AUGUSTA (AP) — Animal lovers in Maine want the state to ban the sale of dogs and cats born at what they say are often inhumane out-of-state breeding operations.

But pet store owners say passing such a law would only hurt their businesses while failing to address the underlying problems of the so-called “puppy mills.”

Both sides made their case Thursday at a hearing before the Legislature’s Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee.

State Rep. Kimberly Monaghan has sponsored a bill that would make Maine the first state in the nation to prohibit pet stores from selling dogs and cats not born and raised by that shop.

The Cape Elizabeth Democrat says 95 percent of puppies and kittens sold in Maine pet stores were obtained from “out-of-state, large-scale breeding facilities.”