Michigan Breeders-Very Important Info. PLEASE READ!
 

Very important legislation concerning "ALL" breeders in Michigan. PLEASE READ!

American Kennel Club - Michigan Breeder Bill Introduced

I think this bill is horrible. It really only holds back the honest breeders and does nothing to the "greeders" as they stay under the radar. This would kill many of the small time breeders.

Horrible indeed!!! I am going to email them!!!

I might email them but just don't know what to say (or don't know how to say it nicely).:mad:

More laws to fill pages and restrict freedom...:mad::mad::mad:

I'm not comfortable with the gov't being able to deny you a liscence at will. I wonder what their basis for denial/approval is....?

Other than that though, I honestly don't see what the problem with the bill is.

That is the problem, Bama...

Not to mention who decides there are enough of a particular breed that's received a license.

Oh, OK...then I'm not as lost as I thought I was. :p I agree with that--I don't see how that would work.

I'm afraid of how it might work.

Plus I think any legislation like that...won't affect the group being targeted. The greeders....who operate without following laws anyway.

Well, there would be a stricter, more detailed law in force that they could enforce... What requirements do they have to meet as it currently stands?

I think the overall goal is good, I just don't think this would be the best process for achieving it.

Pretty soon, the only place you're going to be able to buy pups from will be puppymills.:( It seems like they are making things more and more difficult for small reputable breeders.

wow this looks almost like the bill that was pass here...stating that have to get license to breed...and if we have more than 2 females that is not spayed and will be breed we will have to setup a kennel and have it available for inspection during business...and i don't even know where start on complaining about it!!!!

Honestly, I don't really know how I feel about the whole thing...

I see good and bad aspects of the proposition.

No one can deny that puppy mills and pet over population are a major problem these days. People have been calling for something to be done about it for years. I see this as a step towards that, with some major kinks to work out. I don't think there is a porper governing agency in existance at the current time that could adequately oversee the enforced policies.

I realize that implementing something like this would be an inconvenince for reputable breeders and pet owners, which is very unfair, but honestly, what alternative is there?

I'm sure that there are lots of details regarding this and similar propositions that I have not thoguht out, but these are just my initial thoughts.

Pure overpopulation isn't the real issue in my opinion, Most dogs at shelters are abandoned because they have bad habits that were not dealt with in training. So many are basically unruly individuals that are dumped, and their former owners just pick up another cute puppy somewhere. So until you can be sure only responsible people will be buying dogs you will have this problem. That is not possible to do via legislation.

IMHO until every local community offers very low cost or free spay/neuter, and also provides low cost or free training programs for new pet owners, those communites (or the state where the communities are located) need to stay away from passing unenforceable laws that restrict the constitutional rights of dog breeders. You can't legislate everything, laws simply don't solve problems like this but free or low cost services and education can help immensely.

Forgive my typos, blackberries are not conducive to making corrections lol.

Honestly I don't see this as an answer to the problems of overpopulation. Legislation like this is a way for the state to make more money in my opinion. Mainly because the bad breeders and puppymills will continue to run until someone stops them. The majority of puppies and dogs that you find at the shelters typically are not purebreds either. They are the result of neighborhood dogs breeding because like others have said they can't afford to have them spayed or neutered at a decent price. I believe that a little education and some cost effective programs would take care of alot of the problems. I don't mind having inspections of my breeding program. In fact I would welcome them, but I don't care to have them decide whether or not I can or cannot breed.

My question is this: Who is going to fund these cost effective programs for education and lower costs s/n programs? And who would they benefit? Do you think that the people type of breeders/owners who are the root of the problem would participate willingly? Probably not. Unless it is made into an enforceable law, no one would comply.

