I'm having some problems posting the link, but its http://www.akc.org/petition/ I believe the deadline is 6/15

This bill would not only cripple small hobby breeders, but do virtually nothing against puppy mills (many of which already have the USDA certification).

AKC

 Quote: AKC website

Under the proposed regulations, breeders or others who sell a puppy sight unseen, by any means including online, by mail or by telephone, would now be regulated in accordance with USDA standards, if you own more than four "breeding females" of any of the listed species, including dogs and cats. The effect of these proposed regulations would be to take away the public’s opportunity to obtain puppies from those breeders, who in many cases have dedicated their lives to breeding for health, breed type and temperament.

On a personal level I find this bill to be an egregious affront to my rights. I have no desire to buy puppies from USDA certified kennels and most people cannot afford to fly/drive cross-country to buy a dog from the breeder they really want. This also puts a huge burden on breeders of dogs whose gene pools are already very restricted.

I should correct myself, this isn't a bill. There is nothing to be voted on here... Just the USDA deciding what rules the rest of us have to live by.

While I think that the whole thing is an example of over-reaching bloated bureaucracy and exercise in futility on the part of the USDA (I mean seriously, they can't/don't even enforce current laws), I'm not sure that signing a petition from is really going to get a point across. I found the wording vague and emotional without a lot of solid reasoning.

Instead, I'd suggest writing a letter/email directly to people at the USDA (find them on a USDA website) stating objections to the bill. You could focus on something like this gem of illogical logic

 Quote:

During a program audit
that was completed in 2010, the USDA’s
Office of Inspector General found that
some consumers who purchased dogs
over the Internet had encountered
health problems with their dogs.1 The
report did not discuss whether animals
purchased over the Internet suffer from
health problems at a greater rate than
those sold in traditional, brick-andmortar
retail pet stores. In addition,
APHIS has received complaints directly
from members of the public concerning
the welfare of dogs and other pet
animals sold at retail.

So essentially, they don't have any current data pointing toward a need to revise the regulations, since they have no data they have no clue if new regulations would change anything, and best of all they are currently recieving complaints about establishments that will continue to be exempt.

In the question and answer sheet I found this

 Quote:

Today, the Internet allows retailers to sell animals
directly to the public sight-unseen. Because the
current defi nition is broadly defi ned, those retailers
continue to qualify for exemption, even though they
don’t meet the intent of the definition. As a result,
some buyers have received animals with a contagious
disease, general illness, genetic deformities or other
medical and social issues. Some of these buyers also
received animals that were too young to be weaned.

I'd point out that several states already have puppy lemon laws on the books and that federal regulations already prohibit shipping puppies by plane if they are under 8 weeks of age. And once again, all those things they're trying to prevent frequently happen in stores where the consumer can see what they're buying.

Thanks for the points, Mara.

The part that really burns me*, having read over a significant part of the USDA certification requirements a long time ago, is that they essentially require you to be a puppy mill. Their standards from health and well-being standards are minimal, but they 100% require a kennel setup. There is nothing good for anyone here, except those that are already USDA certified mills.

*Well, that and the overreaching, bloated bureaucracy bit

That's a bunch of BS...*shakes head*

I singed it with a few words for them.