TRENTON - Gov. Chris Christie has conditionally vetoed legislation that would have limited sales from so-called "puppy mills" and "kitten mills" across the state.

The state Legislature in March approved amendments to the Pet Purchase Protection Act that would have tightened requirements on pet dealers, established more government oversight of such businesses, and set stricter rules on where pet dealers can obtain animals.

The governor nixed those changes.

He conditionally vetoed Senate Bill 3041, saying the amendments risked being "potentially unconstitutional" and "burdensome" to pet businesses across New Jersey.

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New Jersey already has what some politicians and pet industry experts have called the strongest pet laws in the nation. The existing Pet Purchase Protection Act requires stores refund money or offer replacement pets when a veterinarian declares animals too sick or damaged to be sold. The law also allows owners to choose to keep the animal and have veterinary fees reimbursed.

Across the state, municipalities are passing ordinances aimed at stopping stores from selling animals from so-called "mills," where they are bred in large quantities and crowded conditions with limited access to health care.

Brick recently amended a municipal ordinance that will result in the closure of a local pet store, unless the store converts its business model by July 1 to selling only animals that have been surrendered, rescued or come from shelters.

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Christie's veto will have no impact on Brick's ordinance, Mayor John G. Ducey said in an email.

The governor said he support efforts to protect pet purchases from "unscrupulous pet dealers and pet shops," but added that "aspects of this bill go too far."

"In February of 2015, I signed... a sweeping amendment to New Jersey’s Pet Purchase Protection Act that made New Jersey’s already strict laws protecting consumers purchasing pets among the most restrictive and stringent in the country," Christie wrote in his conditional veto this week. "Rather than let that monumental, and unanimously supported, legislation take effect and assess its impact after a reasonable period of time, the Legislature waited less than a year to push a new bill that dramatically overhauls and expands the Act."

The bill he rejected would have required the state Division of Consumer Affairs to keep records of pet dealers from around the country who sell animals within New Jersey. Christie said the change would be too expensive and "potentially unconstitutional."

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The bill would have also restricted consumer access to pets, "even from responsible breeders," he said.

The bill would have increased financial penalties, up to $20,000, for pet stores that purchased puppies from breeders with violations issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The changes would have also included a "three strikes" penalty for stores that purchased animals on three occasions from breeders with violations, and closed the businesses.

The bill would have served consumers who want to buy healthy dogs from reputable, U.S.D.A.-licensed breeders, said Janice Fisher, coordinator of the puppy mill awareness campaign for Friends of Animals United New Jersey, an animal advocacy organization.

"It’s a sad day for animal advocates," said Fisher, who spent about two years working to get the bill passed.

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Some people in the pet industry have "made money off the backs of animals who are often inhumanely bred," she said.

The current law, Fisher said, fines pet stores who buy from "puppy mills" only $500, an amount that she said has little impact to businesses that sell a single puppy for as much as $4,000.

But Christie and advocates for the pet industry said New Jersey's pet laws are already the strongest in the nation.

Mike Bober, president and CEO of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, an Alexandria, Virginia-based organization that represents pet dealers, said in a news release the bill would have put private information about breeders on a state website.

The U.S.D.A. removed a database that housed breeder violations and other facilities that house animals, like zoos and research facilities, from its website in February after being sued over privacy concerns. The case is pending.

Without access to breeder information, Fisher said consumers have no way of knowing whether an animal comes from a facility that is negligent or caring of its animals.

Bober said placing information about breeders on a government website would be illegal and that the bill's "‘three strikes’ measure... could have put mom-and-pop stores out of business for administrative errors unrelated to animal welfare."

"By issuing his conditional veto, Governor Christie preserved New Jersey’s existing Pet Purchase Protection Act, the strongest set of animal and consumer protections in the country," he said in the press release. "He also saved hundreds of jobs throughout the state."

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Amanda Oglesby: 732-557-5701; aoglesby@GannettNJ.com