Earlier this week, the Palm Beach County, Florida, Board of Commissioners postponed further consideration of extensive changes to its animal control ordinance, which included negative impacts on hobby breeders.
Click here to learn more about the Palm Beach County proposal.
During Tuesday’s hearing, county staff described the main goal of the proposed changes was to regulate unlicensed breeders. However, multiple purebred dog fanciers and members of the public expressed deep concerns about the changes, including those that would have affected hobby breeder practices, imposed inspections of hobby breeder’s private homes as a condition of licensure, and a concurrent proposal to increase hobby breeder permit fees by 166.7%.
Noting the substantial nature of the update, the commissioners agreed to postpone consideration of the animal ordinance to allow sufficient time to review and amend the proposal.
Please note, however, the changes to fees and fines, including the proposed increase in hobby breeder permit fees, will be considered at the Board’s September 15th meeting.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) commends the Florida Association of Kennel Clubs and the resolute Palm Beach County hobby breeders who worked diligently with county staff and commissioners to ensure their concerns were heard. AKC will continue to provide updates on the Palm Beach County proposal as developments warrant. For more information, contact AKC Government Relations at doglaw@akc.org; or the Florida Association of Kennel Clubs at www.fakc.org or via email at Jseltrecht123@gmail.com.