Sporting dog owners in California can breathe a sigh of relief thanks in part to work from Safari Club International (SCI) in successfully defeating Assembly Bill 702, legislation focused on animal breeding permits in the state.
Miguel Santiago withdrew AB 702 from consideration in the committee. Once again, SCI used a combination of direct lobbying through its California Coalition and grassroots opposition through the Hunter Advocacy Action Center to educate lawmakers on the negative impacts the legislation would have to sporting dog owners and the hunting community at-large. SCI advocates were responsible for sending hundreds of emails directly to their Assembly members in the days leading up to the bills defeat.
Assembly Bill 702 would have prohibited any individual or business from maintaining a dog kennel, or other place, for breeding purposes without first obtaining a breeder permit. It would have placed unnecessary restrictions and costs on the breeding of dogs used for hunting, field trials, and other legitimate sporting purposes. The cost of these burdens would have ultimately been passed on to consumers and sportsmen. Finally, the bill gave virtually unlimited power to local jurisdictions to take this bill even further, impose more restrictions, and deny permitting to anyone for any reason.
As we know, dogs used for sporting purposes are typically purebreds that are well cared for, highly valued, and the result of careful selection and breeding over multiple generations. These dogs rarely end up in shelters or pose a risk to the public or a health issue – the supposed concerns for the bill to resolve. These breeders are not the source of issues, and the bill did not properly target the problematic dog breeders. In fact, the bill would have increased the underground supply of pets, expanded importation from other states and countries (often with lower standards of care), and overall create more problems than it solved.
It is clear that the bill was not intended to address animal abuse issues, but was rather another camouflaged attack on hunters and legitimate breeders. SCI continues to push back against these constant aggressions toward the hunting community, and with your support and advocacy we will be successful in defeating future bills like AB 702.
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