LOXAHATCHEE, FL (Boca Post) (Copyright © 2025) — Governor Ron DeSantis is rolling out a new plan he says is aimed squarely at shutting down unethical puppy mills and giving shelter dogs a better shot at finding homes.
While holding a press conference at Big Dog Ranch Rescue in Loxahatchee, DeSantis said the proposal would bring the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation into a tighter partnership to regulate dog breeding statewide. Through that plan, DBPR would be directed to license dog breeders and hold accountable operations that mistreat animals, including by overbreeding them, leaving them outside in extreme weather, cramming them into small cages, or limiting their access to water.
“In Florida, we will always fight to protect man’s best friend,” DeSantis said in announcing the proposal. He added that the package is designed to “end unethical puppy mills, hold accountable abusive breeders, and help shelter dogs find loving homes.”
One piece of the proposal would create a statewide hotline for people to report suspected abuse by breeders. The idea is to give residents a direct way to flag bad actors so regulators and law enforcement can crack down more quickly when they see patterns of neglect or cruelty.
Another element targets how pet stores use their floor space. Under the proposal, pet stores would be required to offer space to local shelters for adoption events before using that same space to sell dogs from large-scale breeding operations often described as puppy mills. With shelters around Florida facing overcrowding, state officials say putting more adoptable animals in front of the public inside stores could help reduce euthanasia and ease pressure on local facilities.
The proposal also points to new legislation aimed at stiffening penalties for people who abuse or torture animals in front of a child. While details are still being developed, the governor’s office says the goal is to increase the consequences in cases where animal cruelty is carried out in a way that can traumatize minors who witness it.
DeSantis tied the new plan to recent animal protection laws he has already signed. Earlier this year, he approved Trooper’s Law, named after a dog who was abandoned on the side of the road as Hurricane Milton approached. According to the governor’s office, Trooper was found by the Florida Highway Patrol and is now living with a new family, but officials say he likely would have died if troopers had not intervened. Under Trooper’s Law, it is now a felony in Florida to abandon and restrain a dog during a state of emergency.
He also highlighted Dexter’s Law, which followed the killing of a dog just days after it was adopted. That law created a sentencing multiplier for anyone convicted of torturing, mutilating, or killing a dog. It also set up a database of people convicted of animal abuse, giving shelters a way to screen out offenders and prevent them from adopting pets in the future.
Taken together, the measures and the new proposal reflect a broader push from the governor’s office to tighten Florida’s response to animal cruelty, especially in the dog breeding and adoption world. Supporters say licensing breeders, opening up store space to shelters, and raising penalties in the most serious cases could change how abusive operators do business and how quickly they are held accountable.
For now, the puppy protection plan remains a proposal, but DeSantis is framing it as the next step in a series of efforts to protect dogs across the state — from those abandoned ahead of a storm to those trapped in overcrowded breeding facilities.
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