General:
Bill: H.0769
Title: REGULATION OF COMMERCIAL DOG BREEDERS IN VERMONT

Currently: In the House

Sponsor(s):Milkey, Virginia
Branagan, Carolyn Whitney
French, Patsy
Klein, Tony
More Sponsors

Request No: 08-0507
Drafter: Sumner

Comments: ________________________________

House Status:
Current Status: IN GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS
Status Date: 02/01/2008

Date
Action
Jrn. Page
1st Reading: 02/01/2008 114
2nd Reading:
3rd Reading:
House Amendments (Individual):
There are no House amendments for this bill.
House Roll Call Votes:
There are no House roll calls for this bill. ________________________________

Senate Status:
There is no Senate status for this bill. ________________________________

Conference Committees:
There are no conference committees for this bill.
________________________________

Governor's Actions
There are no Governor's actions for this bill. ________________________________

Bill Text:Bill As Introduced
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Download this document in MS Word format ________________________________

BILL AS INTRODUCED2007-2008

H.769

Introduced by Representatives Milkey of Brattleboro, Branagan of
Georgia, French of Randolph, Klein of East Montpelier, Lenes of
Shelburne, Manwaring of Wilmington, McAllister of Highgate, Minter of
Waterbury, Morrissey of Bennington and Nuovo of Middlebury
Referred to Committee on

Date:

Subject: Internal security; welfare of animals; dog breeders;
regulation; licensing

Statement of purpose: This bill proposes to regulate commercial dog
breeders in Vermont.

AN ACT RELATING TO REGULATION OF COMMERCIAL DOG BREEDERS IN VERMONT

It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1. 20 V.S.A. § 3681 is amended to read:

§ 3681. PERMIT

(a) The owner or keeper of two or more domestic pets or wolf-hybrids
four months of age or older kept for sale or for breeding purposes,
except for his or her own use, shall apply to the municipal clerk of
the town or city municipality in which the domestic pets or
wolf-hybrids are kept for a kennel permit to be issued on forms
prescribed by the commissioner and pay the clerk a fee of $10.00 for
the same. The provisions of subchapters 1, 2, and 4 of this chapter
not inconsistent with this subchapter, shall apply to the permit which
shall be in addition to other permits required. A kennel permit shall
expire on March 31 next after following issuance, and shall be
displayed prominently on the premises on which the domestic pets or
wolf-hybrids are kept. If the permit fee is not paid by April 1, the
owner or keeper may thereafter procure a permit for that license year
by paying a fee of 50 percent in excess of that otherwise required.
Municipal clerks shall maintain a record of the type of animals being
kept by the permit holder.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, no kennel permit
shall be issued or renewed to any person who sells 20 or more litters
of domestic dogs or wolf-hybrids in any 12-month period or 100 or more
domestic dogs or wolf-hybrids in any 12-month period. This provision
shall not apply to nonprofit animal welfare activities performed by an
animal shelter as defined in subdivision 3901(5) of this title.
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From ..VTGOP ICYMI Week in Review, March 21, 2008.

And now for a shaggy dog story from the Vermont Legislature.

If your dog has puppies and you want to put an ad in the paper to sell
them, you may soon need to get a permit from the state.

Backers of a bill now in the state Senate say it's needed to control
unregulated "puppy mills" that mistreat animals.

But the state Agency of Agriculture says it can't afford to enforce
the new regulation.

VPR's John Dillon reports:

(Paterson and dogs) "Come on in, come on in. Woof, Woof, Woof!"

(Dillon) Ed Peterson of Middlesex introduces his Airedale terriers.
One of them is just five weeks old, a tiny bundle of black and brown
fur.

(Peterson) "She's a lovely little girl. She won't go anywhere for
probably a coupl more months. We'll keep her and get her trained a
little bit and so forth....All right, all right."

(Dillon) Peterson has a small kennel and sometimes sells his Airedale
puppies. He supports the legislation that aims to control unregulated
pet breeders in Vermont.

(Peterson) "The bill requires anyone that advertises in the paper or
any other media to get this license. And then this license has to be
shown in the advertising."

(Dillon) In the Statehouse, the bill has the backing of the Human
Society of America. Joanne Bourbeau is the group's New England
director. She says the legislation would help stop unlicensed puppy
mills that allegedly mistreat animals.

(Bourbeau) "They are not hobby breeders. They are not professional
responsible breeders who are doing it because they love the breed.
They're doing it to make money. We've had reports of people breeding
and selling animals out of unheated garages. I got an email just
yesterday from somebody who gave me a report about a backyard breeder.
I can't give any details, but I get them pretty much on a weekly
basis."

(Dillon) But the bill would also cover anyone whose dog had an
unplanned litter and then advertised the puppies for sale. If the
legislation passes, they'd be required to pay $50 dollars for a pet
vendor's permit.

The bill does not cover farm animals. Windsor Senator John Cambell
says new state oversight of pet sales is justified.

(Campbell) "What this is in essence is an animal protection, and
consumer protection bill. There are many people who buy these dogs or
cats that later find out that there are anomalies with them,, medical
problems where they'll die. So we've heard there is a significant
problem in Vermont."

(Dillon) The $50 dollar fee for a pet vendor's permit would go into a
fund that helps low income people spay or neuter their pets.

Ed Peterson, who raises the Airedales in Middlesex, says the program
needs the money.

(Peterson) "Really, the purpose of the bill is to raise additional
funds for spay-neuter program for animals in Vermont for people who
have difficulty paying for it."

(Dillon) The Agency of Agriculture administers the spay-neuter
program. But the agency is concerned about the additional workload the
legislation would require. It could mean the state would have to check
newspaper ads to make sure people had a pet vendor's permit. Dr.
Kristin Haas is the state veterinarian.

(Haas) "The Agency of Agriculture currently does not have the
financial or personnel resources to adequately be able to follow and
monitor and enforce this proposal as it's outlined in this bill."

(Dillon) Haas said the state would have to hire one or two more people
to do the work. But in a tight budget year, there isn't any more money
to police pet sales. ________________________________