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Advocacy Center

Action Alert

USA: Bring All Commercial Dog Breeders Under Federal Oversight!

H.R. 835 / S. 707—Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act
Sponsors: Representative Jim Gerlach (R-PA); Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
ASPCA Position: Support
Action Needed: Use the email below to ask your federal legislators to support and cosponsor the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act!

On March 1, U.S. Representative Gerlach, along with Reps. Farr, Capps and Young, introduced the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act, to bring all commercial dog breeders in the United States under federal oversight, in the House of Representatives. On March 30, Senator Dick Durbin introduced the same bill in the Senate. This is bipartisan legislation that has attracted high-ranking cosponsors in both chambers, but we need your help drawing more attention to it and attracting even more support in Congress.

Currently, only breeders who sell their dogs to puppy brokers or pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected by the USDA. If passed, the PUPS Act would require any breeder who sells or offers to sell more than 50 dogs annually directly to the public—including over the Internet—to also be licensed and inspected.

The Act would also require all dog breeders licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act to exercise every dog every day, including allowing the dogs to reach a running stride without the use of treadmills or similar devices. Commercial breeders often keep their dogs in tiny cages for their entire lives. Requiring exercise could dramatically improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of dogs suffering from endless confinement at the hands of the commercial breeding industry.

What You Can Do
Please email your U.S. representative and senators today and ask them to support and cosponsor the PUPS Act!

To learn more about this issue, please visit www.aspca.org/puppymills.

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Support Puppy Mill Oversight with PUPS Act [H.R. 835/S. 707]

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In March, the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act was introduced in both chambers of Congress to bring all commercial dog breeders in the United States under federal oversight. Currently, only breeders who sell their dogs to brokers or pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected by the USDA. If passed, the PUPS Act would require any breeder who sells or offers to sell more than 50 dogs annually directly to the public--including over the Internet--to also be licensed and inspected.

The Act would also require all dog breeders licensed under the federal Animal Welfare Act to exercise every dog every day, including allowing the dogs to reach a running stride without the use of treadmills or similar devices. Commercial breeders often keep their dogs in tiny cages for their entire lives. Requiring exercise could dramatically improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of dogs suffering from endless confinement.

Given the horrific conditions that have been found in regulated commercial breeding facilities (most notably those cited in the 2010 Inspector General's Audit of APHIS's Animal Care Program), one can only imagine how bad conditions may be in unlicensed facilities. I fully support more consistent and aggressive enforcement of the current law. Moreover, the PUPS Act will ensure that all commercial breeders are held to the same standards, regardless of the methods and means by which their puppies are sold.

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Therefore, I respectfully request that you support and cosponsor H.R. 835/S. 707 if you have not already done so. Thank you for your time and consideration.

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