California’s pet sale laws were intended to protect animals and consumers. Instead, they are causing immediate and growing harm to pet buyers, responsible breeders, and animal welfare.

The current legislative framework, designed to curb unethical breeding practices and reduce shelter populations, has imposed disproportionate burdens on responsible breeders, increased costs and risks for families seeking pets, and ironically fueled the growth of unregulated and irresponsible breeding activity.

This is not a theoretical concern.

It is happening now.

Restrictions on lawful pet sales have already driven many reputable breeders to stop serving California families altogether. As responsible options disappear, families are increasingly forced into unregulated and often unscrupulous channels, where scams, unhealthy animals, and fraudulent guarantees are common.

At the same time, these laws impose severe legal and financial penalties that fall hardest on the very people who follow the rules.

As written, the laws:

Expose breeders to unlimited legal liability regardless of intent
Impose criminal penalties for paperwork or administrative errors
Require public disclosure of private breeder information
Create compliance costs that many responsible breeders cannot reasonably absorb
 
Faced with this level of risk, ethical breeders are making a rational decision: they are exiting the California market entirely.

When accountability leaves the market, risk increases for everyone else.

Who These Laws Affect

Families

California families are increasingly unable to access responsibly bred pets. Many are pushed toward anonymous online sellers, where fraud, misrepresentation, and unsafe practices are far more common.

Breeders
 
Small, ethical breeders who prioritize health testing, transparency, and lifetime responsibility are being forced out, not due to neglect or misconduct, but because compliance has become legally and financially unsustainable.

Animals

When breeding activity is driven underground, oversight disappears. Disease risk increases. Traceability is lost. Animal welfare declines.

This Is a Policy Failure - Not an Enforcement Failure
 
The current laws fail to distinguish between irresponsible mass producers and small, responsible breeders who meet high standards of care. Rather than eliminating bad actors, the framework removes good ones, leaving consumers and animals less protected than before.

While the intent of the law may have been sound, intent does not outweigh impact.

What Must Be Fixed Now

We are not asking lawmakers to weaken consumer protections.

We are calling for immediate, targeted amendments that:

Replace one-sided attorney fee provisions with fair, two-way standards
Protect breeder privacy by limiting unnecessary public disclosure of personal information
Use civil enforcement for administrative violations instead of criminal penalties
Align compliance requirements with real-world, ethical breeding practices

These changes preserve accountability while preventing further harm.

Why Urgency Matters

Every month these laws remain unchanged:

More responsible breeders exit the market
More families are exposed to fraud and unsafe sellers
More animals are bred without oversight

Once this damage occurs, it cannot be easily undone.

California still has an opportunity to correct course but delay will only deepen the consequences.

Our Request

We urge Governor Newsom and California policymakers to immediately review and amend pet sale laws that are producing clear, unintended harm.

Smart policy should protect animals, consumers, and ethical businesses at the same time.

If you believe California can do better, sign this petition.

Demand laws that protect animal welfare without driving responsible breeders out of California.

Fix these laws before more harm is done.

🔎 Learn More: Visit www.petprohibition.com to review the laws, understand the real-world impacts, and see why targeted reform is urgently needed.