The Pet Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS), introduced by Representatives Gerlach (R-PA) and Farr (D-CA) in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senators Santorum (R-PA) and Durbin (D-IL) in the U.S. Senate, strengthens existing law covering commerical breeding facilities by amending the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) to require that any commercial breeder who sells more than 6 litters of dogs or cats, producing more than 25 puppies or kittens, directly to the public in a year be licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). PAWS also allows for public access to source records for animals bred overseas and imported into the U.S., extends the temporary suspension period for facilities with AWA violations from 21 days to 60 days, and gives the USDA direct authority to apply for injunctions.

Recently, some commercial breeders and organizations who profit from the high-volume sale of dogs and cats have used scare tactics to confuse and scare caring people involved in the rescue community into taking a position against the Pet Animal Welfare Statue (PAWS), claiming that now anyone who rescues more than 25 dogs a year will need a federal license. This is not true. We hope those who work to rescue animals in need and find them new, lifelong homes will not be fooled by these tactics.  To oppose the PAWS bill is to oppose improvements in the treatment of animals at large-scale commercial breeding operations, commonly known as “puppy mills” and “kitten mills.”

PAWS deals strictly with businesses who sell dogs and cats.  Non-profit rescue groups who charge an adoption donation fee are not selling animals.

PAWS addresses commercial businesses who are breeding large volumes of animals (7 or more litters per year) and selling them directly to the public.  These businesses have grown and thrived over the years due in part to the exponential growth in the use of the Internet for commerce and because in most states there is no oversight of large-scale, breeding operations that sell puppies directly to the public.  These dogs are sold in a variety of unregulated formats, including via the Internet and newspaper ads, and the first hint of a problem comes when local law enforcement discovers that there are a large number of animals on site that are in extremely poor condition. Cases of unregulated breeders have become the norm—and often require local shelters and rescue organizations to step in and take in ill and unsocialized animals at their own expense. This problem has repeatedly threatened to bankrupt local organizations.

The broad support that the PAWS bill enjoys, from organizations that often have differing views on animal-related legislation, is a testament to the fact that it is not overly restrictive and has been carefully crafted to bring under regulation only those businesses that have exploited the loophole in federal law that allowed large commercial breeders selling directly to the public to escape any oversight.

Animal welfare organizations like The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), Doris Day Animal League, and Society for Animal Protective Legislation—all of whom are strongly supporting the PAWS bill—would never want to hamper the absolutely critical efforts and generosity of those who perform animal rescue and sheltering work. People who give of themselves to place dogs and cats in new homes and give those animals a second (or third or fourth) lease on life are unsung heroes. This scare tactic has been employed to divert attention away from the bad actors so sorely in need of oversight. The PAWS bill would close the loophole that has allowed large-scale commercial breeding operations to prosper without any agency ensuring that their animals are provided with basic humane care.