Saying they already have a list of 50 known pet breeders, Fresno Humane Animal Services representatives said a new county ordinance will allow them to shut down operations impacting shelters.

Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the county’s new dog and cat breeding ordinance, forcing anyone who breeds pets — whether accidentally or intentionally — to get a license or face fines. Supervisors Garry Bredefeld and Brian Pacheco sponsored the ordinance.

“There has to be close to 50 (dog breeders),” said Maria Garcia, shelter manager with Fresno Humane Animal Services. “But that’s only from what we do know. And those are people that are intentionally breeding, and then we have other people who just don’t believe in spay and neuter that we have to educate.”

The shelter is offering free microchipping from now until July 3, which is the busiest time of year for the animal shelter, county staff say.

Dog Breeding Hurts Efforts to Move Away from Euthanasia: Bredefeld

Bredefeld also worked on the dog breeding ordinance at the city of Fresno passed in 2024. He said even though the city and county built their shelters to avoid euthanasia, dog breeding has made that difficult.

“The goals for both animal shelters have been on rescuing animals and not euthanizing them,” Bredefeld said. “We continue to have significant challenges with overpopulation of animals. One of the big reasons for this is the illegal dog breeding that’s taking place in the county of Fresno.”

The ordinance allows the county to fine $1,000 for each dog and cat sold. Repeat violators can also face six months in jail for misdemeanor charges.

Fresno City Manager Georgeanne White said having a unified ordinance means better enforcement.

“When irresponsible breeders continue to add to the problem without consequence, it directly undermines our effort and limits our ability to create meaningful, lasting change for animals in our community,” White said. “We look forward to working with our colleagues at the county of Fresno on this community problem.”

A Single Litter Can Occupy and Entire Kennel: Garcia

Of the 1,970 dogs the shelter has taken since the beginning of the year, 1,011 were puppies under six months of age, Garcia said at a news conference Tuesday announcing the ordinance.

 “Most of the population coming in is abandoned puppies and litters and moms coming in with several litters,” Garcia said.

The shelter can only house a little more than 100 dogs, so a single litter of puppies — sometimes as many as 12 dogs — can fill an entire kennel, Garcia said.

And they regularly encounter people who refuse to have their dogs or cats spayed.

The county will help find homes for those animals, but the process often turns into a cycle, she said.

 Garcia said the ordinance allows animal services to now tell people they have to fix their pets or face fines or jail time.

“That also is something that we’re going to use so that the unintentional breeders are going to get educated on it and let them know that they do have to fix their pets or it could result in fines,” Garcia said.

Roaming Dogs Can Be a Public Health Crisis

Veterinarian Dr. Whitney Janzen with Animal Medical Clinic praised the ordinance calling it a “step in the right direction.”

“I do foresee difficulties with enforcement, and it should definitely be coupled with community education and more resources to support spay/neuter and rescue for people that want to be responsible with their pets but lack the knowledge and resources to get there,” Janzen said.

She previously told GV Wire about the public health dangers posed by roaming animals.

Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes said the ordinance will help in rural areas where he’s seen more roaming packs of dogs than he’s ever seen before.

“I’ve been farming for almost 50 years and I’ve never seen it as bad as it is today — the amount of dogs that are actually just running around free in packs,” Mendes said.

The county has previously had to take in dogs from breeders. At one home, county staff found two nursing mothers with a litter each, said Sim Dhillon, health education specialist with the Department of Public Health. One litter had parvo and all of them died. The county took in the other litter and treated them before they contracted parvo.

Owners had been breeding and selling the puppies before they agreed to spay and neuter their dogs.

At a hoarding case near the Fresno Yosemite International Airport, Fresno Humane removed 130 animals from a small residential property over a period of time dating back to 2020, Dhillon said.

“If you have one home out there that’s doing illegal breeding, being able to literally overwhelm our facility at the county, you know something needs to be done,” Supervisor Nathan Magsig said.