In 2011, The Texas Humane Legislation Network was instrumental in passing key puppy mill legislation thanks to your voice. The animals need your voice once again to ensure basic protections for thousands of dogs and cats confined and raised in these breeding facilities in Texas for most of their life.

--UPDATE-- Nearly a year has passed since the rule review period below and TDLR made no changes despite the flood of public feedback! The Licensed Breeder Advisory Committee next meets on WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 23rd, at 9:00am in Austin, to review feedback and vote on new rules! Please contact [email protected] if you can attend!

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June, 6, 2016:

In 2011, The Texas Humane Legislation Network was instrumental in passing key puppy mill legislation thanks to your voice. The animals need your voice once again to ensure basic protections for thousands of dogs and cats confined and raised in these breeding facilities in Texas for most of their life. 

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is charged with adopting rules to "ensure the overall health, safety and well-being of each individual animal" in a licensed breeder facility. TDLR is currently conducting a review of the Licensed Breeders Rules and is currenlty accepting public comment. In 2011 during the last public comment phase and because of your voice, over 10,000 comments were documented! Since the passage of this crucial legislation, there have been hundreds of inspections performed and licenses issued showing the necessity of this program.

Please take a few minutes and urge TDLR to strengthen the following standards, which must be strengthened and don't go far enough, to meet their mandate of ensuring these animals well-being:

• Animals should be prohibited from being kept in an outdoor facility when the temperature reaches more than 90 degrees or less than 50 degrees.
• Current rules provide an insufficient space for a dog's comfort and barely allows enough room for the animal to turn around. The minimum space should be doubled and TDLR should adopt the increased size recommended by the Advisory Committee when the initial Rules were considered.
• Dogs and cats should not be forced to stand or lie 24/7 on 100% wire or wire mesh for their entire lives. Among other problems, this can result in severe damage to their limbs, paws and is highly unsanitary.
• Stacking of primary dog enclosures on top of one another jeopardizes the health and well-being of the dogs and should not be allowed. 

Thank you for your voice!

Texas Humane Legislation Network
http://www.thln.org/