California is set to become the first state in the US to ban the sale of non-rescue animals in pet shops.
The new law, known as AB 485, takes effect on 1 January.
The change means cats, dogs and rabbits sold by retailers cannot be sourced from breeders, only from animal shelters.
The new state-wide law, approved in late 2017, will now require shops to maintain sufficient records of where they sourced each animal, for periodic checks by authorities.
Some Californian shop owners have raised concern the law could put them out of business.
AB 485 is the first state-wide law of its kind, although other places have enacted similar regulations on pet sales on a local level.
Lucy's law, named after a mistreated cavalier King Charles spaniel, also aims to combat low-welfare animal breeding. »
