LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Starting Saturday, Sept. 28, Louisville is banning pet stores from selling dogs and cats. The city's Metro Council voted on the measure in Sept. 2023. 

What You Need To Know

  • Louisville pet stores will no longer be allowed to sell dogs and cats beginning Saturday, Sept. 28

  • The Louisville Metro Council passed the ordinance in Sept. 2023

  • According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the country

  • Frankfort passed a similar ordinance Sept. 23

“It's a win, and any kind of win in the animal rescue world is a win for everyone,” said Thom Ham, executive director of The Arrow Fund. 

The Kentucky nonprofit rescues and rehabilitates animals who have experienced severe abuse.

“We like to take them (when) they've been physically, mentally abused by a human and try to make it right,” Ham said.

The Louisville ordinance aims to crack down on puppy mills, which Ham said can often cause health problems for pets.

“The whole goal for this is to make sure healthy animals get to people," he said. "We don't want to stop animals getting to people. We want healthy, happy animals to be getting to the people." 

According to the Humane Society of the United States, there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the country. Many pet stores get their animals from puppy mills, the HSUS said. 

“The whole point of selling through an avenue like a pet shop or something like a flea market is to keep people from seeing the cruelty at the source that is at the puppy mill,” said Todd Blevins, Kentucky state director, Humane Society of the United States. 

In February, Spectrum News 1 spoke to the owner of Pet’s Palace, one of only two independent pet stores in Louisville. He said the ban on selling cats and dogs would put him out of business.

"It's really a death blow to us," said Jay Hockersmith, former owner of Pet's Palace. "We are dependent on our kitten and puppy sales for the business to survive, so if we're not able to sell kittens and puppies, we can't survive." 

Hockersmith sold the pet store a few months later. The new owners shared on Facebook that “effective immediately, no dog or cat will ever be sold by us again, even if local ordinances change”.

Ham said an ordinance like this should have passed a long time ago.

“I think we're a little late to the party because so many other towns ... so many other states already have them,” Ham said.

The Louisville ordinance gave pet stores one year to adapt to the changes before going into effect.

Frankfort passed a similar ordinance Sept. 23, while Lexington’s ban goes into effect Nov. 1, 2024.

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