In a historic move, on Wednesday (Jan. 8), the Las Vegas City Council voted to ban the sale of animals (including puppies, kittens and piglets) from mills.

According to the ASPCA, these "mills" are "large-scale commercial [animal] breeding operations where profit is placed above the well-being of animals," where animals are "bred without consideration of genetic quality." This can cause animals to suffer from myriad health conditions throughout their lives -- in the case of dogs, this can include epilepsy, heart disease and respiratory disorders among others.

Mills often sacrifice the health and well-being of animals for monetary gain. "To maximize profits, female dogs are bred at every opportunity with little to no recovery time between litters," the ASPCA says on its website. "When they are physically depleted to the point that they no longer can reproduce, breeding females are often killed. The parents of the puppy in the pet store window are unlikely to make it out of the mill alive — and neither will the many puppies born with overt physical problems."

Las Vegas joins a growing list of cities across the country that have taken measures to bar or limit the sale of animals from mills. News3LV reports, "Existing pet stores will have two years to comply. They will have to sell animals from shelters, rescue operations, or humane societies."

MTV News has reached out to the ASPCA for comment.