The Puppy Protection Act of 2023 - HR 1624 - updates the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA) for USDA-licensed dealers. The bill would require

• Adequate housing with solid flooring and space to stand and move around

• A minimum of twice-daily feedings of nutritious food

• Continuous access to clean, potable water

• Exercise and socialization

• Adequate veterinary medical care

The Act also implements stricter requirements for breeding dogs, limiting the number of litters a breeding female can have and imposing age maximums and minimums based on the dog's fully grown size. Further, it requires that retired breeding dogs must be placed humanely and cannot be sold at auction to another for breeding purposes.

HB 2437 modernizes the Kansas Pet Animal Act (KPAA), which has not been significantly updated in more than 30 years. The bill implements industry-recognized best practice standards, such as ensuring all pet animals in the care of a licensee have continual access to water and are exercised and socialized from a young age. Currently, USDA-licensed breeders are not subject to state law, so HB 2437 closes that loophole and ensures all licensees have to meet Kansas’s standards. These updates also provide financial relief for the licensees, like animal shelters, who bear the brunt of housing animals on behalf of the state.

Retail sellers of puppies and kittens, like pet stores, support operations like puppy mills that produce pet animals in large quantities and without regard for their health. HB 2447 would undermine the authority of local communities to regulate or ban the retail sale of puppies or kittens in pet stores. Not only is this legislation dangerous for our pet animals, but it’s also dangerous for our communities, as it would keep municipalities from banning, restricting, or regulating the sale of any consumer merchandise.