CFA Policy and Guidance Statements

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Breeder Permits Have Failed

Not a single breeder permit law has achieved reductions in shelter populations, nor reduced animal abuse cases.

Successful communities, like San Francisco, Thompkins County, NY, Marin County, CA and San Diego County, do not have anti-breeder laws yet they are the models for strategic planning and they have the lowest rates of euthanasia in the country. Forward thinking cities and counties are taking other approaches. They are addressing the reasons why once-wanted animals are later relinquished to shelters. They have focused on improving shelter environments, innovative adoption programs and good spay/neuter voucher systems. Community collaboration, not alienation, which includes all dog/cat lovers, rescue and foster volunteers, feral cat caregivers, breeders, veterinarians, dog trainers, pet stores and others, has proven to be better than legislation.

The shock of an aggressive law does bring media and public attention, but it is short lived. Eventually, if passed, the law requires expensive canvassing for enforcement, administrative costs, home inspection costs, appeal hearings, education, new staff, data keeping and shelter functions that deter animal control from their primary job of protecting animals and the public.

Jurisdictions that have imposed high unaltered dog/cat licensing and breeder permits have found them to be costly and unenforceable with reduced licensing compliance. Canvassing, whether by an outside contractor or in-house, is always resented by the community as an invasion of privacy. Some examples of failures are:

• The City of Los Angeles - dog/cat breeder licensing on the books since 1977; LA Animal Services Report 12/16/98 - only 3 breeders with issued permits. The City passed an ordinance in 2000 raising unaltered dog licenses to $100 and initiated dog/cat breeder permits of $100. There is no current information available on the numbers of breeder permits. From the City Controller Follow-Up Licensing Audit, July 7, 2004 - " In-house canvasser revenue, however, is offset by approximately $202,000 estimated annual expenses (excluding personnel benefits), that currently RESULTS IN A NET DEFICIT TO THE CITY FOR THE PROGRAM."

• Aurora, Colorado instituted a breeder permit in 1994. As of 1997 there were 42 dog breeders and 1 cat breeder with issued permits.

• The State of Colorado has since 1995 licensed and regulated large commercial breeding facilities, with dog/cat hobby breeders exempt; however, with the threshold of "no more than 3 litters/year" this means every cat breeder with a small breeding program of 4 litters would be considered commercial. In 2003 there were only 8 state licensed cat breeders.

• Pinellas County, Florida, implemented breeder licensing in 1992. By 1998 the budget increased by 75% while revenue only increased by 13%. Through aggressive and expensive animal control officer enforcement to "catch" breeders, the county believes breeders have been reduced by 50%, yet the shelter impoundment and euthanasia figures continued to rise.

• Montgomery County, Maryland, Office of Legislative Oversight reviewed the ordinance passed in 1992, which included high unaltered license fees and breeding permits. This report led to a substantially changed ordinance in 1999:
  "The significant drop in the number of unaltered licensed pets and the lack of a dramatic increase in the number of spay/neuter procedures suggests that higher fees for unaltered licenses created a disincentive for owners to license their animals."

• San Mateo County, California, passed their "POP" ordinance in the early 90s, which was only enacted in the unincorporated county and 2 of 20 cities. Very few breeding permits have been issued. Dog licensing numbers have dropped county-wide. The County has had success in virtually eliminating shelter euthanasia three years ago because of promoting feral cat TNR programs, community involvement and improved shelter management.

By Joan Miller, December 2004
CFA Legislative Coordinator

To correspond with the CFA Legislative Committee, please send email to legislation@cfa.org

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