Legislative Alerts

Friday, April 15, 2016 Connecticut Senate Bill 228, which seeks to allow non-economic damages in cases involving injury to a pet, and House Bill 5344, which seeks to create court-appointed animal advocates in court cases involving pets, are currently pending in the Connecticut General Assembly.  The American Kennel Club (AKC) believes that far-reaching unintended consequences […]

The Missouri House is expected to vote any day on a bill that would prohibit municipalities from enacting breed-specific policies.  It would also void any current local breed-specific policies or regulations in the state.   Municipalities would still be permitted to protect public health and safety by enacting other policies (including policies for at-large dogs), so […]

The American Kennel Club’s Government Relations team has just been made aware that the Broward County Commission will discuss amendments to the county’s existing breeder permit including requiring permit holders to submit to warrantless inspections of their private homes. The AKC strongly encourages dog owners and breeders to attend tomorrow’s hearing or to contact the […]

Thursday, April 07, 2016 An amended version of Louisiana Senate Bill 337 (original text here, adopted amendments here), which seeks to restrict retail pet stores’ sources of dogs and cats, was unanimously passed by the Senate Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee on Wednesday, April 6.  The bill is now awaiting final passage in […]

Tuesday, April 05, 2016 On Monday, April 11, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will hold a public workshop to discuss new management plans for the Snoqualmie Wildlife Area.  One of the area’s units, Cherry Valley, located near the town of Duval, is used for hunting and wildlife-related recreation.  To ensure that future […]

House Bill 403 seeks to define outside confinement requirements and limit tethering for dogs.  As written, this bill could criminalize owners who utilize appropriate and humane kenneling and turn-out options for their dogs. HB 403 has been placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the House Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee at […]

Yesterday, the Arizona Senate approved the AKC-requested amendment to House Bill 2127 that will protect lure coursing, coursing ability tests, and other similar events in the state.  We greatly appreciate Senator Steve Yarbrough’s willingness to sponsor an amendment to ensure these important events are protected in Arizona.  The bill as amended is now pending a […]

Senate Bill 945, which will establish standards of care for pet boarding facilities, has been amended again. Affected handlers, kennels and responsible dog owners and breeders who will be impacted should contact the author with concerns prior to the April 4th hearing.  You may read the amended language here. Senator Bill Monning  (Author, SB 945) […]

The Maryland Senate is expected to consider a bill any day that contains some very troubling legislative findings (including implying that breeders are the reason dogs end up in shelters). The purpose of the bill is to ensure that pet stores and dealers in Maryland only obtain dogs from reputable breeders, and many positive amendments […]

A bill is moving through the Arizona Senate that would impact live dog racing in the state.  As defined in state law, “live dog racing” is defined as “racing in which greyhound dogs chase a mechanical lure.”  As a result, the bill would have inadvertently prohibited all lure coursing, Coursing ability and similar events in […]