Rhode Island Senators Dominick J. Ruggerio (D- North Providence) and Cynthia Coyne (D- East Bay) have introduced Senate Bills 699 and 705, which would ban the sale or even transfer of a dog in a public place. Both bills will be heard before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday, April 4.
Take Action Today! Members should contact their state senator and ask them to vote NO on Senate Bills 699 and 705. Members can contact their senator by using the Sportsmen’s Alliance Legislative Action Center.
SB 699, sponsored by Sen. Ruggerio, would make it unlawful for any person to sell, exchange, trade, barter or display any dog or cat on any roadside, public right of way, median or park. Basically, the bill would eliminate all casual sales of pets, which is a common method utilized by small hobby breeders and sporting dog kennels. These individuals are not primarily in the business of selling dogs commercially. Most sportsmen obtain their dogs through casual sale and do not often frequent pet stores for hunting dogs, because they are in need of certain traits that are attributed to purebred sporting animals that have been trained and tested.
“Sportsmen and field-trialers often depend on the reliable attributes of purebred dogs from quality hunting and tested lines. Bird dog, retriever and hound-dog hunters and trialers will buy from the best lines they can afford, and that’s often many states away or across the country,” said Luke Houghton, associate director of state services for Sportsmen’s Alliance. “SB 699 would eliminate any option for sportsmen to meet their breeder to take ownership of a puppy, or a dog to be bred, in the entire state.”
SB 705, sponsored by Sen. Coyne, would do the same things as SB 699, with one major addition. It prohibits pet shops from selling dogs that are not obtained from an animal shelter, dog pound or animal rescue. Bills mandating pet shops only sell dogs from shelters and rescues have become a major focus of animal-rights groups.
“While many people do adopt pets, there is no justification for the state to force all people who want a dog to have to adopt a shelter dog with an unknown past, temperament and health issues,” said Houghton. “Further, it’s not the responsibility of paying customers in search a specific breed to be saddled with whatever breeds or mixed breeds irresponsible dog owners drop off at the pound.”
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.