Titus Calls on Secretary of Agriculture to Finalize Rule Prohibiting Import of Puppies from Foreign Puppy Mills
Washington, DC,
March 27, 2014
March 27, 2014
Congresswoman Dina Titus sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack urging him to immediately implement and enforce a provision of the 2008 Farm Bill prohibiting the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills into the United States for resale. March 27, 2014 Congresswoman Dina Titus of Nevada’s First District sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack urging him to immediately implement and enforce a provision of the 2008 Farm Bill prohibiting the import of puppies from foreign puppy mills into the United States for resale. The full text of the letter can be found here: March 27, 2014 Dear Secretary Vilsack, In 2008, Congress passed the Food, Conservation and Energy Act, commonly known as the Farm Bill (Pub. L. No. 110-234). Included in the Act was a very important animal welfare component, the puppy import provision, reflecting serious concerns with large numbers of sick puppies being imported into the U.S. from foreign puppy mills for resale. Congress directed the USDA to immediately implement and enforce this law. Due to the urgency of these problems, the bill was drafted to expressly state that the “amendment takes effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.” Pub. L. No. 110-234 was enacted May 22, 2008. Almost six years later, this law has yet to be enforced. USDA issued a proposed rule in September 2011, but has never issued the final rule. It is unacceptable that it has taken the USDA this long to comply with the 2008 Farm Bill, and as a result has failed to address the puppy import problem. Congress recognized that this law is needed to address: (1) a critical public health threat − imported puppies present a risk of transmissible diseases, including diseases which are transmissible to humans such as screwworm, rabies, scabies, and Brucellosis; and (2) an acute animal welfare problem − many puppies arrive dead or are seriously ill due to being bred under inhumane conditions and having traveled long distances in cramped containers that may be exposed to extreme temperatures. In terms of protecting dogs in puppy mills, we are pleased to see that the USDA finally closed the retail loophole and now requires that large scale dealers who sell puppies and other warm blooded animals directly to consumers, sight unseen, including over the Internet, be licensed and regulated under the Animal Welfare Act. However, it is time for the USDA to ensure that an importer loophole is not created. Allowing foreign puppy mills to ship sick puppies into the U.S. creates unfair competition with domestic retail breeders who are complying with the USDA’s animal welfare regulations. Sick puppies from foreign puppy mills should not be coming into the U.S. for commercial sale. It is important for public health, animal welfare, and consumer protection that the USDA implement this law. We strongly encourage the USDA to issue this long overdue final puppy import rule and start enforcing this important law. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Dina Titus |