Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act (PUPS)

The Sportsmen’s & Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance (SAOVA) is OPPOSED to HR 5434/S 3424 Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act (PUPS) in its entirety.

For over a decade the Humane Society of The United States (HSUS) and other anti-animal use groups have introduced federal legislation to restrict breeding of dogs and/or cats at the retail level. Their proposed legislation would amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) with strict regulations on retail breeders.

As with all previous versions of HSUS introduced bills to break the commercial / retail barrier, PUPS subjects home breeders and rescuers of dogs to USDA licensure and its 60+ pages of regulations. PUPS misleads legislators and the public into thinking this legislation will put an end to puppy mills when in fact PUPS will serve to eliminate many fine sources of home-bred puppies and close down rescue efforts.

As written, PUPS will negatively impact many in-home breeders who cannot comply with commercial standards or who refuse to have their rights to privacy invaded by federal inspectors. PUPS will drive many midsize producers of pets and working dogs away from their hobbies and livelihoods. PUPS poor language and arbitrary use of numbers for licensing criteria will negatively impact even the rescue community.

Read the full SAOVA statement. View links to previous bills to remove the commercial/retail sales barrier and related documents.