August 2022

Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison
Sharon Coleman, CFA Legislative Legal Analyst

Massachusetts’ cat fanciers can breathe a little easier with the end of the 2022 legislative session. The adjournment halted progress on Senate Bill 2994 , which would have added cats to the state commercial breeder licensing law. Current law requires a license for “commercial [dog] breeding kennels” engaged in the business of breeding animals for sale to wholesalers. This substitute bill for SB 1322 (see What’s Hot 10/2021 ) removed “commercial” from the proposed “breeder kennel” definition and expanded who was covered. Like SB 1322, it required anyone with five or more intact cats or dogs who sold directly to the pet owner to be state licensed in addition to those selling to pet stores or brokers. Senate Bill 2994 would have authorized the Department of Agriculture Resources to promulgate rules covering licensees’ inspections, care, facility requirements, and various other topics. And it provided that 25 citizens of a city or town may file a petition for a hearing with local officials if they are unreasonably “aggrieved or annoyed” by a nuisance animal or a facility’s conditions. Senators voted for SB 2994 on July 11. But as the adjournment date of July 31 approached, progress stalled in the House, killing it for this legislative session. However, like bad pennies, these failed bills may see new life in the future.

Recent CFA Legislative Group Blog Posts:

What’s Hot July 2022 ………… No Writ of Habeas Corpus for Animals Says New York High Court