Legislation
Find your legislative representatives:
January 2010
The Wisconsin legislature passed a new law, LRB2448/2, which regulates persons who sell dogs or operate animal shelters or animal control facilities. By definition in the new law, a "Dog breeding facility" means a place at which dogs are bred and raised and from which 25 or more dogs are sold in a year. "Dog breeder" means a person who sells 25 or more dogs in a year that the person has bred and raised. These definitions require a dog breeder and a dog breeding facility to comply with annual licensing requirements, subjects the operation to inspection during normal business hours, and sets very specific requirements for the care, health and sale of dogs/puppies. The law is designed to regulate specifically, the numberous, large puppy mills in the State of Wisconin. It brings with it, a lot of obligations for the small breeder, who is most likely already in compliance with the stipulations of the law.
January 2008
Wisconsin Senate Bill 308 and Assembly Bill 567 will be considered at a joint public hearing of the Senate Committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Workforce Development, Technical Colleges and Consumer Protection, and the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy. The hearing will take place this Thursday, January 10th, at 11AM, in Room 417 North (GAR Hall) of the State Capitol in Madison. Substitute versions of the bills will be considered. All concerned breeders and owners are encouraged to express their concerns with the bills.
November 2007
Two new bills have been introduced in Wisconsin, both of which seek to regulate those classified as commercial breeders and provide remedies for purchasers of dogs. Assembly Bill 567, sponsored by Representative Lothian, has been assigned to the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection and Personal Privacy; its companion, Senate Bill 308, is sponsored by Senator Plale and has been assigned to the Senate Committee on Small Business, Emergency Preparedness, Workforce Development, Technical Colleges, and Consumer Protection. It is imperative that breeders and concerned dog owners contact their representative and their senator, as well as the committee members who will first consider this bill, to express their concerns with the current wording of the proposed legislation.
Proposed Wisconsin Commercial Breeder/Consumer Protection Bill
