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Dr. Jim Holt, AKC Legislative Liaison, Update on Progress

 

On Monday, September 12 Jim Holt gave a presentation on the progress that is being made to address the concerns about the PAWS amendment that have been articulated by many in the dog fancy. He was pleased to report that in his ongoing conversations with the amendment's sponsors the following times will be addressed;

1. The confusion about the language regarding hunting, breeding and security dogs will be corrected and those references will be returned to their original place within the definition of "dog" where they have been since the AWA bill was first written over 20 years ago. The reference will no longer appear in the amendment.

2. The exemptions for breeders who sell 25 or less puppies or sell the offspring of 6 or less litters and sell no more than 25 other dogs will be clarified so that the Senator's intentions in the amendment will be perfectly clear.

3. Shelter, rescue and legitimate non-profits will be clearly exempted within the language of the amendment

4. the reference to the sale of more than $500 worth of "other animals" will be removed from the retail section of the amendment and clearly placed back within the wholesale sales section of the AWA and the amendment.

5. Parts of the references to source records will be clarified so that sellers will not be required to keep separate records under state regulation and AWA regulation.

Jim is reasonably certain that the above changes will be made during the markup session of the Senate Agricultural Sub-Committee. The scheduling of this session has been delayed by the Senate's attention to the Supreme Court hearings and the Katrina relief efforts.  He is continuing to work with the sponsors on language that would exempt those who breed and sell for competition regardless of numbers, although the loopholes would be very difficult to identify and close. We will keep you posted on this.

As you could see from Jim's report, he is doing exactly what the majority of the AKC Board hoped he would be able to do when they approved his continued involvement in the process. His final words express the thoughts of many of us who have been involved in the legislative process -- "We would rather have them do it with us, than to us".

 

Received from “informed source”