The Indiana State Senate has passed the controversial “Puppy Mill Bill” also known as House Bill 1412, preventing cities from banning the sale of dogs at pet stores, 21 Alive News reported.

The bill now awaits a final signature from the governor before it is put into action.

According to Jonathan Lawler, head of the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare, the measure would force pet businesses to only buy animals from ethically responsible breeders and to provide buyers with all the information about the animals they are selling upfront.

Samantha Chapman, Indiana state director at The Humane Society of the United States said that since the bill gets rid of current rules about selling dogs at retail pet stores, it can lead to more sourcing from controversial puppy mills.

She said: “Really, what this legislation allows is for a puppy-selling pet store to open in any Hoosier city.

“And now that the guardrails are being taken off in terms of local ordinances limiting the sale of dogs and cats sourced from puppy mills, it allows pet stores to expand across the Hoosier state.”

A puppy mill is a “factory farm” for dogs, where the well-being, comfort and health of the dogs are subordinated to the needs of the business. The conditions of these mills are often filthy, brutal and appalling. 

Nearly all pet stores that sell puppies are supplied by mills.