As we’ve reported on several occasions over the past several weeks, Texas legislators have been pushing a set of extreme “dog breeder” bills sponsored by animal extremist groups to harass sporting dog hobby breeders out of existence. SB 876 has now been passed by both chambers and sent to Governor Greg Abbott for his consideration.
Some legislators have attempted to point to the “exemptions” in the bill that will protect sporting dog hobby breeders as if their vote is pro-sportsman. Don’t be fooled. Such legislators should think about the harassed individual when a bureaucrat tells them, while on their doorstep, the exemptions don’t apply. Exemptions are only worth the bureaucrat enforcing the law, and in this case, you can rest assured that “commercial breeder” inspectors will take the new power handed to them by SB 876 and run the ball right down the throat of Texas sportsmen.
Please use our Take Action button to email Governor Abbott asking him to VETO SB 876. Governor Abbott needs to know that animal rights extremists cannot walk into the Texas legislature and tell legislators to push sporting dog enthusiasts to the side of the road, all in the name of “animal welfare.”
Current law regulates “commercial breeders” as those who have 11 or more intact female dogs and sell 20 or more puppies a year. Even those standards put Texas in the upper category of restrictive state approaches usually found in the Northeast or California. But that’s not good enough for animal extremists, SB 876 reduces those numbers to 5 or more intact females and the sale of a single puppy a year. This puts Texas in a select group of very liberal states where common sense left the scene many years ago.
“It is a head-scratcher because this feels a lot like New York or California where bad legislation shows up time and again while sportsmen get steamrolled,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs for Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Sportsmen throughout the state need to email the Governor and remind him what Texas is really all about – sportsmen, tradition, and heritage.”
Don’t forget to share this important alert with your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen urging them to also email Governor Abbott asking him to VETO SB 876.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
