Britain bans puppy and kitten sales by pet shops

LONDON – Britain is forbidding puppies and kittens from being sold by pet shops in a bid to crack down on animal exploitation and abuse.

The government said it will roll out the legislation next year after holding public consultations that showed 95-percent support for the ban.

"This will mean that anyone looking to buy or adopt a puppy or kitten under six months must either deal directly with the breeder or with an animal re-homing centre," the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said on Sunday as part of its Christmas animal welfare push.

https://twitter.com/DefraGovUK/status/1076847491918843905

The measure is commonly called Lucy's Law in honour of a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel who was rescued from a puppy farm in Wales in 2013.

She had spent most of her life in a cage and was no longer able to breed because her hips had fused together from lack of movement.

A woman named Lisa Garner took her home and launched a social media awareness campaign that changed the way Britons get their pets.

The government said the new law will help "end the terrible welfare conditions found in puppy farming and solve a range of existing animal welfare issues".

Lucy died in 2016.