Local officials are asking area residents to contact their legislators in response to a bill they say would undo local efforts to stop puppy mills.
State Bill 157 is due to be discussed by the Kentucky State Senate’s Agriculture Committee Tuesday, and in a post on their Facebook page the Hardin County Animal Shelter said the bill “would force communities to allow the sale of puppy mill puppies and kitten mill kittens in pet stores.” The animal shelter also says the bill would prevent the enforcement of previously approved ordinances in Elizabethtown and Radcliff that ban such sales.
Elizabethtown City Council Member Julia Springsteen said during Monday’s city council meeting that she would be going to Frankfort to speak against the bill. She said there’s still time for residents to voice their opposition.
“If you have a minute (Tuesday) to call your state senator, please tell them you oppose SB 157,” Springsteen said. “It’s about preemption of our ordinance. It’s about consumer protection, and it’s also about the humane treatment of animals, and we do not want that bill to pass.”
A request for comment from the bill’s sponsor Jason Howell was made to the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission but has not yet been answered.
