Commercial Breeder Bill SB460 hearing 4/30

NORTH CAROLINA ACTION ALERT

SB 460 Commercial Dog Breeders introduced by Senator Don Davis (D, Wayne/Pitt/Greene) is scheduled to be heard in the Commerce Committee on Thursday, April 30 at 9:00 AM, room 1027 LB

BILL SYNOPSIS

SB 460 defines as commercial anyone who has custody or control of more than 15 female dogs over the age of four months at any time. The bill establishes standards for care at commercial breeding operations, including requirements which will be written by the NC Department of Agriculture at a later date, for exercise, veterinary care and record keeping. The bill mandates that commercial breeders cannot breed female dogs less than 18 months or more than eight years of age. SB 460 mandates that an adult female dog cannot be bred without an annual certification from a licensed veterinarian that the dog is in suitable health for breeding.

** TALKING POINTS **

* The bills define as commercial anyone maintaining 15 females during the span of 12 months – does not say intact females, does not define what age is considered adult.

* Thousands of North Carolina citizens breed dogs without creating problems and they do not require state inspections. This is reactive legislation to the recent closure of a substandard kennel. The kennel closure and removal of dogs is evidence that current law adequately dealt with the situation.

* The potential exists for warrantless searches of a citizen’s home and kennel while inspecting dogs to determine if license is required.

* SB 460 assumes that an owner of 15 or more dogs is not capable of managing and maintaining their animals in good health without state intervention. It is wrong to use a numerical basis to begin excessive regulation of dog breeders; numbers do not correlate to quality of care. Laws for animal welfare and to prevent animal-cruelty are already in place to protect all animals whether it is one dog or one hundred.

* The requirement for annual veterinary certification of suitable health for breeding is very vague. Certification could require anything from routine physical exam to an expensive panel of blood tests and x-rays. There are no standardized, specific laboratory tests or specialized reproductive examination procedures that are suitable for assessing the health status of bitches for breeding. No other species has this pre-breeding regulation in place. This provision only serves to make breeding dogs more expensive and more complicated. The decision to breed or not breed a dog should remain at the discretion of the owner and not become a legislative mandate.

* Bill supporters claim that small hobby breeders will not be affected. This is not true. Supporters claim the only reason to have 15 females is for mass producing puppies, i.e. continually breeding each female. Also not true. The bill supporters are activists, NOT dog breeders and have no firsthand knowledge of building or maintaining a breeding program. It is quite possible for someone to have 15 females without constantly producing puppies.

* Promoted with the usual anti-puppy mill hype and emotion, the bill focuses on labeling dog breeders, i.e., commercial=puppy mill to justify this over-the-top legislation. The term puppy mill has been promoted by animal rights activists in the same manner as a racial slur to cast a negative picture on the whole industry of breeding dogs; the goal is to eventually make all the words interchangeable, commercial=puppy mill=breeder.

* The cost to dog owners/breeders for construction of commercial grade facilities to meet state requirements will be enormous. It is irresponsible for legislators to force this expense on citizens who are already financially stressed in the current recession.

* There is no hard evidence that substandard kennel conditions are rampant throughout the state. It is pure conjecture for anyone to discuss whether dogs are housed in adequate or substandard conditions. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture estimates 79 kennels are likely to have 15 females; however, this does not automatically correlate to those kennels being substandard and/or in need of state intervention and regulation.

* The Fiscal Note on SB 460 has been provided by the Fiscal Research Division with input from NC DACS. The Department’s Animal Welfare Section estimates costs to implement a regulatory

program are a staggering quarter of a million dollars for this year and increase to almost a half million dollars going forward with virtually no income. With a state budget shortfall in excess of three billion dollars and government programs being cut, it is the height of irresponsibility to burden NCDA with this initiative.

ACTION IS NEEDED NOW! PLEASE CALL AND EMAIL SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE AND OPPOSE SB 460:

Sen. R.C. Soles, Jr. (Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-5963

RC.Soles@ncleg.net

Sen. Floyd McKissick, Jr. (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-4599

Floyd.McKissick@ncleg.net

Sen. David Hoyle (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-5734

David.Hoyle@ncleg.net

Sen. Tony Rand (Vice Chair)

Phone: (919) 733-9892

Tony.Rand@ncleg.net

Sen. Tom Apodaca

Phone: (919) 733-5745

Tom.Apodaca@ncleg.net

Sen. Philip Berger

Phone: (919) 733-5708

Phil.Berger@ncleg.net

Sen. Doug Berger

Phone: (919) 715-8683

Doug.Berger@ncleg.net

Sen. Harris Blake

Phone: (919) 733-4809

Harris.Blake@ncleg.net

Sen. Julia Boseman

Phone: (919) 715-2525

Julia.Boseman@ncleg.net

Sen. Peter Brunstetter

Phone: (919) 733-7850

Peter.Brunstetter@ncleg.net

Sen. Debbie Clary

Phone: (919) 715-3038

Debbie.Clary@ncleg.net

Sen. Katie Dorsett

Phone: (919)715-3042

Katie.Dorsett@ncleg.net

Sen. Tony Foriest

Phone: (919) 301-1446

Tony.Foriest@ncleg.net

Sen. James Forrester

Phone: (919) 715-3050

James.Forrester@ncleg.net

Sen. Linda Garrou

Phone: (919) 733-5620

Linda.Garrou@ncleg.net

Sen. W. Edward Goodall

Phone: (919) 733-7659

Eddie.Goodall@ncleg.net

Sen. Steve Goss

Phone: (919) 733-5742

Steve.Goss@ncleg.net

Sen. Malcolm Graham

Phone: (919) 733-5650

Malcolm.Graham@ncleg.net

Sen. Neal Hunt

Phone: (919) 733-5850

Neal.Hunt@ncleg.net

Sen. Jim Jacumin

Phone: (919) 715-7823

Jim.Jacumin@ncleg.net

Sen. Clark Jenkins

Phone: (919) 715-3040

Clark.Jenkins@ncleg.net

Sen. Martin Nesbitt, Jr.

Phone: (919) 715-3001

Martin.Nesbitt@ncleg.net

Sen. William Purcell

Phone: (919) 733-5953

William.Purcell@ncleg.net

Sen. Bob Rucho

Phone: (919) 733-5655

Bob.Rucho@ncleg.net

Sen. Larry Shaw

Phone: (919) 733-9349

Larry.Shaw@ncleg.net

Sen. Josh Stein

Phone: (919)715-6400

Josh.Stein@ncleg.net

Sen. Richard Stevens

Phone: (919) 733-5653

Richard.Stevens@ncleg.net

Sen. Don Vaughan

Phone: (919)733-5856

Don.Vaughan@ncleg.net

Additional talking points and contact information are available on the SAOVA website

http://www.saova.org/northcarolina2.html and North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners Alliance [NCRAOA] http://www.ncraoa.com/alertsSB460.html