Late last week, Texas House Bill 1818, which seeks to limit most Texas pet stores from selling purpose-bred dogs, was passed by the House Calendars Committee. The bill is scheduled to be considered by the full Texas House tomorrow, Tuesday, April 27, 2021. The American Kennel Club (AKC) and a broad coalition of interest groups strongly oppose HB 1818.
AKC strongly encourages you to call, email, Facebook Message, or Tweet, both the members of the House Calendars Committee and your state representative TODAY to request they oppose HB 1818.
Click here to view AKC’s most recent action alert on HB 1818.
SAMPLE EMAIL TEXT:
Representative _____,
I am a proud Texas resident and urge you to hold HB 1818 in committee. As currently worded, HB 1818:
- Violates the values of liberty, freedom, protecting business, and small government that Texas prides itself in.
- Requires pet stores to showcase pets that come only from unregulated and random sources. This would not only remove the most regulated and vetted source of pets from the market, it will exacerbate existing sourcing problems by incentivizing the sales of pets from unregulated sources not subject to animal welfare regulations or the health tests and reporting requirements associated with those regulations.
- Is not about a Texas-specific issue. In fact, Texas is just one of 14 states where animal rights‐driven, onerous pet store legislation has been introduced in 2021. HB 1818 and others introduced this year are modeled after a troubled California law that was enacted 2017 and resulted in harmful consequences there.
- Will do nothing to prevent animal cruelty, and will cause harm to Texans who want a quality purpose‐bred pet but don’t have access to a local breeder or do not want to be put on a long puppy waiting list.
- Would disparately impact small players in the pet sales market. Currently, only 4% of Americans obtain pets from a traditional retail pet shop, while approximately 44% of Americans obtain their pet from a retail rescue, traditional breed rescue, shelter, or similar source. The U.S. currently has a large market for “rescue pets”, and with it, significant economic incentive for individuals or organizations who can avoid regulatory oversight by irresponsibly breeding or “flipping” pets directly to meet this demand.
- Will likely prove fatal to all targeted Texas pet stores that sell purpose-bred dogs. The number of stores that would be impacted should HB 1818 be enacted is not known by the Texas Legislature, allied groups, or AKC. HB 1818 will force these small businesses to change their business models and compete directly against large‐scale online retailers and big‐box pet supply chains, which can more easily realize economies of scale in the pricing of products. When small, independent stores cannot operate with the same economies of scale, they often are forced to shut down.
Thank you for your consideration. Please oppose HB 1818.
[Name]
[City]
[Phone & email]
What Concerned Texas Residents Should Do Today:
Using the sample text above or your own, email or call your member of the Texas House of Representatives and urge them to oppose HB 1818. Use the Texas Legislature’s Who Represents Me? tool to identify and contact your Texas state representative.
AKC Government Relations will continue to provide updates and action alerts on House Bill 1818. For more information, contact doglaw@akc.org.