Bloomington officials are upset that the legislature is attempting to pass a bill that would prevent local ordinances from prohibiting pet sales. House Bill 1412, authored by Rep. Beau Baird of Indianapolis, passed a House committee Monday. The bill was proposed as a way to establish strict state regulations for pet sales in order to avoid the emergence of puppy mills.
Bloomington’s ordinance that bans dog and cat sales passed in December 2021 and went into effect this month.
Read more: Local ordinances to ban dog sales at pet stores eliminated under House bill
Isabel Piedmont-Smith, council member at the City of Bloomington and co-sponsor of the ordinance, said she is frustrated that the state is interfering with the community’s sentiments on the issue. The ordinance was originally added to the city’s municipal code because residents were concerned about the health of dogs and cats that came from mills and were sold in pet stores. The Humane Society of the United States provided data and video supporting the position that living conditions at mills were poor.
“Who can best represent the will of the community democratically? It's the local leaders who live here and have their finger on the pulse of what our residents want,” Piedmont said. “I disagree both because for the welfare of animals, it's good to have such ordinances. And I disagree because it's meddling in what should it be — a local decision.”
Piedmont-Smith said if the bill is passed, Bloomington would have to update their municipal code to allow pet stores to resume selling cats and dogs. She said the city could send a consultant lobbyist to the statehouse and organize people to testify at the hearings. Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, an association of cities and towns in the state, could also potentially take action.
Read more: Law bans pet shops from selling dogs and cats in Bloomington. Will their businesses fold?
“They [AIM] might lobby against it, because they are always concerned about maintaining the rights of cities and towns to regulate their own affairs,” Piedmont-Smith said. “Other than that, I don't really know what we could do.”
While the ordinance bans the sales of cats and dogs, it does states that pet shops can host cats and dogs from animal shelters and non-profits, and owners could not benefit from the sale or display of the animals. The ordinance does not cover online sales of animals.