Stop AZ Pet stores from selling puppies from puppy mills!! ACT NOW to stop SB1248! It is more urgent now, than ever! This piece of legislation has been moved around as an amendment to several different bills, but is now being attached to SB1248. This seems to be the final version of this legislation, and it is headed to the Arizona State House and Senate floors for a vote very soon. Here is a copy of the bill: http://www.azleg.gov//FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/legtext/52leg/2r/adopted/h.1248agriculture%20water%20and%20lands.doc.htm&Session_ID=115 Please take the time to do any or all of the following: 1.) Call AND email the State Legislators to tell them to VOTE NO on SB1248. http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp2 2.) Call AND write a personal email to Governor Doug Ducey, telling him to VETO SB1248. Governor’s Office Phone: (602) 542-4331. Email at http://azgovernor.gov/governor/form/contact-governor-ducey Unfortunately, we are expecting this bill to pass the State House and Senate so this is the most important thing you can do to stop SB1248. 3.) Sign and Share this petition. 4.) Attend a public protest of SB1248 at the Arizona State Capitol on Monday, April 4th, 2016. Join us anytime between 11:45 am and 1:30 pm. Recap: The Arizona State Legislature is trying to push through legislation to protect pet stores that obtain puppies from puppy mills. This bill will undo ordinances passed by Arizona cities to ban pet stores from selling puppies from puppy mills. Major concerns about SB1248: This bill will rely on the USDA to regulate the commercial breeding facilities where pet stores can source their dogs from. According to the USDA standards: • Dogs can live out their entire lives in cages that are no bigger than 6 inches beyond their bodies. • Veterinary care is limited to a written care plan, and most breeders are only accountable for dogs with visible ailments that might be noted by an inspector’s annual visit. • An exercise plan is required ONLY IF the dog is in a space less than 2 times the minimum required. • Cages may be stacked on top of each other. • Animals can be housed outside, with additional bedding required only when temperatures drop below 35 degrees F. • The flooring of the cages can be made of wire, so that the dogs’ feet never touch solid ground. • Primary enclosures and food/water receptacles only have to be washed with soap and water once every two weeks. • Positive human contact with humans is recommended but not required. As inhumane as these standards already are, the USDA standards are inadequately enforced. According to an internal audit, the USDA, itself, found that: • There are not enough inspectors to effectively regulate the number of facilities. • The agency has a history of not aggressively pursuing enforcement actions against Animal Welfare Act violators. • Inspectors failed to cite or document violations to support enforcement. • The enforcement process is ineffective at achieving dealer compliance. Animal Kingdom, a pet store in Tempe, Arizona, has been found to use breeders that obtained new USDA license numbers, after their previous licenses were cancelled by the USDA. One of these breeders was on the Humane Society of the United States’ Horrible 100 List of the worst puppy mills in the country. • SB1248 does NOTHING to stop this from occurring, and in fact, protects the pet store if they do this again by only requiring them to “presume to have acted in good faith” that their breeders have not had recent USDA violations. SB1248 takes away the ability of Arizona cities to foster more humane treatment of dogs by enacting their own ordinances to regulate pet stores. Please help us stop this egregious bill by contacting the Arizona Legislators and asking the to VOTE NO on SB1248, and please tell Governor Doug Ducey to VETO SB1248, if passed. Thank you for your continued support as we work stop the puppy mill pipeline in Arizona!!