Reintroduced New Jersey Bill Bad News For Breeders

Given below are extracts from the AKC Alert -

Quote

Assemblyman Neil Cohen and Assemblywoman Joan Voss have introduced
Assembly Bill 1591, a bill which threatens the rights of responsible
breeders in New Jersey. This bill is a reintroduction of 2006's AB
3401. Fanciers, concerned dog owners, and responsible breeders should
immediately contact their representatives in the New Jersey State
Legislature, and the members of the Assembly Agriculture and Natural
Resources Committee who will first hear this bill, and express their
vehement opposition to this bill.

The bill defines a "breeder" as any person who sells or offers to sell
more than five puppies per year. In addition to this incredibly low
threshold, the bill requires breeders to comply with a host of
restrictive regulations and institutes steep fines for violations.

AB 1591 also prohibits any breeder from selling more than 25 dogs in one year.

AB 1591 goes far beyond encouraging responsible breeding. Under AB
1591, all breeders would be required to comply with draconian
regulations including maintaining specified temperatures, keeping
animals only on nonporous surfaces, and circulating air at precise
levels. The measure further mandates the acceptable dimensions for
crates and runs, and sets minimum socialization standards. Finally,
all breeders are required to register annually with the Department of
Health. This list will be published and made available to the public.

All breeders are required to furnish specified information to pet
purchasers and provide a full refund for any reason for a pet returned
within 14 days. Any dog which is sold with a pedigree can be returned
for a full refund within 26 months if any congenital or genetic
defects are discovered.

Violations can be punished with monetary fines or suspension of thelicense to sell pets. A first violation can result in a prohibition
on selling cats or dogs for five years and subsequent offenses can add
an additional five years for each violation. Civil penalties may also
be administered. For a first offense, a breeder shall be fined $5,000
and for a second offense the breeder may be fined $10,000 for each
subsequent offense. A member of the public who supplies information
that results in fines or suspension will be eligible for an award of
10 percent of the civil penalty or $250, whichever is greater.

unquote

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Write to the following using the formats drafted by Jim Honda of the
USA at the request of Pedro Jiminez - Regional Director who are
orchestrating the efforts by the USA to defeat this legislation.

These formats are given below in the next posting.

Assemblywoman Joan M. Voss
District 38
520 Main Street
Fort Lee, NJ 07024

Assemblyman Neil M. Cohen, Esquire
District 20 (Union)
985 Stuyvesant Avenue
Union, NJ 07083

Assemblyman Douglas H. Fisher, Chair
14 East Commerce St.
3rd Floor
Bridgeton, NJ 08302
(856) 455-1011

Assemblyman Nelson Albano, Vice-Chair
21 North Main St.
Cape May Court House, NH 08210
(609) 465-0700

Assemblyman John F. Amodeo

Assemblyman Herb Conaway, Jr.
Delran Professional Center
Suite 125
8008 Route 130 North
Delran, NJ 08075
(856) 461-3997

Assemblywoman Marcia A. Karrow
1 Maple Avenue
Flemington, NJ 08822
(908) 782-5127

Contact your own state Assemblyperson and Senator. Express your
opposition to AB 1591, and urge them to do the same. To find out who
represents you in the New Jersey State Assembly and State Senate, go
to http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
districts/municipalities.asp.

end