Dog Legislation

considered that may affect them or their dogs. ALL of the information on this page, unless otherwise stated, originated at the American Kennel Club's website at www.akc.org. For a complete and detailed list of all legislation affecting dogs and dog owners please go to the American Kennel Club's website. If you are aware of legislation that you would like listed, feel free to email the information to me. After verification, I will post it.

ABOUT THE AKC AND CANINE LEGISLATION:

In conjunction with it's network of Legislative Liaisons, the American Kennel Club's Canine Legislation Department monitors and provides input for federal, state and local legislation governing responsible

dog ownership. AKC Canine Legislation also provides position statements.

For a complete list of all proposed bills or results of bills passed or defeated, PLEASE refer to this

link at the AKC website. ->> http://www.akc.org/news/sections/legislative_alerts.cfm

I can only list a few of the many bills or bans proposed and introduced. It is in each dog owners interest

to stay informed about dog legislation or laws around the country. Let your legislators know how you

feel about a particular bill or law that is being considered.

For more information by phone:

AKC Canine Legislation dept.
919-816-3720
doglaw@akc.org

Listed below:

**Ohio HB 606 Seeks to License Breeders

**Sacramento County Mandatory Spay/Neuter Law

**Proposed Changes to the Pennsylvania Dog Law Regulations

Ohio HB 606 Seeks to License Breeders

[Thursday, October 19, 2006] Ohio State Representative Jim Hughes is sponsoring HB 606, a bill that would establish a licensing framework and standards of care for certain dog kennels, dog intermediaries, animal rescues, and animal shelters. The bill was introduced in June and remains in the Rules and Reference Committee awaiting a referral to a policy committee.

The American Kennel Club, as well as several local breeders, fanciers, concerned dog owners and other affected groups, have been working closely with Rep. Hughes' staff regarding the concerns with HB 606. Rep. Hughes has received these comments, is conducting an open dialogue with interested parties, and intends to introduce a revised bill.

While AKC has significant concerns with HB 606, some incorrect information has been circulating. Specifically, there is an email stating that under the bill a breeder would have to pay the following annual license fees; 9-25 dogs - $5000, 26-50 dogs - $10,000 and 51+ dogs - $50,000. The actual requirement in the bill is to obtain a surety bond in those amounts. These bonds function as a type of insurance that would be used by the state to cover the cost of housing the dogs if they were confiscated.

The bill does include licensing fees based on how many dogs the kennel is capable of housing. AKC has expressed concerns regarding the proposed fee structure and how the bill identifies which breeders are required to be licensed and inspected. .

The Canine Legislation Department staff will continue to be involved with this issue and will post updates to the website as it progresses.

For more information, contact the AKC Canine Legislation Department at doglaw@akc.org or 919-816-3720.

[Wednesday, December 13, 2006] This was the last release of information from the AKC legislative alerts pages at the last check on June 8th, 2007. I will update with more info as it becomes available.

Ohio State Representative Jim Hughes introduced a substitute House Bill 606 before the State Government Committee on December 7th. The original bill set the threshold for licensure as an establishment that keeps, houses, and maintains nine or more adult dogs. Rep. Hughes' substitute bill modifies the definition of those covered by the licensure requirement as an entity housing nine or more breeding dogs maintained primarily for the purpose of reproduction, providing stud services to produce at least one litter of puppies per calendar year, or whelping that has produced at least one litter of puppies per calendar year.

The substitute bill removes boarding kennels, animal shelters, and rescue organizations from the licensure requirements. The substitute bill retains the same licensing fee structure and surety bond requirements as the original bill and maintains the requirement that all license applicants must undergo a background check, including fingerprinting.

The December 7th State Government Committee hearing was to hear sponsor testimony only and the Committee has scheduled no additional hearings on HB 606 as of this date. The AKC Canine Legislation Department will continue to monitor HB 606 during the remainder of Ohio Legislature session scheduled to adjourn December 19, 2006.

Defeat the Proposed Changes to the Pennsylvania Dog Law Regulations
[Monday, April 30, 2007]
Last year, Pennsylvania Governor Rendell requested that the Department of Agriculture develop new dog law regulations. With little input from potentially affected parties, the resulting proposals, as published in January, attempt to impose many egregious requirements upon Pennsylvania dog breeders, including:

•Requiring licensing of thousands of small residential hobby and show breeding households under a “temporary housing” provision.

•Imposing space and exercise requirements that are not based on any scientific or accepted animal husbandry practices.

•Mandating excessively burdensome non-verifiable record-keeping requirements.

