Legislative Alerts

On Thursday, January 16, 2020, multiple animal bills will be reviewed by the New Hampshire House Committee on Environment and Agriculture.  The American Kennel Club (AKC) strongly encourages those who reside in New Hampshire to contact the committee to express significant concerns with three bills. HB 1627 seeks to establish a statewide database of all […]

An anti-ownership proposal that seeks to create court-appointed animal advocates in Florida is on the agenda of the Florida Senate Committee on Agriculture on Tuesday, January 14, at 2:30 p.m. Animal owners are urged to immediately contact committee members and respectfully ask that they do not advance Senate Bill 1048.  Please scroll down for contact […]

The New York Senate Domestic Animal Welfare Committee will hold its first meeting of the year on Wednesday, January 15. Bills to be considered in this hearing include: Senate Bill 3559 – Current law establishes fines for those who knowingly violate state law requiring that dogs left outdoors be provided with appropriate shelter for the […]

Wednesday, January 8, 2020 With one week left of the current legislative session, New Jersey Senate Bill 3322, an “animal advocates” bill that was recently amended on the floor of the State Senate to include more significant anti-ownership provisions, is being fast tracked.  The bill is now scheduled for a floor vote tomorrow, Thursday, January […]

Earlier this year, AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) alerted Maine breeders to the presence of an anti-breeder definition proposed in LD 1311, a bill that seeks to ban animal sales by pet stores.  The proposed “animal rescue entity” definition sought to exclude all breeders from animal rescue activities.  Given that many responsible purebred dog breeders […]

The Town of Greenburgh, NY, is holding a public hearing on Wednesday, December 11, on a proposal that will prohibit retail pet stores from selling any dogs or cats.  Instead, they would only be allowed to “showcase” animals available for adoption from a shelter, rescue, or adoption agency. Current state law requires that pet dealers […]

The voices of responsible Florida dog owners made a difference, and an amendment was filed to Florida Senate Bill 522. AKC urges responsible dog owners to contact committee members immediately in support of the proposed changes that address the vast majority of issues with the original measure.  In addition, AKC Government Relations has recommended an […]

A Florida bill that is up for vote in committee on Tuesday, 12/10/19, would make it a criminal offense to allow a dog to be outside and unattended when the temperature is below 32 degrees or during a severe weather advisory/warning, even if the dog is never at risk or suffers no harm. Senate Bill […]

Yesterday, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship published the final updates to the state’s animal welfare regulations. Visit the IDALS website to view the regulations in their entirety.  AKC thanks all those who took the time to submit comments to the department. Summary: The purpose of these updates in part is to address […]

Recently, AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) reported on a troublesome amendment to the U.S. Senate FY 2020 combined “minibus” Appropriations Bill that would mirror a U.S. House proposal removing certain privacy protections for USDA licensed pet breeders. We are pleased to report that the proposal failed in the Senate bill. However, the troublesome language does remain […]