Gov. Josh Stein vetoed a bill on Wednesday that would have made it easier for people to evict squatters from their homes because it had an unrelated provision about pet stores. The provision would prevent cities and towns from regulating the sales of pets inside the stores.
The veto was praised by animal rights groups. The inclusion of the provision in a bill about squatting was met with confusion
Back in 2019, Davidson Mayor Rusty Knox dealt with something unimaginable. Two squatters moved into his deceased parents’ home and refused to leave. They used a hide-a-key to break in-- claimed allegiance to a sovereign citizen group and filed their own deed on the house.
“For me, it was invasive,” he said. “It was sad to think that that you can be that vulnerable to somebody that’s willing to just take your property and has no remorse about it whatsoever.”
Like many people, Knox was confused what pet stores have to do with squatters.
“I don’t understand why this has anything to do with a bill that deals with squatters and property owner rights,” he said. “Why would you tag something like this on it. It literally makes no sense to me at all.”
In his veto message, Stein said the bill would facilitate inhumane puppy mills in North Carolina.
“This legislation originally addressed squatters, and I supported it,” Stein said. “At the last moment, however, an unrelated amendment was added that prohibits local governments from regulating pet stores. This bill would facilitate inhumane puppy mills in North Carolina. Without this provision, I would sign the legislation. With it, I cannot support it.”
Daryl Strickland of the FurBabies Animal Rescue agrees with Stein.
“This was definitely a step in the right direction to slow that down a little bit and make those puppy mills a little less productive,” she said.
A puppy mill recently stacked 12 dogs in a cage and dropped them off at her animal rescue. One puppy, Bunni, is still be nurtured back to health.
“Whenever the puppies go out to be sold in the pet stores and online, they look cute and fluffy,” she said. “But in the puppy mills, they’re walking in their own feces and they’re getting thrown food at whatever rate they want to do, because those animals don’t matter.”
According to WUNC, the amendment was added by a senator from the eastern part of the state who said pet stores should be regulated by the state and not cities and towns.
It passed the House with significant bipartisan support so it is possible it will be overridden when the House and Senate return to session.
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