ST PAUL, Minn. — There's a push to create a new state agency in Minnesota to regulate the pet industry and issues pet owners face.
The Animal Humane Society brought puppies and kittens to a State Capitol news conference Tuesday to help sell the bipartisan bill. Supporters want to set up a Companion Animal Board that would have its own staff and expertise geared toward the pet industry.
"Minnesota welcomes animals. Seventy percent of Minnesotans have pets, and I think about 95 percent of them think they're part of their family," Sen. Carrie Ruud, a Breezy Point Republican, told reporters.
Sen. Ruud and others say the existing Animal Control Board already has enough to contend with while dealing with diseases that afflict livestock and wildlife, including Chronic Wasting Disease in deer. She said she has gone out of her way to take into account the concerns that critics and skeptics have raised.
Rep. Mike Freiberg, a Golden Valley Democrat, said household pets present unique issues that the livestock board isn't positioned to solve.
"There’s no place in the state, no place with the necessary expertise to address companion animal issues and the unique bond between humans and animals," Rep. Freiberg remarked.
He noted that legislature passed the Breeder Law in 2014 but it still hasn't been put into effect because the Animal Control Board hasn't gone through the administrative rule-making process to formulate specific rules for pet breeders.
Ann Olson of the nonprofit Animal Folks said the new Companion Animal Board would have 13 members from a variety of backgrounds and would hire staff with experience in dealing with pet issues. The existing Animal Control Board, by law, must have four livestock producers and two livestock veterinarians.
"Regulation in Minnesota is structured around wildlife, and livestock, but there's nothing for companion animals. And yet the pet industry has skyrocketed in this state," Olson explained.
She said the agency would be able to provide grants from a fund paid for in part through the sale of specialty license plates.
The new Companion Animal Board would enforce pet breeding laws, and help set standards for rescue agencies and boarding kennels.
Jaenelle Dixon, the president of the Animal Humane Society, said the new agency would also work on other pressing issues, such as the lack of emergency pet boarding facilities for people who are deployed to military duty, evicted or forced to flee from domestic violence.
Dixon said the new board would also be a resource for consumer education and to help cities deal with animal issues, such as feral cat communities.
The Minnesota Veterinary Medicine Association is opposed to the new board, calling it an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars.
In a fact sheet to members, the MVMA listed its objections to the bill as follows:
- Gives power to a governmental agency that should be the responsibility of a licensed veterinarian
- Is unclear whether Companion Animal Board resources and authority would be administered by licensed veterinarian
- Lacks clarity regarding its compelling need, purpose, function, and benefits `
- Potential interference of practice of veterinary medicine
- May conflict with existing state animal care regulations and responsibilities
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