Putting this bill in place would be like taking away a persons right to own a gun (well on a totally different level, but bare with me here...). Point being that even if people were not allowed to own guns, the "bad guys" will always find a way to get them. The only people it would hurt are those that obey the laws, since they would be left with nothing to defend themselves.
How does this compare? Well this will not even touch the puppy mill situation IMO. They will continue to exsist and thrive, and maybe do better since many of the small scale reputable breeders will be out of business.
I will always stand by my belief that over crowding and overpopulation in shelters is not because of the breeder that doesnt breed the perfect dog, or mixes breeds. It is the breeder that will let anyone come and take a dog and never screen or do everything they can to ensure their pups are going to good homes and are returned to them if the home doesnt work out for them.
I don't believe the government should have more control. At all. If they want to put a stop to the puppymills, go in and shut them down. Why can't they do that? Because of all of the other rules that the government has put into place that protect criminals.
If I want to breed my dog, I am going to breed my dog. People don't need a license to have children, and we have an overcrowded fostercare system. People don't need to be fingerprinted to breed (thank God). If this bill goes into effect, it will be a foot in the door to getting to that point.
Pretty soon our "free" country will not be anymore if things continue down this path.

I wouldn't mind paying a fee for a license or being fingerprinted. I have nothing to hide. BUT i do agree that this is poor legislation as it would allow dishonest breeders to work the system; and possibly limit the number of licenses in the state - and who is going to approve/deny applications and on what basis. Way too much power to a state gov agency. I am sorry to say that I am cynical when it comes to bureaucracy ...... somone would get preferential treatment and it sure wouldn't be the small hobby breeder!
I have emailed my request to vote this down.

I totally agree! It will not stop here. If they want to stop the puppymills then go in and stop them. I have reported several myself and they are still there!

No law has any value past the point where it can be enforced. Otherwise only the law abiding citizen is following it....the criminal will continue as though it was never written.

We must at some point admit that much of the public does not care about puppy mills, BYB's, mistreatment of animals they don't have to see. It is as far removed from them as an asian sweatshop with children working for pennies making $200 shoes. Does it stop them from buying the shoes? The problem is not a lack of laws...it is a lack of ethics and responsibility. No way to legislate that.

I would like to see a requirement for pet shops to disclose the name of the breeder where each puppy comes from and how many hands it passed through before it landed in the store. Kind of like the requirement in restaurants to show the calorie content in the food. The USDA paperwork requires all of this information, it would be very easy and cost effective to just post the info. Then let the buyer beware. At least this way if someone is considering a puppy and the listed breeder is exposed as a puppy mill, they have the ability to put the two together and not buy the puppy.

[QUOTE]No law has any value past the point where it can be enforced. Otherwise only the law abiding citizen is following it....the criminal will continue as though it was never written. QUOTE]

This is the point exactly!!! I love the way you say this. A bill such as this will not hurt the greeders! It will only hurt the breeders that are trying to follow the rules and will get turned down for no reason at all! I think it is scary that they are trying to take away more of our rights every day. This bill needs to be turned DOWN! :thumbdown

I couldn't find the actual bill. Just thoughts about the bill of what it would do. a opinion is that if you owned a cat in your home, you would not be able to have any breeding dogs in the home. Or any pups with moms in the home with any other dogs. If this is true ( again, couldn't find the actual bill with all the rules about housing) thats just plain stupid. I don't see that a breeder with 3-4 dogs in the house and a cat should have to build a kennel to keep them in like the USDA breeders do. It is upsetting that it always seems bill go more toward small hobby or show breeders with restrictions. BUT THE HUGE USDA kennels or large kennels can have 200 dogs as long as they have a 2 x 4 run, even though they don't get any love or attention, or get to run in the grass like normal dogs. The big problem to me is the AMOUNT of dogs. If a person couldn't own a large amount of dogs we wouldn't have mills because it wouldn't bring in the big $$. Like I have said a million times before. Dogs are not cattle, and just because they have a small run to live in thats clean, does not make for a healthy, happy dog. I supposed it's against our rights not to be able to own 200 dogs and to sell to pet stores , but I think thats WRONG!! All these bills for animals rights, and the huge mills are still alive and doing well. THATS A PROBLEM!! Why worry about 3 breeding dogs living with a cat in a home ? I mean come on now....

Probably from the same place that enforcing will cost if this bill gets passed. The taxpayers! But I'm thinking that offering some benefits to vets to do spay/neuter for a reduced costs might cost less than hiring a whole staff of people that will need to do all the paperwork and everything else envolved with enforcing this would probably cost a whole lot more.

I would think if it was passed the funding would come from the $200 license fees....