As the District Leader from TN Congressional District 3, I will be attending with a small constituency from Chattanooga, along with my District Leader counterparts from all over the state.
The focus of this year's Lobby Day is to talk to our representatives about the Petland bill, H. B. 281.
This bill would take away the right of local governments to set standards for stores that sell puppies.
This bill protects Petland over other businesses, and would serve to allow them to continue their outdated business model. Similar bills have already been defeated in 2018, in every state where Petland attempted to gain favor-GA, FL, and MI.
Petland will have paid lobbyists in Nashville tomorrow.
Petland's issues are well-documented online. They sell sick puppies from well-known puppy mills. Outbreaks of Campylobacter, an antibiotic resistant infection, have occurred among people who bought puppies from Petland.
One of my primary concerns in going to speak on this issue is that while the local governments would no longer have any jurisdiction over the animals in Petland stores (read: our local animal control cannot check on these animals or respond to public complaints of neglect in the stores), it would be the burden of these same local government officials (shelters and animal control officers) to clean up the mess of their over-population, sick puppies, and potentially euthanizing excess animals.
Regulating pet stores is key in managing these issues.
The most profitable stores in the nation do not sell puppies.
Stores selling poorly cared for puppies that originated in questionable conditions is an outdated model. Petco and Petsmart and many local, independent pet care stores hold adoption events and support their local shelters. They support rescue and offer space to help facilitate adoptions from those rescues.
Another point to consider is that responsible dog breeder clubs conclude that selling animals via stores is inhumane, and include a statement forbidding it in their own code of ethics.
Humane legislation is bipartisan.
So, my first greeting on Lobby Day will be, "Hello, I am Mary Marr, one of your constituents, and I am here today to ask you to vote NO on the Petland bill. The number is HB 281."
If you would like to read the exact text of the entire bill: http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/
