Philadelphia City Council passes 3-year ban on "backyard" dog breeding as shelter populations increase

Philadelphia City Council has passed a "backyard breeding bill" that will ban small breeders from continuing to breed dogs and adopt out puppies younger than 7 months old for the next three years.

Advocates say the bill will help curb an increase in the number of stray and abandoned dogs in the city and help shelters reduce overcrowding. Mayor Cherelle Parker would still have to sign the bill into law.

The bill requires anyone who owns a female dog in city limits to "take reasonable measures" to prevent the birth of a litter of puppies, and not offer up puppies younger than 7 months old for adoption or sale.

"Reasonable measures" are defined in the bill as: "spay surgery, supervision, confinement, and/or separation from intact male dogs, to prevent the birth of a litter of puppies."

Restrictions in the bill don't apply to anyone who has a valid kennel license in Pennsylvania, nonprofits or animal rescue organizations, or one-time transfers of a single puppy in a transaction without profit.

"For those who are saying, well, breeders don't actually impact dogs coming in here, they do," Sarah Barnett, the executive director of ACCT Philly, said. "And I'm not saying it's intentional, I'm not saying it's their fault all the time. Some of them it is, but sometimes it's unintentional. But the end result is still the same, which is that we're having to kill dogs that have no issues because we don't have space."

Councilmembers unanimously passed the legislation in a meeting Thursday, after heated public comment from supporters and detractors, including the American Kennel Club.

"Some have suggested that responsible breeders just get a kennel license to be exempt, but that is not a workable solution in Philadelphia, for small hobby breeders do not meet the state licensing threshold," Charley Hall, an AKC representative, said in the hearing.

Hall said the AKC wanted the bill to be tabled so a stakeholder group could workshop legislation that considered "feasible alternatives" like expanding spay/neuter programs and animal cruelty or negligence laws.

"Working together, we can stop the flow from irresponsible breeders and improve animal welfare and fewer dogs entering Philadelphia's shelters," Hall said prior to the vote.

Others stressed that the situation at local shelters was dire and required quick action. 

One ACCT Philly volunteer said that she counted 119 large dogs on a recent visit to the facility, including 103 pitbulls, when she visited this week.

"Does anyone have any idea how hard it is to find a home for 103 pitbulls?" the volunteer said.

"Unlicensed backyard breeders sell precious little pitbull puppies when they are like, 4 weeks old and weigh 6 pounds. But when that dog is fully grown, they can easily weigh 65 pounds, then they end up at ACCT cause the owners don't have time for them," the volunteer said.

Sammi Craven, who said she was a New Jersey resident, said the bill "directly addresses one of the main drivers of shelter overcrowding" if the city could not expand shelter space.

She also highlighted that shelters like ACCT Philly have taken in more dogs in recent years. Data in ACCT Philly's annual reports also backs up that claim.

The shelter took in 6,880 dogs in 2024, up from 6,065 in 2023. That number increased to 7,430 in 2025, according to data on ACCT Philly's website.  

"We want to be here for the community," Barnett said. "They very clearly need our services. The percentage of dogs that owners surrendered last January was 33%. This January, it was 55%, and it was 100 more dogs than last year. So the community needs us. But in order for us to be there for them without dogs paying the price of their lives, we've got to crack down on these unintended litters and the intended litters."  

The reports say housing insecurity was the biggest reason for the increase, as people moving out or becoming homeless were not able to keep their pets and then surrendered them to the shelter.

ACCT Philly is also above capacity and they're offering people $200 to foster a dog for four weeks.