Florida Residents, Oppose Anti-Breeder Bill Today!

Please share this information with every person in the state of Florida who owns— or hopes in the future to own— a responsibly-bred dog.

Several extremely overreaching and punitive dog breeder bills have been filed in Florida. Senate Bill 1492 and House Bill 1581 define any unsterilized female dog over the age of 6 months as a “breeding female” and would require her owner to register with the state as a “breeder,” pay significant fees, and be inspected by the state or by any person or non-governmental organization selected for that purpose. Any violation could result in dog confiscations.

In addition, registrants would be required to comply with federal commercial dog breeder/dealer regulations; other state rules not yet written; and all existing and future local dog breeder laws, fees, and inspection requirements.

As part of an extensive anti-breeder legislative package, associated bills seek to provide funding mechanisms for SB 1492/HB 1581.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) strongly opposes these bills. Not only would they impose huge and costly restrictions on home-based and hobby breeders, but they would also likely require beloved family housedogs to be kenneled in accordance with commercial standards. Learn more about Breeder Regulations and Restrictions Legislation on AKC’s Legislative Action Center. 

Immediate Action Is Essential to Successfully Oppose These Unreasonable Bills!

First, locate the contact information for your state Senator and Representative.  To find out who represents you, click here and scroll down to “Find Officials”, OR click here to find your Florida state Representative, and click here to find your Florida state Senator.

Second, call, email, and/or write to your state Representative to express your opposition to the House bills. You may wish to include the following messages:

• I am a resident of your district and I STRONGLY oppose House Bill 1581 and associated bills HB 1583 and HB 1585.
• As a responsible dog owner, I respectfully ask that you firmly reject House Bill 1581.
• I respectfully request that you urge your House colleague, Representative Linda Chaney, to withdraw House Bill 1581 and its associated bills. 

Also, respectfully briefly tell them a little about yourself, and share a sentence or two about how long you have owned dogs and the good things you and other dog owners do in your community. Do you show dogs? Share information with them about the Economic Impact of AKC Events in Florida.    

Third, call, email, and/or write to your state Senator to express your opposition to the Senate bills. You may wish to include the following messages:

• I am a resident of your district and I STRONGLY oppose Senate Bill 1492 and associated bills SB 1494 and SB 1495.
• As a responsible dog owner, I respectfully ask that you firmly reject Senate Bill 1492.
• I respectfully request that you urge your Senate colleague, Senator Jonathan Martin, to withdraw Senate Bill 1492 and its associated bills.

Also, respectfully briefly tell them a little about yourself, and share a sentence or two about how long you have owned dogs and the good things you and other dog owners do in your community.  Do you show dogs? Share information with them about the Economic Impact of AKC Events in Florida.    

Fourth, no matter where you live in the state, call, email and/or write to Representative Linda Chaney, sponsor of the House bills, with the following message:  I am a Florida resident, I strongly oppose House Bills 1581, 1583, and 1585, and I respectfully ask you withdraw them.

Fifth, no matter where you live in the state, call, email and/or write to Senator Jonathan Martin, sponsor of the Senate bills, with the following message:  I am a Florida resident, I strongly oppose Senate Bills 1492, 1494, and 1495, and I respectfully ask you to withdraw them.

Sixth, share this action alert with your fellow dog lovers, friends, family members, and others, and ask that they join you in opposing these outrageous and unreasonable bills.  We all must work together to ensure that the voices of responsible dog owners in Florida are heard.

AKC Government Relations (GR) will continue to provide updates and action alerts on these harmful anti-breeder bills. To ensure you receive all updates, please add doglaw@akc.org to your trusted email address list.

For additional information and resources , please contact AKC GR at doglaw@akc.org or visit www.akcgr.org 

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Posted by Liz on Mar 15 2023. Filed under Current Articles, Featured, The Buzz. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.