As previously reported, Florida Senate Bill 1830 and House Bill 1481 seek to require state licensing and regulation of anyone in Florida who owns or possess an intact female dog that is six months old or older, and who offers puppies from its breeding for sale. Under the bill, any intact female more than six months old would be presumed to be used for breeding purposes. The American Kennel Club (AKC) is urging all Floridians to contact their state senator and state representative to share objections to SB 1830 and HB 1481 and respectfully request they oppose these bills and/or any other legislation that has been amended to include SB 1830’s/ HB 1481’s language.
TALKING POINTS FOR OPPOSING SB 1830 AND HB 1481
The American Kennel Club (AKC) opposes both SB 1830 and HB 1481 because they:
- Are unreasonable and unenforceable in scope, likely creating one of the biggest regulated groups in Florida.
- Compassion for animals does not require treating anyone with an intact female dog as suspect.
- Incentivize juvenile spaying, which can have harmful long-term health impacts due to a lock of proper hormonal development.
- Subject hobby breeders to government regulation, even though governments generally do not regulate hobbies.
- Threaten privacy rights and personal safety, by allowing inspections of private homes by non-governmental individuals and by publicly listing identification and location information that would make breeders an easy target for dog theft and harassment.
- Exclude those with animal husbandry and dog breeding experience and knowledge, including dog breeders and veterinarians, from contributing to the development of breeder standards, allowing only local government officials and rescue organizations to develop rules. Federal commercial facility standards would also be forced upon home-based breeders.
- Disregard local governments’ ability to determine the appropriate number of dogs a person or facility may have, and the professional opinion of veterinarians who work with owners to determine healthy breeding frequency.
- Create a bounty program targeting breeders, but establishing rewards for those who report suspected violations to the Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, without requiring complaints to be attested to or otherwise substantiated, and by allowing private organizations to pay for the rewards.
RECENT ATTEMPT TO CIRCUMVENT PUBLIC COMMENT?
Yesterday, a Florida Senate committee considered Senate Bill 494, which seeks to create a statewide database of animal cruelty violators. When the bill was taken up by the committee, Senator Jonathan Martin, acting as committee chair, introduced then quickly withdrew an amendment to SB 494. The amendment would have added the entirety of Senate Bill 1830 to the text of SB 494. Senator Martin is also the primary sponsor of SB 1830.
If the text of Sen. Martin’s amendment had been adopted and the committee approved SB 494, the public, including those who would be impacted by the breeder regulation requirements, would have been denied a crucial opportunity to publicly provide comments to legislators about the negative impacts of these bills.
While neither has received committee consideration yet during this legislative session, it is now imperative that anyone potentially impacted by these bills contact members of the Florida Legislature to share their objections to SB 1830 and HB 1481.
TAKE ACTION TODAY – CALL AND EMAIL YOUR FLORIDA LAWMAKERS!
All concerned Florida residents, especially those who could be regulated under SB 1830 and HB 1481, are strongly encouraged to email and call both their Florida state senator and state representative to share objections and respectfully request they oppose these bills or the bills’ language should they be included in other legislation.
To find:
- Your Florida state representative, go to https://www.flhouse.gov/FindYourRepresentative, enter your address, and click Find Your Elected Officials.
- Your Florida state senator, go to https://www.flsenate.gov/Senators/Find, enter your address, and click Search.
SAMPLE EMAIL/CALL TEXT – Please feel free to add any or all of the talking points above to your messages.
Dear State Senator ________ / State Representative ______,
I am a resident of _______, and strongly oppose SB 1830 and HB 1481 and related bills, which would regulate everyone with an intact female dog in Florida. I respectfully ask you to join me in opposing this package of extremist and overreaching legislation. Legislation seeking to regulate dog breeders should be of appropriate scope and be developed in consultation with responsible purebred dog breeders.
[ADD TALKING POINTS FROM ABOVE HERE]
I respectfully urge you to vote against both SB 1830 and/or HB 1481 should you have the opportunity to vote on either bill; or against any bill that may have had SB 1830’s or HB 1481’s language attached.
Thank you,
[Your name]
[Your city/town]
[Your phone number and/or email address]
FOR MORE INFORMATION
AKC Government Relations (GR) will continue to provide additional information on SB 1830 and HB 1481 as developments warrant, along with additional calls to action should either bill or their provisions be formally considered. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org; or the Florida Association of Kennel Clubs at fakc.seltrecht.president@gmail.com.