2010 was a year of many challenges and many victories for responsible dog owners, fanciers and breeders. The AKC Government Relations Department (AKC GR) had another record-breaking year in the number of canine legislative proposals introduced on the federal, state, and local levels.

Victories for Responsible Dog Owners
Thanks to the dedicated efforts of numerous AKC state federations, local clubs, and concerned fanciers, breeders and dog owners, a number of the over 1,200 proposals introduced were defeated or never considered. AKC GR was pleased to support the efforts of local dog owners working to protect their rights. View a full list of 2010 Legislative Successes. Highlights of successes in 2010 include:

• California – Senate Bill 250 sought to mandate the sterilization of dogs on a second animal control violation in a lifetime and could have prevented the owner of the dog from ever owning an intact animal again. The General Assembly defeated the bill by a vote of 28-40.


• Florida – House Bill 543/Senate Bill 1276 sought to eliminate the state’s existing prohibition of local breed-specific dangerous dog laws. S.1276 passed the Senate Community Affairs Committee with an amendment, but died in the Senate Agriculture Committee. HB 543 never received a hearing.


• New Hampshire – House Bill 1624 sought to impose many unreasonable and unnecessary restrictions on responsible dog breeders and owners, including ownership limits, onerous care and conditions standards for certain breeders, and severe limitations on the practices of debarking and tail docking. The New Hampshire House Environmental and Agriculture Committee voted the bill “inexpedient to legislate”.


• North Carolina – After a two-year legislative battle, Senate Bill 460 was finally defeated when it was pulled from consideration by the House Finance Committee. SB 460 sought to place unreasonable, costly, and confusing restrictions on dog breeding in North Carolina. North Carolina legislators reported receiving thousands of letters and phone calls from concerned constituents.


• Ohio – The Toledo City Council unanimously repealed the city’s long-standing ban on "pit bulls" in October 2010. The law also allowed any dog considered to be a "pit bull" found at large to be seized and potentially euthanized, resulting in the destruction of dozens of innocent dogs. The city is now developing new programs to help these dogs find permanent homes.


• Wisconsin - The Wisconsin Legislature adjourned prior to giving final approval to AB 793, which, among other provisions, would have allowed for those contracted to care for seized animals to petition the court to euthanize, sell, or otherwise remove the animal prior to the conclusion of the trial. Furthermore, an animal would have been considered "unclaimed" if the owner failed to pay an amount mandated by the court for care of the animals within 5 days. The owner would not be refunded the money paid, regardless of whether there was a guilty verdict.

The numerous successes in 2010 demonstrate that the united voice of responsible dog owners and breeders is being heard by lawmakers; however, we can expect new and even tougher challenges in 2011. Sixteen states have already begun prefling legislation for the 2011 sessions, and a number of dog laws have already been introduced. The continuing need for a strong, united voice is essential. Four states developed AKC state federations this year (Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, and a second federation in Michigan), bringing the grand total to 37 states with established AKC federations.

AKC GR relies on AKC state federations to be AKC’s “boots on the ground” for canine legislation issues in their states. Through federations, the AKC can most effectively provide clubs, breeders, and dog owners with the support they need to ensure that their voices are heard in state legislatures and wherever their rights are challenged. We encourage clubs to join their state’s AKC federation or consider developing one with other AKC clubs and responsible dog owners/breeders in your state.

Federal/State Legislative Overview
Despite fewer states having a legislative session this year, the AKC Government Relations Department tracked over 250 more pieces of canine legislation in 2010 on the federal and state levels than in 2009. In total, over 1,100 pieces of legislation were introduced in Congress and state legislatures relating to dogs or animal ownership. As you can see on the chart below, cruelty and breeding restrictions remained hot issues, representing 350 of the total bills AKC GR tracked in 2010. There was also an increase in the amount of general legislation that included animal ownership or dogs in particular. Although the majority of these “other” bills were not detrimental to dog owners, it demonstrates that lawmakers are concerned about animal issues. As a result, we expect the number of state and federal bills to increase again in 2011.

2010 State Legislation   *Note that some bills encompassed more than one issue, and therefore were counted twice.

Local Issues Overview
AKC GR also saw a slight increase in the number of local issues, with approximately 150 separate pieces canine legislation being addressed in 2010. We are observing a trend of increased attempts to pass legislation on the local level when it failed on the state level. As a result, there were significantly more breeder and kennel regulations proposed locally than in previous years. In many cases, constituents were able to defeat, amend, or postpone these proposals, and AKC GR was pleased to support them in these efforts. This sends a very clear message to AKC federations, clubs, and breeders that it is imperative to continuously check city council and county commission agendas, as successes on the local level are a direct result of local constituent involvement.

On a positive note, at least five localities introduced legislation this year to increase or repeal their ownership limit laws. This is an exciting development for responsible dog owners, and illustrates the impact that education and perseverance can have when fighting canine legislation.

For the second year in a row, breed-specific legislation dominated all other local dog issues, accounting for 60 of the local measures we addressed this year. The media and local clubs reported numerous anecdotes of lawmakers who were stunned by the strong opposition to these proposals, again demonstrating the message that grassroots advocacy works, and the continued need for education on breed-specific issues.

2010 Local Legislation   *Note that some bills encompassed more than one issue, and therefore were counted twice.