For those of you interested in the Paws legislation if you go to the AKC website there is a lot of interesting information. I do struggle with AKC saying only about 4% will be inspected if I understand this correctly. What I did enjoy reading was the committee meetings and the head of many organizations talking about this law.
http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=2794
PAWS Update
[Thursday, February 09, 2006]
Senator Santorum's staff and Senate legislative counsel have completed a draft of the revised PAWS bill. The draft was provided to the US Department of Agriculture and the 26 Senate co-sponsors of PAWS at a briefing last week for their review and comment. The Discussion Draft of PAWS will be made public after input from the USDA and the co-sponsors is reviewed. Senator Santorum's staff has told us they expect this to be accomplished in the next few days.
The revised PAWS draft includes all of the provisions outlined in Senator Santorum's letter to AKC Chairman Ron Menaker on January 13, 2006. These include deleting all references to hunting, breeding and security dogs, both in PAWS and in the existing Animal Welfare Act; clarifying the numerical standards for the exemption of small retailers and breeders; clarifying the exemption for shelter and rescue organizations; and including an exemption for persons selling dogs and cats at retail who are in compliance with the standards of not-for-profit organizations such as the AKC which the Secretary of Agriculture has certified have standards and inspection protocols which provide at least equivalent protection to dogs and cats as are provided by the USDA's standards
American Kennel Club Statement on the Proposed Pet Animal Welfare Statute 2005
The American Kennel Club supports PAWS legislation because we believe it is good for dogs and aligns with our core mission of promoting the sport of purebred dogs. The AKC has always supported enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, and demands the high standards for AKC registered dogs through our own long-standing, rigorous inspection program. We believe that animal care standards are necessary to assure the proper care and treatment of dogs and the integrity of the breeding practices in this country.
The AKC has long held the position that too much regulation can create unnecessary burdens on breeders with no benefit to dogs. However, this is not the case with the legislation currently before the Congress.
As currently drafted, PAWS amends the Animal Welfare Act. The legislation offers a reasonable balance between addressing a changing marketplace where dogs are sold en masse over the Internet and imported from foreign countries, and protecting breeders from excessive regulation. After a detailed analysis of the legislative language, we have reached the conclusion that PAWS will adequately protect the autonomy of breeders, while enforcing reasonable industry standards for breeding and selling dogs.
The AKC supports all breeders who register their litters with us. We estimate that fewer than 4% of those currently registering litters with us may be subject to inspections under this new bill. Further, since these 4% of our constituents have also been subject to AKC inspection, we believe that they are already maintaining standards above and beyond what is proposed in the new bill and have no cause for concern.
The AKC is dedicated to upholding the integrity of its Registry and promoting the sport of purebred dogs. As such, supporting PAWS aligns with the AKC's core mission. We're more than champion dogs - we're the dog's champion.