Senate Bill 1492, sponsored by Senator Jonathan Martin (R-33), and its House companion, House Bill 1581, sponsored by Representative Linda Chaney (R-61), are among the most radical animal bills ever introduced anywhere in the country. The bills draw no distinction between large commercial operations and hobby breeders and sporting dog owners who breed dogs for hunting, performance events, or for show. To the animal extremists, one unsterilized female dog is one too many, so making it impossible for average law-abiding citizens to own such dogs is the goal.  

This absurd “one size fits all approach” will allow the state of Florida to conduct inspections in the home of a “breeder” who raises dogs in their house as opposed to having kennel facilities. To be sure, these bills read like an animal extremist’s wish-list of every possible way to regulate dog ownership out of existence, so heavy inspections in the home make sense when the goal is to harass and intimated law-abiding citizens out of dog ownership entirely.  It is time for sporting dog owners throughout Florida to stand up and be counted before these bills garner any momentum toward passage. 

Note: Word on the street is that Representative Chaney has indicated that she will withdraw HB 1581, however, this has not yet occurred.  Meanwhile, SB 1492 remains alive. Please email your state Senator urging him/her to OPPOSE SB 1492 if it comes before them.