Senate Bill 353, which seeks to exempt gross proceeds from the sale or lease of detection dogs from rental, sales, and use taxes in Alabama, has been reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Finance and Tax Education. SB 353 defines a detection dog as a dog trained to use its senses to detect substances such as weapons, explosives, illegal drugs, accelerants, wildlife scat, currency, blood, plant and mammalian viruses, bed bugs, and contraband electronics .
The American Kennel Club (AKC) thanks Senator Tom Whatley for sponsoring SB 353, which will contribute to public safety by reducing one of the barriers to the availability of detection dogs in Alabama. Alabama residents who support this bill are urged to respectfully ask their Senators vote yes on SB 353. Please scroll down for contact information.
AKC is Working to Protect Domestic Detection Dogs:
AKC values the contribution that working and detection dogs make to national security and the extraordinary role that these dogs play in protecting the peace and security of individuals, communities and nations against extremist threats. The AKC honors the breeders, trainers, and handlers of these dogs, and supports expanded scientific research and breeding programs to ensure that sufficient high quality domestically-bred dogs are available to ensure public safety and national security, and that specialized care is provided to assure the wellbeing of these dogs.
The supply of explosive detection dogs is both scarce and not secure. Currently, approximately 80 to 90% of this crucial U.S. national security resource are foreign-sourced. Other countries, which also face their own terrorism threats, public health threats, or geopolitical disturbances, are in the market for the same dogs the U.S. seeks, thereby reducing the number of dogs available for U.S. security and public safety while also increasing their costs.
More than ever, the U.S. needs to be able to rely on high-quality, American-bred, -raised, and -trained explosives detection dogs to protect national and public security. The AKC Detection Dog Task Force (DDTF) works with experts from academia, government/public policy, military, and law enforcement, as well as breeding and training experts, to address the underlying problem: There are not enough dogs to meet the world-wide growing need for explosives detection canines. AKC encourages the breeding and development of explosives detection canines to meet current rigorous industry standards.
To assist in this endeavor, the AKC DDTF has launched initiatives in public policy/government relations, networking/raising awareness, and breeder/puppy raiser education. For more information, please visit https://akcgr.org/akc/detectiondogs?2.
State Senators’ Contact Information:
Click here and scroll down to “Find Officials” to identify your state Senator and open a messaging form.
Click here to view Alabama Senators on the state legislative website, then click on names for contact information.
For additional information, please contact AKC Government Relations at 919-816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.