Urge State Lawmakers to Stop the Puppy Mill Pipeline
The California State Senate is scheduled to vote on AB 519 soon. We need your help to urge your senator to vote YES! Advancing this bill will bring California another step closer to ending puppy mill cruelty. Please use the form below to send your email and encourage your lawmakers to support two other important bills for dogs.
While retail puppy sales ended in California a few years ago, an investigative report conducted by the Los Angeles Times uncovered a disturbing underground puppy resale market that uses deceptive tactics to keep the puppy mill pipeline alive in our state.
In partnership with San Diego Humane Society and the ASPCA, state lawmakers have introduced a package of bills to close these legal loopholes and keep puppy mill cruelty out of California for good.
Each bill attacks the problems from a specific angle. As a package, they will stop the out-of-state breeders who continue to trick unknowing Californians into purchasing cruelly bred dogs. We need your help to pass them before the 2025 state legislative session ends in August.
1. Closing the “Puppy Broker” Loophole (AB 519)
A puppy broker is a middleman who obtains puppies in bulk from commercial breeders and resells them to consumers. This bill will clearly define the term “broker” under California law and prohibit them from selling or transferring a dog, cat or rabbit for profit in California. People can still obtain a pet directly from a breeder, breed-specific rescue or shelter, but this bill closes a loophole that has enabled consumer fraud and animal cruelty.
2. Protecting Pets from Predatory Practices (AB 506)
This bill relates to puppies purchased online and shipped to individuals in California. Many websites that sell puppies are giant, largely unregulated marketplaces, representing puppy mills all over the country. These sites function as puppy brokers, too (see above). This bill will stop them from charging predatory, nonrefundable deposits and require the websites to disclose the original source of each pet, making families less likely to be tricked into purchasing from a puppy mill.
3. Puppy Importation Transparency Act (SB 312)
This bill also relates to puppies purchased online and shipped to individuals in California. It will protect the health and welfare of puppies transported into the state for sale by improving protocols around health certificates, the official documents certifying a pet’s health. The bill will define the criteria for a complete health certificate and require that these certificates are submitted to state authorities within 10 days of transport. Most notably, this bill boosts transparency by requiring state authorities to make health certificates publicly available in compliance with the California Public Records Act.
What You Can Do
Please use the language below — or create a personalized message — to send a message to your State Senator, urging them to pass AB 519. Let’s stand up for vulnerable animals and shut down California’s puppy mill pipeline for good.
Find the contact information for your Senator HERE
Sample Message:
As a constituent in your district, I strongly urge you to vote YES on AB 519, a critical bill that will prohibit predatory puppy and kitten brokers from selling or transferring dogs, cats or rabbits for profit in our state.
AB 519, part of a three-bill package designed to close the final valve of the puppy mill pipeline into California, is focused on ending the “puppy broker” loophole in current legislation. Puppy brokers obtain puppies in bulk from commercial breeders and resell them to consumers, often online. They present themselves as trustworthy, claiming that the animals they sell come from “highly regulated” breeders. However, puppy brokering is a predatory industry that hides cruel breeding practices and misleads consumers with wholesome images and minimal information about the animals they are purchasing. This practice allows puppy mills — which are illegal in our state — to continue to reach Californians at a time when our shelters are overflowing with adoptable pets.
AB 519 will prohibit pet sales by brokers, finally putting a stop to predatory middlemen who operate online and promote cruel. large-scale, profit-driven breeding practices. This bill does not harm responsible breeders but protects consumers from unknowingly purchasing animals from deceptive brokers.
California has the opportunity to ensure that we no longer import cruelty in our state. I urge you to support AB 519!
Published: July 7, 2025
