Legislative Alerts

West Virginia House Bill 2843, sponsored by Delegates Daniel Poling of Wood, Virginia Mahan of Summers, Nancy Guthrie of Kanawha, Roy Givens of Brooke, and Tom Azinger of Wood, seeks to define commercial dog breeders and to impose limits on the ownership of dogs.  Similar to many bills introduced in legislatures across the country in […]

A bill has been introduced in the Arkansas Senate that requires owners of 12 or more dogs of any age to purchase an annual license for the right to maintain ownership of the dogs, regardless of whether the animals are on your property.  "Owner" is defined as someone who meets any of the following criteria: […]

Two mandatory spay/neuter bills have been filed in the Texas Legislature.  House Bill 4277, sponsored by Representative Jose Menendez of San Antonio, and Senate Bill 1845, sponsored by Senator Leticia Van de Putte also of San Antonio, will require that all dogs over six months of age be sterilized.  The American Kennel Club (AKC) and […]

Oregon Representative Vicki Berger has introduced legislation that would require "pit bull" owners to maintain $1 million in insurance coverage. It is important that all responsible dog owners, fanciers, and breeders contact the bill’s sponsor and members of the House Consumer Protection Committee and oppose House Bill 2852. House Bill 2852 would require owners of "pit […]

The AKC urges all responsible dog owners and breeders to call or email your state legislators TODAY regarding two important pieces of legislation that are scheduled for consideration on Tuesday, March 11 and Wednesday, March 12, 2009. It is crucial that constituents communicate their opposition to these measures immediately. Although we are awaiting amendments for […]

North Carolina House Bill 460, sponsored by Representative Maggie Jeffus of Greensboro and Representative Margaret Highsmith Dickson of Fayetteville, and its companion bill, Senate Bill 460, sponsored by Senators Don Davis of Snow Hill and Senator Don Vaughan of Greensboro, have been filed.  The bills seek to regulate the commercial breeding of dogs in North […]

Alderman Burke has postponed a vote on the proposed mandatory spay/neuter ordinance. Over 130 people signed up to address the committee about the issue and several aldermen questioned whether this was an effective and economical policy for the city to pursue. AKC thanks the many breeders and responsible owners who attended the meeting as well […]

New York Assembly Bill 5507, sponsored by Assemblyman Greg Ball, seeks to classify more residents as "pet dealers"; seeks to impose ambiguous rules on all animal facilities, including homes of responsible breeders and shelters; and to define and regulate certain entities as commercial kennels.  The American Kennel Club is urging all concerned responsible dog breeders […]

The AKC congratulates Maryland dog owners and breeders on a major victory on March 2, when the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee gave an unfavorable report to a bill that would have placed numerous restrictions on dog owners and breeders. Senate Bill 318 would have mandated the implementation of rigid engineering requirements for anyone owning 10 […]

The American Kennel Club sent the following letter to Rep. Lee Denney of Oklahoma today regarding a proposed floor amendment to HB 1332. The AKC Government Relations Department noted that her proposed amendments to the bill would be an improvement over the original, but AKC remains gravely concerned over issues of search and seizure, standards […]