Tomorrow, March 22, at 8:00 a.m., in room E2.010, the House Licensing & Administrative Procedures Committee has scheduled public testimony for a bill that will turn Texas dog owners who are not in the business of selling dogs into commercial breeders and subject to commercial breeder’s licensing and regulations.
Current law requires a dog breeder to obtain a commercial license if they own 11 or more intact females and sell 20 or more dogs in a license year. House Bill 2238 lowers the licensing threshold to five intact females over 6 months of age and will remove the requirement of selling 20 dogs in a year.
Of serious concern is that the bills would apply to anyone who keeps 5 or more intact females – whether those females are bred or not doesn’t matter. The bill claims that the female’s purpose is for direct or indirect sale or for exchange in return for consideration and does not grant any exceptions for sporting dog breeders who compete in field trials, hunt tests, or simply hunt their dogs and choose to breed an exceptional female after proving her ability.
To add insult, the new requirements for becoming a commercial breeder will include an annual license fee of at least $300, home inspections upon application and at least once every 18 months, unclear dog housing standards, and yearly reporting of all dogs at the facility.
“This is yet another outrageous proposal by animal rights extremists who will not stop until all sporting dogs are regulated, confiscated, or outright banned by authorities,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “These liberal animal rights bills will not stop until sportsmen rise up and beat each and every one of them.”
Texas has strict laws regarding animal abuse and this bill is nothing more than animal rights extremist “feel-good” rhetoric that does nothing to reduce animal abuse. Please use our take action button to email the committee to OPPOSE HB 2238.
Don’t forget to share this message with your family, friends and fellow sportsmen urging them to also email the committee urging them to OPPOSE HB 2238.
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.
