PAWS Legislation is Back; We Have to Take Action Today

Currently, the Senate is trying to pass a bill that would, in essence, unfairly regulate the breeding of animals. In short, this bill would stop the average home breeder from being able to raise animals in their home. Instead, home breeders would be subject to strict regulations including having the animals in an environment that is institutional. It would outlaw home breeding of pedigreed cats.

This bill is part of the farm bill. It is still on the Senate floor, being debated a little now and then. SA 3723 is part of SA 3500. This is the part of the bill that is so restricting. It has already been modified many times and the sad thing is that the modifications do not have to be made public. This means that our legislators can have this bill say anything they want and we would not know that it has been changed.

This bill has many points that could negatively affect all animals and breeders. First, it states that any one who sells more than 25 animals a year or has 6 or more litters in a year would have to have a USDA approved facility. Now keep in mind that these numbers could change without notice to the public. This point means that if you have one animal or breeding over the limit, you could not keep the breeding animals in your home. You would have to build a USDA approved building. This point could lead to the death of many healthy animals just to ensure compliance with the law.

The bill stipulates that third party inspectors from non-profit organizations would be responsible for inspecting private home. This would basically give police like powers to non-profit organizations.

The bill is a violation of our rights. This bill classifies hobby breeders as dealers and would require them to follow a set of strict regulations that have not been written yet. These could include care, housing, breeding standards, and more.

This bill would give total control over regulating breeding to our federal government. This would totally override each state's or municipality's ability to pass laws concerning breeding.