On Tuesday (March 10), a New York committee will consider a bill that could force anyone who sells nine (9) dogs in a year, which could be one litter, to be licensed, inspected, and regulated as pet dealers.
This bill, Senate Bill 8252, is from the 2025 session, and includes some clarifying language to address the ban on dog and cat sales in pet stores that went into effect in December 2025. However, the bill would also require anyone who, in a year, breeds and sells/offers to sell more than nine animals born and raised on a residential premises to be licensed and regulated as commercial pet dealers.
New York hobbyists are strongly encouraged to contact the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee, as well as your State Senator TODAY to express your opposition to Senate Bill 8252. Scroll down for contact information and talking points.
Summary:
Currently, the State of New York has numerous regulations for “pet dealers”, which are defined as anyone who sells or offers to sell at least nine (9) animals per year, or 25 if the animals were born and raised on the person’s premises.
Senate Bill 8252 would significantly change the definition of regulated pet breeder to simply “any person who breeds animals and sells or offers to sell more than nine animals per year that are born and raised on such a person’s residential premises directly to a consumer.”
The exemption for those selling fewer than 25 would be removed, meaning many who sell just one or two litters in a year would be required to be licensed and regulated as a commercial entity.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) strongly supports current laws regarding cruelty and neglect for all animal owners. However, this bill assumes that hobbyists are commercial operations and would regulate them accordingly. Rather than establishing arbitrary new regulations for hobby breeders, AKC believes a better use for limited resources would be to enforce existing laws and address specific animal control issues where they may already exist.
Talking Points:
Consider the following talking points when contacting your state lawmakers:
- Tell them you are a constituent and ask them to oppose Senate Bill 8252.
- This is not simply language clarifying a new law for pet stores, this is a major change that could require the state to license and regulate home-based breeders – and inspect private homes.
- The current pet dealer laws are intended for commercial operations, not homes. It makes no sense that someone who raises a litter in their home to comply with commercial requirements. Additionally, it would be impossible for home-based breeders to comply with commercial requirements. For example, pet dealers are required to coordinate with a veterinarian to have regular visits to their premises. It is unlikely veterinarians will be able/willing to make regular visits to private homes.
Also, current law allows New York governments to enact their own laws relating to pet dealers – as long as the laws are at least as strict as state law. As a result, many counties and cities throughout the state have further regulated and licensed pet dealers, some with requirements even stricter than state standards, which may not be reasonable or enforceable for those raising dogs in their private home.
- This will place significant burdens and costs on state and local agencies and New York taxpayers. All pet dealers must be inspected prior to obtaining a license by the state. This will require the state to make significantly more inspections due to the large increase in applicants. In addition, it will place a large financial and administrative burden on the state and local governments to enforce unnecessary new inspections or requirements for a large new regulated class.
- Home-based breeders are already subject to many state and local laws regarding the humane care of animals, so it is not necessary to license them as pet dealers to ensure they are breeding and raising dogs in a responsible manner.
What You Can Do:
Contact your State Senator – Visit the AKC Legislative Action Center at www.akcgr.org and click on “Find Your Elected Officials” to get the name and contact information for your State Senator.
Contact the Members of the Senate Agriculture Committee before the March 10 hearing:
Below is the contact information for the committee. If you are a constituent, be sure to mention that when contacting their office:
Sen. Michelle Hinchey (Chair – Kingston)
hinchey@nysenate.gov
Sen. George Borello (Ranking Member- Jamestown)
borrello@nysenate.gov
Sen. Samra Brouk (Monroe County)
brouk@nysenate.gov
Sen. Patricia Fahey (Amsterdam)
Fahy@nysenate.gov
Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (Bronx)
fernandez@nysenate.gov
Sen. Pamela Helming (Geneva)
helming@nysenate.gov
Sen. Peter Oberacker (Oneonta)
oberacker@nysenate.gov
Sen. Christopher Ryan (Syracuse)
chrisryan@nysenate.gov
Sen. Lea Webb (Binghamton)
leawebb@nysenate.gov
AKC Government Relations will continue to provide updates as they are available. For more information, contact doglaw@akc.org.