Proposal to crack down on illegal breeders across the Las Vegas Valley
LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A forthcoming proposal would stiffen penalties for illegal backyard breeders, make it harder for them to get a license and limit the amount of animals legally bred across Clark County.
The initiative comes from Commissioner Michael Naft, who will instruct county staff Tuesday to craft an ordinance to amend county code regulating animal breeders. It’s an effort to tackle the surge of abandoned and unwanted animals at local shelters across the Las Vegas Valley.
The proposal comes on the heels of a high-profile breeding case involving 39 French Bulldogs and “mixes” seized from a home in a police bust. The dogs were taken to the Animal Foundation and have since been adopted.
The Animal Foundation said illegal breeders contribute to the overbreeding of “designer” or popular dogs, and many of them often end up with health problems-- and eventually, the shelter.
“We’re looking at the backyard breeders that, without any regulation, and without very good health considerations for the welfare of the animals, are breeding thousands of pets on an annual basis unregulated and throughout the community,” Naft said. The commissioner helped propose and pass a ban on animals from breeders and puppy mills at local pet stores.
“A lot of these animals wind up in the overcrowded shelters. The municipal shelter is already overcrowded and having a struggling time taking care of the animals that they do have to take care of,” Naft said.
The proposed changes could include stiffer penalties for illegal breeding, limits on the amount of licenses for breeders, and limits on the number of animals that can be bred annually.
According to county officials, there are 128 licenses for breeders or show permits.
Since 2023 through July 2024, Animal Control officers have given 133 citations for illegally selling animals.
Fines for illegal breeding are $500, or the sale price or offered sale price of an animal.
Naft said, after an illegal breeder is cited, they are given a guide on how to pursue a path for a license to operate legally, and that, he said, is a problem.
“You’re rewarding the bad behavior and you’re bringing people into a system who have done something that is not only against county code and law and ordinance, but is detrimental to the animals and to the consumers,” he said.
Advocates with Nevada Voters for Animals argue that local laws should go further and create a moratorium on licenses for breeders. The City of Los Angeles created a temporary moratorium on permits for breeders while the shelter is overcrowded.
“There’s just not enough homes for the numbers of animals that are being bred right now... they’re surrendering litters because they they can’t sell them,” said Gina Greisen of Nevada Voters for Animals.
Griesen has been lobbying local leaders from different Las Vegas Valley cities to enact their own city-wide moratoriums on breeders.
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