Editorial: April 17, 2026

Three samples of legislative alerts that were reported by the American Kennel Club that should be of great concern to us. They are printed below to keep you aware again of the problems we face that we’re not always aware of. One in particular could threaten performance events. Thank you to Vice President and Executive Secretary Sheila Goffe.

New York: Ask Assembly Committee to Oppose New Restrictions on Hobby Breeders. 
Under this proposal, anyone selling more than 9 dogs (potentially the pups from just one litter) – would be subject to  licensing and regulation – including commercial –  style one size fits all kennel engineering requirements and annual visits to your “facility” or home from a vet. ( Imagine trying to get that with the current vet shortage!)  Currently  NY allows an exception to this rule for hobby breeders who raise and sell fewer than 25 pups/year.    

 

U.S. Congress: Amendment to Farm Bill
Could Threaten AKC Events & Hunt Training  - While the stated intent of the “Greyhound Protection Act” is to address concerns related to commercial greyhound racing, the provision attached to the Farm Bill is overly broad and risks eliminating or banning standard training and event practices for certain field trials, performance events, lawful hunting with dogs, and other widely accepted training methods used by responsible dog owners and handlers.  Examples of potentially impacted sports could include: field trials, hunt tests, beagling, earth dog, barn hunt, Fast CAT, CAT, lure coursing, Nite Hunts, and other performance and companion events that showcase valuable breed characteristics and provide a gateway for new dog owners to learn about AKC sports and purebred dogs.   

 

 

Illinois Update: Breeder Bill Held in House, Still Pending in Senate 
Although we’ve had good news on the House front, there is still a lot of danger from the Senate side.  This measure is hugely problematic as it requires people who OWN 5  female dogs capable of breeding to get licensed / regulated as a commercial breeder.  Yes – you read that correctly:   a person does not have to breed or sell a single puppy to be defined as a breeder and regulated as a commercial entity – all they have to do is own intact females. 

 

 

And of course, all this info is available at

AKC GR Legislative Alerts 
www.akcgr.org/legalerts