UPDATE APRIL 22, 2009. House Bill #733 "An Act to Regulate Commercial Dog Breeding" was not heard in the House Agricultural Committee today. The Ag Committee had to cut their meeting short; when the bill is placed again on the calendar we will post an alert.
HB 733 defines as commercial anyone who has custody or control of more than 15 female dogs over the age of four months at any time, and limits ownership to 20 maximum. The bill establishes standards for care at commercial breeding operations, including requirements for exercise, veterinary care and record keeping which will be written by the NC Department of Agriculture at a later date. The bill also mandates that an adult female dog shall not be bred without an annual certification from a licensed veterinarian that the dog is in suitable health for breeding.
HB 733 AN ACT TO REGULATE COMMERCIAL DOG BREEDING - text and status.
CLICK HERE TO EMAIL THE ENTIRE HOUSE AGRICULTURE COMMITTEE
OPPOSE HB 733
CONTACT HB 733 SPONSORS: Pat McElraft (R, Carteret, Jones), Margaret Highsmith Dickson (D, Cumberland),Efton Sager (R, Wayne),
Cary Allred (R, Alamance),Lucy Allen (D, Halifax, Franklin, Nash), Alice Bordsen (D, Alamance),
Becky Carney (D, Mecklenburg), Tricia Ann Cotham (D, Mecklenburg), Jean Farmer-Butterfield (D, Edgecombe, Wilson), Susan Fisher (D, Buncombe), Rick Glazier (D, Cumberland), Maggie Jeffus (D, Guilford), Earl Jones (D, Guilford), Randy Stewart (D, Nash), Edith Warren (D, Martin, Pitt), W A Wilkins (D, Durham, Person)
Listing of Ag Committee phone #s and email
SYNOPSIS:
Adds commercial breeder, commercial breeding operations to SECTION 1. G.S. 19A-21 along with pet shops and boarding kennels for the purpose of licensing, regulation and inspection.
(5b) "Commercial breeder" means any person who, during any 12-month period, maintains 15 or more adult female dogs for the primary purpose of the sale of their offspring as companion animals.
(5c) "Commercial breeding operation" means the physical location or facility at which a commercial breeder breeds or maintains adult female dogs and their offspring."
Mandates that standards for care at commercial breeding operations, including requirements for exercise, veterinary care and record keeping will be written by the NC Department of Agriculture at a later date.
Mandates that commercial breeders shall not breed female dogs less than 18 months or more than eight years of age and shall provide adequate veterinary care to the female adult dogs and their offspring.
Mandates that an adult female dog shall not be bred without an annual certification from a licensed veterinarian that the dog is in suitable health for breeding.
Mandates that commercial breeding operations shall be subject to inspection by duly appointed employees of the Department or by local animal control officers. In conducting such inspections, the Department employee or local animal control officer may inspect the records of the commercial breeder, the premises where animals are bred and maintained, and any animal used in the breeding program or their offspring. Denial of access to the commercial breeding operation shall be grounds for revocation of the commercial breeders license.
** TALKING POINTS TO OPPOSE HB733**
* Regulations for commercial breeder facilities are yet to be established; however it is reasonable to assume they will be based on the same USDA commercial standards currently in place for animal control facilities, shelters, and boarding kennels. SUBCHAPTER 52J ANIMAL WELFARE SECTION .0200 FACILITIES AND OPERATING STANDARDS
* 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.
* State licensing and regulation as a commercial entity will end dog breeding for anyone in a residential zoned area. The impact in rural-residential zoned areas will depend on the specifics written for each county and the final requirements for housing established by the NC Department of Agriculture.
*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 xrays.
* There is no definition of "suitable health for breeding". Who will establish the criteria? Can the veterinarian be held accountable for certification of health if an unforeseen problem occurs either with the pregnancy, whelping, or offspring?
* The state should not legislate across the board age limits for breeding without consideration of individual dog's health and maturity.
* § 19A 30. (3a) reads that a license can be revoked for failure to comply with the statutes and rules governing commercial breeding operations. This would include infractions of required paperwork and record-keeping. License revocation is far too severe a penalty for such mistakes.
* § 19A 29.2. reads “Denial of access to the commercial breeding operation shall be grounds for revocation of the commercial breeders license." The law should be very clear that only the kennel area can be inspected. Entry and search of private residence should not be included as a requirement of inspection and licensure; to do so would be considered a warrantless search and invasion of privacy.
* The potential also exists for warrantless searches of a citizen's home and kennel while examing dogs to determine if license is required.
* 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 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.
* 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.
* HB 733 limits ownership to 20 females over 4 months at any time. This excessive regulation is an assault on personal property rights and cannot be tolerated.
* Placing an ownership limit unfairly restricts genetic diversity of future generations to continue the pedigree/lines unless older dogs are continually removed and re-homed.
* Promoted with the usual anti-puppy mill hype and emotion, the bills focus 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 definition of primary purpose is problematic. If a person maintains several dogs for dog shows or obedience trials and sells an occasional litter, what is the primary purpose of the dog? Is she primarily a family show dog or a breeding female?
* In this time of economic and financial stress North Carolina resources would be better used in other areas providing assistance and stability for its citizens.
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