Two dog-related bills garner continued consideration in the Massachusetts General Court. The American Kennel Club (AKC) encourages Massachusetts residents to:
- Review and identify any concerns with the re-drafted and favorably released bills known as “Ollie’s Law;” and
- Contact your legislators in opposition to 826, banning new pet retail sales of dogs, cats, and rabbits.
TO INCREASE KENNEL SAFETY, AKA “OLLIE’S LAW – H.4564/S.2731:
Last fall, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (JCMRG) heard testimony on H. 2019 /S. 1309 regarding injuries and deaths to dogs at daycare and boarding facilities.
It is important that the safety of pets left in the care of a business, such as a dog day care facility, is ensured. However, the original version of “Ollie’s Law” would have punished responsible Massachusetts dog owners and undermined the Massachusetts dog fancy by applying commercial regulations to private homes where personally-owned dogs that are bred for the purpose of improving, exhibiting, or showing the breed or for use in legal sporting activities are maintained.
AKC is extremely appreciative of the multiple Massachusetts advocates who responded to a September 2023 call to action to successfully express their concerns. The resulting amended bills, H. 4564/S. 2731, which no longer seek to impact personally-owned kennels, were reported favorably this month by JCMRG and forwarded to respective Ways and Means Committees. The bills now require municipalities to issue every type of kennel license currently defined in state law and to adopt strict state regulations for commercial boarding or training kennels. If you have questions or concerns about the re-draft, please contact AKC at doglaw@akc.org.
OPPOSE ELIMINATION OF CONSUMER PROTECTIONS:
The Joint Environment and Natural Resources Committee (JENR) has until June 14 to consider H. 826. It would require new Massachusetts licensed pet shops to provide the public with dogs and cats sourced solely from animal shelter or rescue organizations. Substituting a source of pets that provides purchase protections, like pet stores, with a source that does not, like shelters and rescues, puts consumers at risk. For these reasons, AKC opposes H. 826.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Massachusetts residents are encouraged to fill in this form to identify your state representative and senator. Click on their name for email addresses and type “oppose H. 826” in the subject line. Please note the town where you live and consider the following talking points for your email:
- Puppies produced by responsible breeders do not satisfy the demand for puppies.
- Shelter and rescue animals are not the best option for every family that wants a pet.
- Exponential growth in the import of dogs, particularly from random sources, has resulted in recent incidents of dogs with non-native parasites and zoonotic diseases such as rabies, viral infections, brucellosis, and others being imported and passed into the public.
- If consumers cannot obtain the pet they want from licensed and inspected facilities that are required to give pet purchase protections, they are at significant risk of online scams.
Please forward any response from your lawmakers to doglaw@akc.org. Thank you!
AKC Government Relations (GR) will continue to provide updates on these bills and other Massachusetts legislation as developments warrant. For more information on this or other legislative issues in Massachusetts, contact AKC GR at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org; or the Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners at info@massfeddogs.org.