It looks like Governor Ducey has 1 more day to decide to veto or sign SB1248. He has 10 days from sine die, the final day of the legislative session, but because sine die was on a Saturday this year, the countdown did not begin until the following Monday. It looks like he is taking the full 10 days to decide on this bill, so we have until tomorrow to convince him to VETO SB1248!! Please keep calling, emailing, tweeting, and posting on his Facebook asking him to VETO SB1248! Action 1: Call Governor Doug Ducey’s office at 602-542-4331. After 5pm Pacific Time you can leave a voicemail at the Tucson office: 520-628-6580. Action 2: Email Governor Ducey and his staff: Governor Ducey - dducey@az.gov Kirk Adams – Chief of Staff - kadams@az.gov Hunter Moore - Natural Resource Policy Advisor - hmoore@az.gov Gretchen Martinez – Director of legislative affairs - Gmartinez@az.gov Action 3: Tweet at the Governor: @dougducey and post on his Facebook: www.facebook.com/dougducey/ Here is an undercover investigation of an actual breeder used by local Arizona pet store chain Animal Kingdom/Puppies N’ Love. This breeder is USDA registered, with no current violations. All the while, he admits that he breeds his dogs every cycle, does not treat eye infections, and that the USDA inspectors do not cite him for violations. These are they type of breeders that we do not want selling puppies to Arizona pet stores, but SB1248 will allow them to continue to do so. http://www.caps-web.org/research-investigations/investigations/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=1213&Itemid=269 The photo attached to this update is of an actual puppy mill used by local Arizona pet store chain, Animal Kingdom/Puppies N’Love. As you can see, their breeder, Randall Miller, keeps breeding dogs in cages their entire lives. The 3 largest cities in Arizona find this unacceptable, and now it’s time for the state of Arizona to stop protecting this inhumane industry. Please ask Governor Ducey to VETO SB1248!! 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. Commercial breeders have been found to obtain new USDA license numbers, after their previous licenses were cancelled by the USDA. • SB1248 does NOTHING to stop this from occurring, and in fact, protects pet stores if they use deceptive breeders 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.