Las Vegas City Wire

Two new bills aimed at curbing animal abuse and neglect have been approved by the Las Vegas City Council. The legislation, passed on January 15, 2025, imposes a cap on the number of animals that can be sold by pet shops or breeders to a single person or household within a year. The limits are set at six dogs, six cats, four ferrets, four rabbits, and two guinea pigs. Additionally, penalties for violations have been established.

The primary goal of this bill is to prevent animal abuse and neglect often associated with hoarding situations or cases where one individual or household has too many animals under their care. The penalty for abandoning an animal has also been increased to $1,000. However, there is community concern that this fine should be higher.

"Under state law, we can only issue misdemeanor penalties up to a $1,000 fine," noted city officials. "The state legislature could decide in the future to give us additional power to set a higher fine." They encouraged residents interested in seeing stricter penalties to contact their representatives in the Nevada legislature.

Efforts continue from the Department of Public Safety and other departments to combat illegal breeding activities. Recent operations targeting unlawful puppy sales have led to numerous citations being issued and rescued dogs while significantly reducing illegal puppy advertisements.

"Stopping illegal breeding helps protect animals from neglect," said city officials. "It can lead to the discovery of additional community threats like illegal weapons." They added that the reduction in puppy ads demonstrates that proactive measures are effective in preventing further harm.

For those needing assistance with pet care, services such as food pantries and training boot camps are available through organizations like the Animal Foundation.