Stand by! "The Petland Bills" are not dead just yet

STAND BY! Although “The Petland Bills” did not have enough votes for a third reading in the house today, we will have to keep a close eye on them! The bills, HB5917/HB5916, will not be officially ‘dead’ until the session ends in December. The bill sponsor, Rep. Hank Vaupel could still try to push the bills through before the summer recess which is likely to end early June. Legislators will return to Lansing in September.

http://puppymillawarenessmichigan.blogspot.com/2018/05/for-immediate-release-may-7-2018.html

If the bills do have a third reading in the House and have all the votes needed, they still need to pass through the Senate. There is a lame duck session after the Nov 6^th elections, so we may be busy then too.

In the meantime, I would like to thank all the organizations that took action this month with helpful Action Alerts.  We were told the representatives were receiving a lot of phone calls! Every call, meeting and email counted!

Special thanks to the following organizations and individuals:

1. Best Friends Animal Society MI: Protections for pets and consumers are in jeopardy.
   
   
2. Michigan Pet Fund AllianceALERT! "The Petland Bills" passed out of committee on Wednesday 
   
   
3. Humane Society of the United States. Michigan, dogs need your voice
   
   
4. ASPCA Michigan: Don’t Let Puppy Mills Write Your Laws! 5/17/18
   Michigan Humane Society 
   
5. Pound Buddies 
   
6. Humane Society of Huron Valley
   
7. Harley’s Heroes of West Michigan 
8. All About Animals
   
   
9. Michigan Political Action Committee for Animals
   
   
10. West Michigan Humane Society
    

14. Harley’s Dream Puppy Mill ACTION ALERT Michigan Residents HarleysDreamorg
    
15. Virginia Holden – Letters to the Editor
    Legislators should vote ‘no’ on cruelty
    Don’t be fooled by deceptive tactics
    
16. Molly Tamulevich’s blog was published in Bridges Magazine
    Opinion | Can Michigan at least agree to protect puppies? Apparently not.
    
    Molly also created a video blog:

15. Eastpointe Council Member: Cardi DeMonaco Jr. provided a quote for our Press Release.
    
    
16. Genesee County Commissioner: Drew Shapiro for championing a resolution to oppose the bills.
    
    
17. Macomb County Animal Control Director: Jeff Randazzo for championing the Macomb County resolution to oppose the bill.
    
    
18. Pet-A-Palooza Adoption Event Organizer: Joe Sowerby for coordinating Macomb opposition. 

The following individuals submitted written testimony opposing the bills.

1. Jennifer Measel
2. Animal Welfare Institute.
3. Dr. Akshay Verma DVM
4. Michigan Humane Society.
5. Lindsay Larris Esq. Animal Legal Defense Fund
6. Elizabeth Oreck, Best Friends Animal Society
7. Sonnie Bryant-Bebard
8. Bee Friedlander, representing Attorney’s for Animals.
9. Pam Sordyl, representing Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan.
10. Michelle Spranger, representing the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance.
11. Amy Jesse, representing the Humane Society of the United States. 

Link to testimony

The following individuals provided testimony during the House Agriculture Committee Meeting 

12. Jennifer Measel, representing herself.
13. Jen Rigterink, representing the Michigan Municipal League
14. Bee Friedlander, representing Attorney’s for Animals
15. Trudy Ender, representing the Humane Society of West Michigan
16. Lana Carson, representing the Pound Buddies Animal Shelter
17. Pam Sordyl, representing Puppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michigan.
18. Michelle Spranger, representing the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance.
19. Amy Jesse, representing the Humane Society of the United States.
20. Carol Darby, representing herself, testified in opposition to the bills. 

Link to videos

The following people attended the House Agriculture Committee Meeting and submitted a card in opposition to the bills:

21. Lindsay Larris, representing the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
22. Cheryl Gault, representing the Michigan Pet Fund Alliance.
23. Anne Armstrong, representing herself.
24. Julie Duke, representing herself.
25. Joan Fox, representing herself.
26. Sonnie Bryant-Bedard, representing herself.
27. Akshay Verma, DVM, representing himself.
28. Earl Darby, representing himself.
29. Nancy Shankin and Coyote Windsong, representing Harley’s Dream.
30. Teresa Ancrile, representing herself.
31. Emily Bowman, representing herself.
32. Shelly Pinter, representing the Great Lakes Rabbit Sanctuary.
33. Sheri Westerhot, representing Mid Michigan Doodles.
34. Thomas Lyon, representing himself.
35. Kelly McLaughlin, representing Bark Nation.
36. Margaret Farrell, representing herself.
37. Joelle Hornbeck, representing herself.
38. Riley White, representing herself.
39. Nikki Leonard, representing herself.
40. Jen Clarkson, representing herself.
41. Patti Lundy, representing the Animal Placement Bureau.
42. Anne Armstrong, representing Harley’s Heroes.
43. Ann Griffin, representing the Michigan Humane Society.
44. Shalee Miedema, representing herself.
45. Jennifer Measel, representing herself.
46. Vicki Deisner, representing the Animal Welfare Institute. 

I hope I didn't forget anyone. This list will continue to grow if the bills move.

Thanks everyone who made any sacrifices to fight these bills. This all is backfiring on Petland as we are now having intense public debate about the puppy pet trade with elected officials.

Link to Fact Sheet.