NJ- Commercial breeder will be anyone who sells 5 or more dogs,puppies, cats or kittens

From: American Sporting Dog Alliance
by John Yates

New Jersey

New Jersey dog owners are facing one of the toughest and most restrictive pieces of breeding legislation in history this year, and a second bill will have a heavy impact on lost hunting dogs.

Anyone who sells five or more dogs, cats, puppies or kittens in a year would have to be licensed and inspected as a commercial breeder and also as a pet dealer, which means facing Draconian restrictions and truly devastating fines and penalties.

That translates into a person having only one litter of puppies a year, in most cases. Even hobby breeding of the smallest possible scale would be unable to survive this legislation.

The legislation also pays snitches to turn in breeders, and the reward can be in the thousands of dollars.

AB 1591 is sponsored by Assemblywomen Joan M. Voss (D-Bergen) and Dawn Marie Addieggo (D-Burlington). It is before the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

A breeder is defined as anyone who sells five or more dogs and cats a year. A pet dealer is defined as anyone who sells even one dog or cat for use as pets. A breeding facility is defined as a building or kennel, including a home, where two or more dogs or cats are kept for breeding.

Those definitions snag up everyone who raises dogs, and many people who simply keep a couple of dogs for hunting or pets.

The law also prohibits anyone from selling more than 25 dogs and/or cats a year, and specifically bans brother-sister matings.

Every word in the bill is inspired by HSUS and its agenda to eliminate animal ownership in America.

Every breeder (that’s you) must register with the Department of Health, which the legislations specifically says will develop regulations and standards of care through working closely with the radical HSUS. The bill says that the regulations also will cover spaying and neutering. Specific care and kenneling requirements also are covered. Extensive paperwork, veterinary examinations, and guarantees to buyers also are required. A veterinarian must inspect and perform stool tests on every dog or puppy no longer than 14 days before a sale.

Anyone who buys or sells a dog without the proper New Jersey license, or who violates any of the above provisions, is subject to civil penalties of up to $10,000, heavy fines and imprisonment.

Even a first offense for a minor technical violation will result in a $5,000 civil penalty, fines and a ban against selling a dog or cat for five years. Someone who buys a dog or cat from an unlicensed breeder faces a $1,000 penalty for the first offense.

Accused dog owners will be denied their constitutional right to a day in court. They will be allowed only an administrative hearing before the same agency that charged them.

A frightening provision is that anyone who turns in a breeder will get 10-percent of the civil penalty as a reward, but not less than $250. Snitching by animal rights fanatics could become full-time and lucrative jobs in New Jersey if this bill passes!

Here is a link to the actual legislation: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A2000/1591_I1.HTM

The American Sporting Dog Alliance strongly urges all New Jersey dog owners to contact members of the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee to voice clear opposition to this terrible legislation, which will destroy a lifetime of work by many of the most dedicated and high quality hobby breeders in America.

Here is a link to the committee members’ contact information: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/committees/ShowCommittee.asp

New Jersey dog owners also face a second piece of bad legislation, AB 1568, which requires all dogs taken to an animal shelter to be sterilized before they are reclaimed by their owners.

This legislation will have a strong impact if a dog gets lost while hunting and is taken to an animal shelter by a good Samaritan, is found by an animal control officer or is kidnapped by an animal rights activist.

Exemptions are possible only for currently active show dogs or show champions. No exemption is provided for field trial, performance or hunting dogs.

In addition, a dog can meet the requirements for being spayed only by having a tattoo put on its belly by a veterinarian.

AB 1568 is sponsored by Assemblywoman Linda R. Greenstein (D- Mercer and Middlesex). It’s committee assignment has not been published.

Here is a link to the text of AB 1568: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A2000/1568_I1.HTM.