The Hawaii House Committee on Economic Revitalization & Business is scheduled to consider House Bill 1621 on Tuesday, February 8 at 8:00 a.m. This problematic bill places restrictions on dog breeding and limits dog ownership.
House Bill 1621 defines as a “large scale dog breeder” and requires licensing for any person engaged in the business of breeding intact female dogs who:
- Owns or harbors 20 or more intact female dogs over 6 months of age, or
- Owns or harbors 30 intact dogs over 6 months of age on the premises, or
- Sells 25 or more of the offspring in any one-year period.
Licensing fees, additional rules and recordkeeping requirements would be determined by the Director of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs.
AKC has strong concerns with several provisions in House Bill 1621, including but not limited to:
- Ownership limits – This bill would impose a limit of 50 dogs over the age of 6 months. Limits on dog ownership are arbitrary and ineffective, and punish responsible dog owners who take excellent care of their animals. Click here for talking points on animal limit laws.
- Arbitrary requirements – This bill would establish numerous engineering requirements for dog housing and enclosures that do not take into account a dog’s breed, age, or condition. These requirements could potentially prevent a licensed breeder from lawfully maintaining dogs within a residence.
- Unlimited inspections – This bill would allow inspections at any time during regular business hours of those portions of all buildings, yards, pens and other areas in which dogs are kept, handled or transported. There is no exemption for personal residences.
- Allows for the enactment of additional rules – This bill provides for the enactment of additional rules, for which violators would be subject to penalties of up to $1000 per day.
Read AKC’s Issue Analysis “The Value of Responsible Dog Breeders”
Read AKC’s Issue Brief on Responsible Breeding Practices
How You Can Help:
Contact Members of the House Committee on Economic Revitalization & Business prior to the meeting and ask them to vote “no” on HB1621. The committee meets at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 8.
Rep. Angus McKelvey, Chair
repmckelvey@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Isaac W. Choy, Vice Chair
repchoy@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Karen L. Awana
repawana@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Tom Brower
repbrower@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Cindy Evans
repevans@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Mark J. Hashem
rephashem@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Scott Y. Nishimoto
repnishimoto@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. James Kunane Tokioka
reptokioka@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Clift Tsuji
reptsuji@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Barbara C. Marumoto
repmarumoto@capitol.hawaii.gov
Rep. Kymberly Marcos Pine
reppine@capitol.hawaii.gov
Contact the AKC Government Relations Department at (919) 816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org for more information.
The Hawaii House Committee on Economic Revitalization & Business is scheduled to consider House…