The Riverside County Board of Supervisors has released the specifics of their mandatory spay/neuter ordinance and mandatory microchip proposal. The measure will require all dogs and cats to be spayed or neutered unless the owner qualifies for and purchases an intact animal license. A first violation of the mandatory spay/neuter ordinance can result in a […]

AB 2110 Fails to Pass Committee Assembly Bill 2110 was held yesterday in the Appropriations Committee Suspense File and can not move forward. The bill would have prohibited field trials in the state of California. Congratulations to all fanciers and field trial participants who worked to oppose this measure.     California Bill Would Outlaw […]

New York, NY – The American Kennel Club® Board of Directors has adopted a new Judging Conflict of Interest Policy, effective January 1, 2007.  AKC® believes that it has the best judges in the world and expends millions of dollars a year to administer its judging approval system to ensure that quality remains high. "AKC […]

Assembly Bill 2110 was recently amended and the new language will affect certain AKC sanctioned events. The bill will prohibit "live field coursing," which is now defined as "a competition in which dogs are, by the use of rabbits, hares, or foxes, assessed as to skill in hunting live rabbits, hares, or foxes." AB 2110 […]

  -- Gina Weiser, Rosalind Kraus and John Leininger Join Executive Field Staff; Walter Bebout Named Director of Canine Legislation; Penny Leigh and Phil Guidry to Internal Consulting Group; Michael Shea to Retire -- American Kennel Club Chief Operating Officer John Lyons today announced the appointments of six longtime fanciers to key positions at AKC. […]

  Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) today released a "Discussion Draft" of an amended version of S. 1139, the "Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005" (PAWS). The Discussion Draft includes language clarifying several original provisions and adds some new provisions which resulted from input following a November 2005 hearing on the […]

  --David Keene and Dr. William R. Newman Elected to Board of Directors; Incumbent Director Nina Schaefer Re-Elected; Ronald H. Menaker and David C. Merriam Re-Elected as Chairman and Vice Chairman Respectively -- The Annual Meeting of the AKC Delegates and subsequent meeting of the Board of Directors took place on March 14, 2006. David […]

I'm pleased to report that Senator Rick Santorum this past weekend provided us with an advance copy of his "discussion draft" of an amended version of the "Pet Animal Welfare Statute of 2005" (PAWS) bill. This discussion draft will be posted on the Senator's web site (http://santorum.senate.gov/public/index.cfm) this week. The draft clarifies several original provisions […]

Senator Santorum's staff and Senate legislative counsel have completed a draft of the revised PAWS bill. The draft was provided to the US Department of Agriculture and the 26 Senate co-sponsors of PAWS at a briefing last week for their review and comment. The Discussion Draft of PAWS will be made public after input from […]

Annual Benefit for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Has Raised Nearly $3 Million to Date New York, NY — The American Kennel Club (AKC®) announced today that it will sanction the renowned Decatur County – St. Jude World's Largest Coon Hunt. The event, which has been raising funds for the St. Jude's Children's Hospital for […]