The village of Mamaroneck is the first municipality in the state of New York to ban the sale of commercially bred animals in local pet stores.
This unprecedented law was passed by a 4-0 vote, with one trustee abstaining, at a raucous Board of Trustees meeting last month after weeks of discussion and public hearings. Trustee Leon Potok, a Democrat, abstained from the vote out of fear of a potential lawsuit.
The law, dubbed “Public Local Law D-2016” was proposed by Mayor Norman Rosenblum, a Republican, and passed with the help of Susan Chana Lask, an attorney based in Manhattan. Lask said she became involved with the local legislation when a village resident emailed her asking for help. Although Lask is a litigator, she speaks to towns nationwide about animal protection. “I do that out of passion, pro bono,” she said.
Though Lask and Rosenblum faced opposition from some members of the village board citing concerns over the constitutionality of the mayor’s proposal, Lask told the Review that she has worked on at least four federal cases that would upheld the legality of the law.
“You’re not prohibiting the sale of all animals, you’re just regulating the source,” she said.
The law, as written, states that pet stores within the village may only sell animals that come from animal shelters or humane societies within New York state. Under the law, no animal that comes from a breeder or puppy mill is permissible to be sold in the village of Mamaroneck.
The push for legislation began in August 2015 when residents began protesting a local pet store on Mamaroneck Avenue, then named Best Breeds Puppies and Kittens. The owner of the store at the time, Richard Doyle, of Mahopac, New York, has been in trouble with the law multiple times. He has been charged with three counts of misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, and one count of selling a diseased animal. One of his store fronts, located in Wappingers Falls, New York, has since closed. In December 2015, he was arrested at one of his other store fronts in Mohegan Lake on two felony counts of witness tampering.
The storefront in Mamaroneck was sold to a new owner in December, Kevin Casiraghi, who renamed the store National Breeders. However, Lask investigated the license number posted on a dog cage in the store, which was connected to a breeder in the Midwest who, according to Lask, was laden with violations. Some of the violations included shivering animals, the use of unapproved medications and animals who had not been examined by veterinarians.
When reached by phone, an employee at National Breeders declined to comment.
Part of the problem with regulating the source of animals, according to Lask, is the 120 U.S. Department of Agriculture inspectors that inspect breeders nationwide “do not have the resources to police these puppy mills.” She told the Review that their job is to simply give breeders in violation a notice—not to fine them or shut them down.
As for Rosenblum, the vote proved to be a victory he was eager to celebrate.
“I could not be prouder to be part of any community, anywhere in the United States,” the mayor said.
