Amendments have been filed to California Assembly Bill 702 – a bill requiring all dog owners to obtain a permit before they can breed a litter of puppies. While AKC appreciates a couple of the amendments, we remain opposed to breeder permits.
Assembly Bill 702 is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday, April 27, and it is essential for California residents to continue contacting the committee. View AKC’s previous alert for five actions you can take today, along with contact lists for both Sacramento and district offices, and sample letters/phone scripts.
Summary:
Amendments have been filed to Assembly Bill 702 that address some issues raised by AKC; however, many issues remain.
Positive amendments include removing the limit on breeding ages and removing the requirement that all applicants have an enclosed yard. However, several concerns remain, including:
- Requiring breeder permits, regardless of how many dogs are sold – A breeder permit is required for anyone who keeps intact dogs or cats “for the purpose of breeding”, and the applicant can demonstrate compliance with any state and local business licenses, limits breeding to one litter, per dog or cat, per year, and complies with the care requirements. AKC understands the goal is to target those who are “making money by breeding.” However, AKC opposes breeder permits and also has concerns whether “business” would include the sale of a finite amount of animals.
- Requiring business licenses –AKC appreciates the clarification that business licenses will not be required for all breeder permits. However, we remain concerned about language requiring permit applicants to demonstrate compliance with other licensing laws related to “doing business as a dog or cat breeder at the address of the location at which breeding will occur.” We continue to explain to the committee and author’s office that this could impact owners who breed a single litter or hobbyists who may occasionally raise and sell a litter from their home – and may not be able to obtain a business license in a residential-zoned area.
- Providing an unfunded mandate to local jurisdictions – The bill continues to not provide funding to local jurisdictions who will be required to enforce this law, except for fees from breeder permits (the cost of which is determined by each local government). A proposed amendment would allow local governments to use fines of not less than $250 per violation to fund the program (a warning is given for a first violation). However, this means that funding for the program will be largely dependent on people breaking the law – and with no limit, jurisdictions could impose exorbitant fines and license fees in order to pay for enforcement.
For more talking points and concerns, view AKC’s previous alerts.
AKC continues to work to express concerns to the committee, and thanks the many club members and breeders who have already taken the time to contact the author and committee with concerns. We encourage you to view our previous alert for actions you and your club can take today.
AKC Government Relations will continue to provide updates. For questions, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.