Friday, September 20, 2019
On August 20, AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) issued an alert that the Legislation and Rules Committee of Stamford, Connecticut’s Board of Representatives was scheduled to consider limiting consumer choice by requiring pet shops in the city that sell dogs and cats to source animals only from shelters and rescues. At this meeting, the city’s attorney asked for an opportunity to research whether the proposal conflicted with state law.
AKC GR wrote to members of the Board of Representatives expressing concerns with the proposal and published an Opinion Editorial in the local newspaper outlining the same.
Tuesday night, September 17, in response to heavy pressure and an opinion from the city’s attorney that they did not have authority to adopt the proposed ordinance, the Board of Representatives’ Legislative and Rules Committee voted to hold the item on the committee calendar. Instead, the committee plans to draft a resolution requesting the Connecticut General Assembly to change the law and allow cities and municipalities to adopt local ordinances requiring pet shops that sell dogs and cats to source them only from animal shelters and rescues.
Click here to read Why Pet Shop Laws Affect You.
AKC Government Relations will continue to provide updates on Stamford’s effort to limit consumer choice as developments warrant. For more information, contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org.