June 20, 2024

Kelly Crouch, CFA Legislative Information Liaison

Fanciers in Tennessee survived yet another attempt by animal activists striving to re-establish a state breeder licensing law since the 2014 termination of the 2009 Tennessee Commercial Breeder Act. Failed House Bill 2938 and Senate Bill 2513 would have required the Department of Commerce and Insurance to establish a licensing process for commercial breeders. Any person possessing or controlling ten or more dogs or cats for the purpose of selling offspring would have to become licensed, inspected, and meet other requirements. The application fee for an annual license would be $15.00 for each female cat or dog, with renewal fees being no more than $150.00. Tennessee is unique among the states that have enacted breeder licensing laws. It terminated the previous breeder licensing, recognizing that implementing the law cost a lot of money and failed to achieve the claimed benefit of reducing animal cruelty. 

A comparison of the bill’s Fiscal Note analysis with a study of the 2009 law demonstrates some differences between the approaches. The 2009 law affected anyone keeping 20 or more unsterilized female dogs or cats for breeding and selling offspring as companion animals. A study conducted on the program revealed that in Fiscal Year 2011-2012, the 500 licensed breeders only generated $70,200 in state revenues—approximately 6.6% of the predicted $1,056,000 revenue.

In comparison, the 2024 bills drastically reduced the licensing threshold, but even with that reduction, the number of anticipated licenses dropped over 90% from 500 to 30. Both the 2011-12 study and the 2024 Fiscal Analysis estimates show costs far outstrip revenue for either program.

While Tennessee recognizes that the costs of breeder licensing laws outstrip the returns, the battle is not over. Fanciers must remain vigilant, as the determined efforts to reinstate a breeder licensing program may persist in the state.