Testimony of: Deborah A. Howard, Founder/President, Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS)
Submitted to: Illinois Senate Agriculture Committee
Regarding: SB 2990
Date: March 12, 2026
Chairperson Turner and honorable members of the Illinois Senate Agriculture Committee, on behalf of CAPS and its supporters in Illinois, I thank you for considering my testimony on behalf of SB 2990. CAPS is requesting that the Illinois Agriculture Committee pass SB 2990, which amends 225 ILCS 605 (Animal Welfare Act). Through a loophole in the definition of “dog dealer,” the Illinois Department of Agriculture has been allowing five pet shops to continue to sell puppies. The intent of the original law was to ban the retail sale of dogs and cats while providing stores with the ability to showcase homeless animals for adoption. Please see our pet shop investigation reports and video exposé below.
Mission
Founded in 1992, the Companion Animal Protection Society (CAPS) is the only national nonprofit dedicated exclusively to protecting companion animals from cruelty in pet shops and puppy/kitten mills. CAPS addresses animal suffering through investigations, outreach, legislation, legal advocacy, consumer assistance, rescue, and shelter reform.
Background
When consumers buy puppies and kittens from pet shops, they condemn the parents to further inhumane treatment in mills – large commercial breeding facilities, most of which are USDA-licensed, that mass-produce puppies and kittens for resale in pet shops and online. By its very nature, the pet shop and puppy/kitten mill industry creates an endless cycle of animal overpopulation, mistreatment, and consumer deceit, causing needless shelter euthanasia and costing defrauded consumers millions of dollars each year.
CAPS’ Expertise
With decades of experience focusing exclusively on all aspects of the pet shop and puppy/kitten mill industry, CAPS is uniquely qualified to provide expert testimony and investigative evidence. We have strong relationships with key players in all levels of government, other nonprofits, and the media. CAPS is the only national organization that investigates inside USDA-licensed dog and cat breeding facilities (more than 1,000 to date). Our investigators have worked undercover at the largest USDA dog broker in the country and at the most notorious dog broker/breeder, who had a facility with 900 adult dogs and 400 puppies and was convicted and lost her USDA license based on our evidence.
Pet Shop Legislation
CAPS has generated and worked on municipal ordinances banning the retail sale of pet shop puppies, kittens and IB in cities and states across the country. Times and Newsweek have covered CAPS’ work as the national leader in the pet shop ordinance movement. Since our West Hollywood ordinance passed in 2010 – the genesis for the ordinance movement in the United States and Canada – municipalities and states in the United States and Canada have passed more than 500 ordinances and state laws. CAPS was behind New York’s retail ban law, investigating all 100 of the state’s pet shops and many of the breeders and brokers supplying these stores.
Pet Shop Investigations
CAPS is well-versed in pet shops that sell puppies and kittens. Two of our investigators worked undercover at Petland franchises. “Dateline” featured some of our Petland evidence in the hour-long segment, “A Dog’s Life,” which took 13 months of close work between the producer and CAPS. The exposé, which examined every aspect of the pet shop/puppy mill industry, won a Genesis award. CAPS has conducted undercover investigations of every pet shop selling puppies/kittens in New York, California. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Washington and Oregon, and around half of the pet shops in Florida. We have also investigated pet shops in numerous other states. After investigating the pet shops, we investigate the puppy and kitten mills selling to them.
CAPS Investigations of Illinois Pet Shops Still Selling Puppies
Furry Babies in Aurora and Lombard are violating 225 ILCS 605 by selling puppies
https://www.caps-web.org/furry-babies-lombard/
https://www.caps-web.org/furry-babies-lombard/
King Neptune’s Pet World in Shorewood is violating 225 ILCS 605 by selling puppies.
https://www.caps-web.org/king-neptunes-pet-world/
The Perfect Pup in St. Charles is violating 225 ILCS 605 by selling puppies.
https://www.caps-web.org/the-perfect-pup/
Thank you for your consideration.
