March 22, 2002

                                                                                                                                                                                (CA SB 1357)

 RETURN TO GLADES HERP

BILL MAKES PEOPLE SELLING PETS IN CALIFORNIA GUILTY OF CRIME FOR NOT PROVIDING INFORMATION

The Issue.

On April 8, 2002, the California Senate Committee on Business and Professions will hear a bill to create a broad new mandate on pet stores in the state. SB 1357 requires operators of pet shops to provide written information about each species of animal every time a pet is sold. Failure to provide the correct information would subject the pet shop operator to a fine of up to $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail. This is one of many bills introduced in California every year to place additional obligations or restrictions on those selling pets. SB 1357 is on its way to becoming law unless committee members are persuaded to stop its progress. It is critical for constituents to contact their state senators.

The Impact.

What may appear to some people as a fairly innocent way to educate consumers about the pets they buy carries with it a mighty big stick. The legislation specifically requires that any person operating a pet shop must “provide written instructions with each sale of a vertebrate or invertebrate animal for the proper care, housing, equipment, cleaning, environment, and feeding of that animal.” Under the law, “pet shops” are defined as any place where pet animals are kept for sale, either at wholesale or retail. “Pet animals” are defined by the law to include essentially all pets. Dogs, cats, monkeys, and other primates, rabbits, birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, snakes iguanas, turtles are explicitly included, but catch-all language also encompasses “any other species of animal sold or retained for the purpose of being kept as a household pet.”

The bill is not clear as to what would qualify as sufficient information under the law. Therefore, even where pet shops attempt to comply with the law the operator may be subject to criminal prosecution. Complying with the law will not be easy either. Because the bill requires written instructions for each animal sold, on care, housing, equipment, cleaning, environment, and feeding “of that animal,” a pet shop would have to maintain species-specific information on every pet. Since different fish species have different optimum space requirements, needs for the type and interval of feeding, ideal water temperatures and standards, etc., pet shops would be required to provide separate written instructions for each.

If a salesperson inadvertently gave out the wrong information sheet for a given sale (e.g. a sheet for one species of fish when a different species was sold, for one species of bird when a different species was sold), the pet shop operator would be guilty of a criminal offense.

Likewise, if the salesperson forgets to include the information at the time of sale, it is a criminal offense. Should a pet shop inadvertently run out of an information sheet on a given species (and thus not have it available at the time of sale), this would constitute a criminal offense.

Who determines if the information in the care sheet is “proper”? The bill doesn’t say. Is a lamb-based food more “proper” than a beef-based or vegetarian food? Pet shops may find out when they begin getting criminally prosecuted under this law. How does one prove that they gave out the proper information? Will you have to compel the buyer to sign a statement that they received the materials?  Pet dealers should ask themselves what the cost will be of meeting these requirements.

Recommended Action.

To effectively communicate constituent concerns about this legislation, members of the Business and Professions Committee must hear from California voters before April 8, 2002. Telephone and fax members of this committee (see committee list below), letting them know you oppose SB 1357. If a committee member serves your district, it is particularly critical that he or she be contacted. Always address legislators and their staff with respect, but make clear your position. Ask legislators to give a commitment as to how they will vote on the bill. You may want to raise the following points, in your own words:

· This bill requires provision of extensive information, but it is not clear exactly what would satisfy the requirement. Not all experts even agree on standards for certain species.

· It will be costly and burdensome to develop such detailed information on the potentially hundreds of species sold by pet shops. This is an unwarranted requirement on a sector of the business community that is already subject to extensive mandates.

· Consumers should become informed about proper care of their pets, but they should assume some personal responsibility as pet owners. Pet shops already sell myriad books on pet care, and such information is also available on the Internet and through other sources. Why should pet shops now be required to simply give this information away?

· Even the requirement to provide consumers information were adopted, failure of pet shops to meet the requirement should not be a criminal offense. There is a substantive, and significant, difference between a mandate that pet shops care for their animals, and one that requires providing consumer information.

·        The Legislature is on recess until April 7.  This is ideal time to meet with members of the Committee. If your State Senator is not on the Committee, contact your representative and ask them to urge the Committee to reject this proposal. Also, send a letter by FAX to the Business and Professions Committee, Attention Bill Gage at 916-445-4450.

If you need more information about these bills, or otherwise have questions, contact PIJAC’s Michael Maddox at 202-452-1525.

SENATOR                                                                                                TEL. #                   FAX #                    EMAIL