Carmel, Bloomington and a dozen other Indiana cities, would decrease demand for animals from unscrupulous breeders and lower the amount of unwanted animals landing in the city's already overcrowded shelters.

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Some 440 municipalities and several states, including neighboring Illinois, had banned sales in a similar way, the Council noted.

According to Barth, the ordinance took years to craft and included input from the city's animal welfare institutions. The ban would have affected four stores: two Uncle Bill's Pet Center locations, Happiness is Pets and Puppygram Indiana.

Pet store owners not in favor

Owners of retail pet stores in Indiana lobbied both city and state for regulation rather than an outright ban.

At a February 2023 Council committee hearing, Uncle Bill's CEO Lori Wilson called the proposed ban "anti-commerce" and "anti-consumer."

"We would probably have to move out of Marion County (if the measure passed)," Wilson said at the time.

IndyStar reached out to Wilson for further comment this week but did not receive a response.

Attempts to reach ownership at Happiness is Pets and Puppygram were not successful. An automated message that plays whenever Puppygram is called noted it sells dogs only from "prescreened breeders" and not puppy mills.

Samantha Chapman, Indiana State Director for the Humane Society of the United States, also told councilors at the 2023 committee hearing that pet stores, including national chain Petland, were actively lobbying the state.

City and state at odds, again

Barth, with the City-County Council, called the new state law's funding plan into question.

"This is a local preemption bill that purports to have enhanced enforcement, but the truth is that there is no funding to support enhanced enforcement," Barth said. "So, that equals zero enforcement."

Rep. Baird did not respond to a request through a spokesman to comment on Barth's statements and his bill.

Barth said a lack of laws banning retail dog sales could make Indiana cities a target for retailers who use questionable breeders.

He pledged to continue the work in finding some way for the city to fight against puppy mills and lower the amount of unwanted animals in Marion County.

A new city ordinance

Elaine Thiel, vice president of Indianapolis Professionals Advocating for Animal Welfare, an organization pushing for relief in rescue shelters through lobbying for ordinance's like Indianapolis's, said animal welfare groups are not done working with the city to address puppy mills.

"Indianapolis has an overpopulation problem, and a group of people are working with the city on a breeding ordinance," Thiel said.

This new ordinance would enact similar control measures as those spelled out in the state law, including requiring that all breeders register their animals and keep them in humane conditions. But unlike HB 1412, Thiel said, it will include funding for actual enforcement by the city.

It was Thiel's understanding that such a new ordinance would not be prohibited under the state's recently signed law.

Rory Appleton is a reporter at IndyStar. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on X, formerly Twitter, at @RoryEHAppleton.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana 'puppy mill bill' signed into law, voids Indianapolis ban