N.M. Pet Stores to Require ‘Hobby Breeder’ Permits

Bernalillo County, N.M., commissioners moved Tuesday to prohibit the sale of cats and dogs at pet stores unless the store has an approved hobby breeder permit, according to the commissioners’ administrator.

The measure was approved as an amendment to an animal control ordinance also approved at the Board of County Commissioners meeting.

Details of the permitting process were not immediately available.

The animal control ordinance sets forth adequate food and space requirements, among other things, for pet shops, groomers, kennels, breeder sites, and shelters. It defines “pet shops” as “any premises, or part thereof, open to the public which engages in the purchase, sale, exchange or hire of animals of any type, except the term shall not apply to premises used exclusively for the sale of livestock.”

The commissioners had initially posited the idea of instituting a ban on the sale of pet shop cats and dogs. At that time, a suggestion was also made to ban sales of cats and dogs coming from “puppy mills” or “kitten mills.”