PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia City Council will consider a moratorium on backyard dog breeding under a bill introduced at Thursday’s session.
Council member Cindy Bass said non-professional breeders mating dogs in their backyards have created an overpopulation crisis at the city’s ACCT shelter, which leads to the euthanization of healthy, adoptable dogs.
“Every litter means more dogs in our shelter, more cost to taxpayers, and more suffering that we can prevent,” she said.
Bass said ACCT did a study on Huskies at the shelter and found that nearly half of them share DNA.
“Most DNA overlap was 30% to 40%, indicating that they were parents, offspring, half-siblings, and cousins,” she said.
Bass said that’s four times higher than what most shelters see. She says her bill would enforce a temporary pause so existing dogs could find homes.
In other cases, she cited instances of backyard breeders not adhering to professional standards or properly training the dogs they breed to not be violent.
“One unvaccinated puppy that hasn’t been dewormed can spread parasites that both dogs and people can catch,” said Bass. “Too many backyard dogs end up sick, unsocialized, or on the streets, which puts everyone at risk.”
Still, Bass does not want her bill to be punitive.
“This isn’t about criminalizing anyone. It’s about giving our community time to stabilize and heal,” she said.
The bill will get a committee hearing before council votes on it.