Legislative Alerts

The Clark County, NV County Commission will consider changes to their animal control code on Tuesday, November 17th which will negatively impact breeders, fanciers and dog owners. It is imperative that responsible owners and breeders contact their county commissioners and attend this meeting to oppose these changes. Clark County, NV is revising their existing breeder […]

The Wisconsin Senate has approved a measure that would allow citizens to use reasonable force to enter a vehicle if it is believed that a person or domestic animal inside the vehicle is in imminent danger.  The bill now goes to the governor and could be acted upon at any time.  You may contact Governor […]

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Financial Services is scheduled to consider a bill on November 10 that would protect responsible dog owners by prohibiting insurance companies that offer homeowners insurance from refusing, cancelling, or imposing an increased premium on clients due to the specific breed of dog(s) kept on the property.  Summary: Senate Bill 501, […]

The Wisconsin Assembly has approved a measure that would allow citizens to use reasonable force to enter a vehicle if it is believed that a person or domestic animal inside the vehicle is in imminent danger.  Under Assembly Bill 308 as passed by the Assembly, a person would be immune from civil liability for property […]

A program approved yesterday by the North Carolina governor will establish a new “hotline” in the state to allow North Carolinians to report any violation of the state's animal cruelty laws or Animal Welfare Act directly to the Attorney General. The “hotline” will consist of multiple methods by which to report alleged violations, including a […]

A new law was enacted yesterday by the New York Governor that permits dogs in outdoor areas of eating establishments in the state, as long as certain conditions are met.  The AKC supported this measure, which allows responsible dog owners more opportunity to enjoy outdoor activities and socialization with their well-behaved pets.  Under the new […]

Monday, October 26, 2015 Last week, AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) published information regarding the upcoming meeting of the Joint Environment, Natural Resources, and Agriculture Committee of the Massachusetts legislature.  Since then, additional bills have been added to the committee’s agenda.  Two of the newly-added bills, SB 443 and HB 634, may prove problematic.  AKC […]

Michigan House Bill 4898, which seeks to limit the number of dogs that can be kept on a single premises and expands state authority to regulate  “large scale dog breeding kennels”, has been approved by the House Appropriations Committee and could be scheduled for consideration by the full House of Representatives very soon.  Michigan residents […]

Friday, October 23, 2015 On Wednesday, October 28, the Joint Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture Committee of the Massachusetts legislature will consider bills impacting the keeping of dogs.  House Bill 649 seeks to address the problems associated with the importation of animals intended for adoption, while Senate Bill 444 seeks to ensure that trainers of […]

VA UPDATE:  Tethering Hearing Postponed The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has just announced that the hearing scheduled for Tuesday, October 20, on the proposal to prohibit all tethering over 1 hour has been postponed. As introduced, this proposal would have prohibited tethering a dog for more than 1 hour cumulatively, regardless of whether the […]