•Compelling costly renovation or rebuilding of all kennels that already comply with current federal and/or state standards.

In response, the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission issued a biting 21-page commentary on the proposal, and concluded that, “the Department should consider starting from scratch…with input from both stakeholders and the General Assembly.”

The American Kennel Club and the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs strongly support humane treatment of dogs, including an adequate and nutritious diet, clean water, clean living conditions, regular veterinary care, kind and responsive human companionship, and training in appropriate behavior. However, we do not believe that the proposed changes will achieve these aims. It is crucial that you take action to ensure that these proposals are no longer considered.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Print and distribute the attached flyer to your friends and fellow dog owners and urge them to oppose the proposed dog law regulations. Click here.

Pennsylvania residents, immediately contact your state representative and state senator. Urge them to withdraw the proposed dog law regulations. Go to http://www.legis.state.pa.us/ to find the names and office telephone numbers of your state representative and senator.

Write opinion letters to your local newspaper opposing the proposed dog law regulations.
For more information, contact:
The Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs online at http://home.paonline.com/pfdc/ , or e-mail at PFDC@paonline.com.
AKC’s Canine Legislation Department at (919) 816-3720, or e-mail at doglaw@akc.org.

Sacramento County, CA Considers $150 Intact Animal Fee

[Thursday, June 22, 2006]

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will meet July 18th to discuss a proposal to adopt a $150 intact animal fee. The proposed ordinance also sets up a reduced $50 intact animal permit for those who meet certain conditions, establishes a $10 fee to transfer an animal over the age of four months, and requires all dogs and cats to wear a suitable collar or harness with the license tag attached. Fanciers and concerned dog owners should contact their representative on the Board of Supervisors immediately to oppose this burdensome measure!

The following fees and requirements would be instituted:
**A $15 license fee for sterilized dogs and cats
**A $150 license fee for each intact animal
**A $50 reduced intact animal fee for qualifying show animals
**A $10 fee to transfer an animal four months or older
**To qualify for the reduced $50 intact animal license, you must meet ALL of the criteria:

1. The dog or cat must be registered with the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club, American Dog Breeders Association, International Cat Association, the Cat Fanciers or other valid registry as approved by the Department.
2. Participates in at least one event sanctioned by a national registry and approved by the Department within the previous 12 months or prove that the dog or cat has achieved a title from a purebred dog or cat registry. In the event that an owner can not show proof that the animal has been shown in the previous 12 months, the Department shall have the discretion to determine whether this subsection has been met.
3. The owner does not breed the animal. In order to breed the dog or cat, a $150 intact animal permit would need to be obtained.

Fanciers should not be fooled by these narrow exemptions – this is a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance and will negatively impact all animal owners. Once restrictions like this are in place, it is easy to narrow them even further, possibly excluding the low priced license altogether. These high fees also make it cost prohibitive for many people to participate in the sport of purebred dogs and in the end punish responsible owners simply for choosing to keep their animal intact.

The new ordinance would also define a commercial establishment as “a place where commodities are exchanged, bought, or sold. This shall include but not be limited to pet stores or other commercial businesses selling animals.” It is unclear what ramifications this could have for responsible hobby breeders who sell puppies from their homes. Many communities have regulations prohibiting commercial activities in areas that are zoned residential. Therefore, if a hobby breeder selling a litter out of their home was considered to be a “commercial establishment,” this could be devastating to responsible breeders in Sacramento County.

In my opinion, California shows it's almost militant attitude toward all dog fanciers and breeders. This bill will have the harshest effect on true hobby breeders that are involved in dogs or the sport of dogs for the love they have of those dogs, not for the single purpose of profit as commercial breeders or backyard breeders.

UPDATE: April 2007

AB 1634 Passes Assembly — The Fight Continues
Assembly Bill 1634, the California bill that will require any dog or cat over the age of four months to be spayed or neutered unless the owner qualifies for and obtains an intact animal permit, has passed the California State Assembly on a vote of 41-38, the bare minimum needed for passage. The vote tally is listed below.

Please thank the legislators who voted to oppose AB 1634. We need to let them know how much their support means to us.

AB 1634 will now proceed to the State Senate.

Concerned dog owners, breeders and fanciers are encouraged to contact their State Senator and ask him/her to oppose AB 1634. Remember, hard copy letters are better than emails and office visits are even better!

For more information, contact:
                               Sacramento Council of Dog Clubs
                               Joan Gibson Reid
                               jgrcorgis@aol.com

                              AKC’s Canine Legislation department
                              919-816-3720
                              doglaw@akc.org