May 17, 2021
https://www.akc.org/legislative-alerts/tx-action-alert-update-hb-1818-scheduled-committee-hearing-8am-tomorrow-may-18-last-chance-express-opposition/
Texas House Bill 1818, which seeks to limit most Texas pet stores from selling
purpose-bred dogs, is scheduled to be considered by the Senate Business and
Commerce Committee, tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18, at 8AM. The American Kennel
Club (AKC) and a broad coalition of interest groups strongly oppose HB 1818.
With legislative deadlines and the end of the 2021 legislative session rapidly
approaching, it is imperative that all Texas residents call, email, send a
Facebook Message, or Tweet both the members of the Senate Business and Industry
Committee and your state senator to request they oppose HB 1818 TODAY! This
may be the last opportunity to timely express opposition to HB 1818.
On principle, AKC strongly opposes any measure that restricts choice by
compelling people and/or retailers to obtain pets solely from shelter or rescue
distributors. Laws to ban the sale of purpose-bred puppies are not only
inefficient, they undermine the responsible dog ownership and the wellbeing of
pets. HB 1818 violates these principles by attempting to limit pet stores
located in counties of more than 200,000 residents to sourcing dogs from only:
(1) an animal control agency, (2) an animal shelter, or (3) an animal rescue
organization.
SAMPLE TEXT/TALKING POINTS:
Senator _____,
I am a proud Texas resident and urge you to hold HB 1818 in committee. As
currently worded, HB 1818:
• Violates the values of liberty, freedom, protecting business, and
small government that Texas prides itself in.
• Restricts pet stores in counties with populations of more than
200,000 residents to showcasing only pets that come from unregulated and random
sources. In addition to impacting an unknown number of businesses, HB 1818
would remove the most regulated and vetted source of pets from the market. It
will exacerbate existing sourcing problems by incentivizing the sales of pets
from unregulated sources subject neither to animal welfare regulations nor the
health tests and reporting requirements associated with those regulations.
• Would disparately impact small players in the pet sales market.
Currently, only 4% of Americans obtain pets from a traditional retail pet shop,
while approximately 44% of Americans obtain their pet from a retail rescue,
traditional breed rescue, shelter, or similar source. The U.S. currently has a
large market for “rescue pets”, and with it, significant economic incentive for
individuals or organizations who can avoid regulatory oversight by
irresponsibly breeding or “flipping” pets directly to meet this demand.
• Will likely prove fatal to all targeted Texas pet stores that sell
purpose-bred dogs. I reiterate, the number of stores that would be impacted
should HB 1818 be enacted is not known by the Texas Legislature. HB 1818 will
force these small businesses to change their business models and compete
directly against large‐scale online retailers and big‐box pet supply chains,
which can more easily realize economies of scale in the pricing of products.
When small, independent stores cannot operate with the same economies of scale,
they often are forced to shut down.
• Is not about a Texas-specific issue. In fact, Texas is just one
of 14 states where animal rights‐driven, onerous pet store legislation has been
introduced in 2021. HB 1818 and others introduced this year are modeled after a
troubled California law that was enacted 2017 and resulted in harmful
consequences there.
• Will do nothing to prevent animal cruelty, and will cause harm to
Texans who want a quality purpose‐bred pet but don’t have access to a local
breeder or do not want to be put on a long puppy waiting list.
Thank you for your consideration. Please oppose HB 1818.
[Name]
[City]
[Phone & email]
WHAT CONCERNED TEXAS RESIDENTS SHOULD DO TODAY:
First, email, call, Facebook Message, or Tweet the members of the Texas Senate
Business and Industries Committee and urge them to oppose HB 1818.
Senator Kelly Hancock, Chair (Dist. 9 – North Richland Hills)
Dist. Phone: 817-514-3804
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0109
kelly.hancock@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/TexansForKellyHancock ;
https://twitter.com/KHancock4TX ;
Senator Robert Nichols, Vice Chair (Dist. 3 – Jacksonville)
Dist. Phone: 903-589-3003
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0103
robert.nichols@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorRobertNichols ;
https://twitter.com/SenatorNichols ;
Senator Donna Campbell (Dist. 25 – New Braunfels)
Dist. Phone: 830-626-0065
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0125
donna.campbell@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/DonnaCampbellTX ;
https://twitter.com/DonnaCampbellTX ;
Senator Brandon Creighton (Dist. 4 – Conroe)
Dist. Phone: 409-838-9861
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0104
brandon.creighton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/CreightonForTX/ ;
https://twitter.com/SenCreighton ;
Senate Nathan Johnson (Dist. 16 – Dallas)
Dist. Phone: 214-750-2913
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0116
nathan.johnson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/NathanforTexas/ ;
https://twitter.com/nathanfortexas ;
Senator José Menéndez (Dist. 26 – San Antonio)
Dist. Phone: 210-733-6604
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0126
jose.menendez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/Menendez4Texas ;
https://twitter.com/Menendez4Texas ;
Senator Angela Paxton (Dist. 8 – McKinney)
Dist. Phone: 972-908-3424
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0108
angela.paxton@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/AngelaPaxtonTX ;
https://twitter.com/AngelaPaxtonTX ;
Senator Charles Schwertner (Dist. 5 – Georgetown)
Dist. Phone: 979-776-0222
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0105
Charles.Schwertner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/drschwertner ;
https://twitter.com/DrSchwertner ;
Senator John Whitmire (Dist. 15 – Houston)
Dist. Phone: 713-864-8701
Cap. Phone: 512-463-0115
john.whitmire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
https://www.facebook.com/SenatorWhitmire ;
https://twitter.com/whitmire_john ;
Second, email, call, Facebook Message, or Tweet your member of the Texas Senate
and urge them to oppose HB 1818. Use the Texas Legislature’s Who Represents
Me? tool to identify and contact your Texas Senator.
AKC Government Relations will continue to provide updates and action alerts on
House Bill 1818. For more information, contact doglaw@xxxxxxx.
For more information, contact doglaw@xxxxxxx.
Learn more!
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Stormy Hope
LLARTC
NAIATrust, Trustee
NAIATrust-CA on Facebook!
GSDCA Legislative Liaison to AKC
California Responsible Pet
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