Legislative Alerts

The American Kennel Club supports a bill filed in the United States House of Representatives that would add federal protections for the pets of victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence.    Known as the “Pet and Women Safety Act of 2015” (PAWS), H.R. 1258 is principally sponsored by Congresswoman Katherine Clark […]

March 30, 2015 Committees will vote TOMORROW, March 31, 2015, on two bills of grave concern to all dog owners in Tennessee.  The committees will vote to accept and approve amendments to House Bill 1142 and Senate Bill 1020.  These amendments would delete the current language in the two bills and insert new language that […]

March 30, 2015 A bill is scheduled for a hearing TOMORROW (Tuesday, March 31) in the North Carolina Senate State and Local Government Committee that would allow Raleigh law enforcement and peace officers to adopt the animals they worked with or handled during the animal’s service.  A companion House measure (HB 199) has passed committee […]

Monday, March 30, 2015 Connecticut House Bill 6187, which will be considered by the Connecticut Joint Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, April 1, seeks to permit courts to order that a separate, independent advocate be assigned to represent the interests of an animal in a criminal proceeding in which the welfare or custody of the animal […]

The NY Assembly has approved a statewide ban on debarking, and now the bill is pending in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The AKC opposes this bill, which would restrict the rights of responsible dog owners to make viable, safe decisions on behalf of their pets in conjunction with their veterinarian. Read AKC’s previous Legislative Alert […]

Wednesday, March 25, 2015 Minnesota Senate File 1325 seeks to modify the use of certain traps used in hunting, and would require the reporting of pets or companion animals found caught in traps.  SF 1325 is currently pending in the Minnesota State Senate after being passed by both the Environment and Energy and Judiciary committees.  […]

A bill to regulate pet breeders is scheduled to be voted on by the House Business and Labor Committee on March 24. House Bill 608 seeks to establish licensing, inspections, regulations, fees, and penalties for dog and cat breeders.  It would define a “commercial breeder” as: A person or entity who owns, keeps, or harbors […]

Earlier this session, bills were introduced in both the Maryland House and Senate that would have prevented owners from tethering dogs outside for an hour when the temperature was below a certain temperature, regardless of breed or whether any precautions or shelter were provided. The AKC strongly believes that no dog should ever be kept […]

Tomorrow, March 20, 2015 at 9:00 a.m., the Arkansas House Committee on Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development is scheduled to consider an amended version of House Bill 1620 as a special order of business. This bill would establish regulations, fees, inspections, and problematic requirements for dog breeders. Provisions of concern with HB 1620 include, but […]

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a comprehensive passenger train bill that in requires Amtrak to develop a pilot program that would, when feasible, designate at least one car where passengers may transport a dog or cat if the pet is in a kennel that can be stowed according to Amtrak’s requirements for carry-on […]