Bill would require pet sales to be regulated

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(Host) And now for a shaggy dog story from the Vermont Legislature.

If your dog has puppies and you want to put an ad in the paper to sell them, you may soon need to get a permit from the state.

Backers of a bill now in the state Senate say it’s needed to control unregulated "puppy mills" that mistreat animals.

But the state Agency of Agriculture says it can’t afford to enforce the new regulation.

VPR’s John Dillon reports:

(Paterson and dogs) "Come on in, come on in. Woof, Woof, Woof!"

(Dillon) Ed Peterson of Middlesex introduces his Airedale terriers. One of them is just five weeks old, a tiny bundle of black and brown fur.

(Peterson) "She’s a lovely little girl. She won’t go anywhere for probably a coupl more months. We’ll keep her and get her trained a little bit and so forth….All right, all right."

(Dillon) Peterson has a small kennel and sometimes sells his Airedale puppies. He supports the legislation that aims to control unregulated pet breeders in Vermont.

(Peterson) "The bill requires anyone that advertises in the paper or any other media to get this license. And then this license has to be shown in the advertising."

(Dillon) In the Statehouse, the bill has the backing of the Human Society of America. Joanne Bourbeau is the group’s New England director. She says the legislation would help stop unlicensed puppy mills that allegedly mistreat animals.

(Bourbeau) "They are not hobby breeders. They are not professional responsible breeders who are doing it because they love the breed. They’re doing it to make money. We’ve had reports of people breeding and selling animals out of unheated garages. I got an email just yesterday from somebody who gave me a report about a backyard breeder. I can’t give any details, but I get them pretty much on a weekly basis."

(Dillon) But the bill would also cover anyone whose dog had an unplanned litter and then advertised the puppies for sale. If the legislation passes, they’d be required to pay $50 dollars for a pet vendor’s permit.

The bill does not cover farm animals. Windsor Senator John Cambell says new state oversight of pet sales is justified.

(Campbell) "What this is in essence is an animal protection, and consumer protection bill. There are many people who buy these dogs or cats that later find out that there are anomalies with them,, medical problems where they’ll die. So we’ve heard there is a significant problem in Vermont."

(Dillon) The $50 dollar fee for a pet vendor’s permit would go into a fund that helps low income people spay or neuter their pets.

Ed Peterson, who raises the Airedales in Middlesex, says the program needs the money.

(Peterson) "Really, the purpose of the bill is to raise additional funds for spay-neuter program for animals in Vermont for people who have difficulty paying for it."

(Dillon) The Agency of Agriculture administers the spay-neuter program. But the agency is concerned about the additional workload the legislation would require. It could mean the state would have to check newspaper ads to make sure people had a pet vendor’s permit. Dr. Kristin Haas is the state veterinarian.

(Haas) "The Agency of Agriculture currently does not have the financial or personnel resources to adequately be able to follow and monitor and enforce this proposal as it’s outlined in this bill."

(Dillon) Haas said the state would have to hire one or two more people to do the work. But in a tight budget year, there isn’t any more money to police pet sales.

For VPR News, I’m John Dillon in Montpelier.

AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster

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