The American Kennel Club works hard to support the humane treatment of all dogs and to ensure that dogs are never kept in circumstances where their needs cannot be met.

Anyone convicted of animal cruelty should be held accountable, including paying for the costs of caring for the animals they mistreated.

However, a number of proposals have been introduced in state and local legislative bodies over the past few years that seek to force anyone whose animals are seized because of suspicion of cruelty to be financially responsible for the costs of caring for seized animals—usually payable by securing a bond—while their case is pending. These proposals – often known as “bond for care” laws – are commonly proposed as a means of offsetting a community’s animal control costs.

Most of these bills also force a defendant to forfeit ownership of their animals if they are unable to pay for the mandated bonds, regardless of whether they are ultimately not found guilty.

The AKC has grave concerns about measures that permanently punish individuals simply because they cannot afford to pay for bonds for the care and long-term boarding costs for their seized animals while also incurring the significant costs of defending themselves against unfounded charges.

So far in 2024, AKC has seen approximately 10 bills introduced on this topic across the country. Some of these bills, such as Kentucky Senate Bill 119, would establish these “bond for care” procedures for the first time. In Arizona, where this is already law, bills like Senate Bill 1204 would significantly expand seizure provisions and even allow volunteers to take the animals. While this could be a positive change if the animals could go to someone approved by the breeder (such as a co-owner, fellow trusted breeder or neighbor), but it also could – and more likely would – mean their transfer to a rescue or member of the general public.

In Michigan, Senate Bills 657 and 658 also expand the state’s current bond for care laws. AKC appreciates that these bills would require a hearing to determine if the seizure of animals and the required bond for care are justified, but again, the current law states that if the bond is not paid, the animals may be permanently forfeited to an animal shelter – even if the owner/breeder is found not guilty.

These particular bills have not advanced yet this year. However, AKC’s Government Relations team did recently work on a bill in Kansas that would have placed forfeiture provisions into law for the first time.

Existing Kansas law already requires licensees who are found in violation of the Kansas Pet Animal Act to pay for the cost of care for their animals if they are seized by the Kansas Department of Agriculture. Current state law also requires the Kansas Department of Agriculture to pay the cost of care for seized animals if the licensee is ultimately found not in violation of the Kansas Pet Animal Act.

In 2023, a bill introduced in Kansas would have made a number of changes to the state dog breeder laws, including instituting bond for care/ forfeiture provisions. AKC met with key lawmakers and the bill was held in committee. Then in the interim, AKC joined in stakeholder meetings with the Kansas Department of Agriculture, Kansas Pet Professionals, and other animal groups, to discuss strategy for similar legislation in the 2024 session. At these meetings, we made it clear that AKC would not support any bill that contained bond for care if innocent breeders couldn’t get their animals back.

Despite this, Kansas House Bill 2542 introduced earlier this year would have required a licensee under state law to post a bond for the care of their seized animals if they were suspected of violating the Kansas Pet Animal Act, and if they did not post the bond they would forfeit ownership of their animals after 10 days, even if they were ultimately found not guilty. AKC GR staff met with lawmakers in Topeka and expressed our concerns. In late February, a substitute version of the bill – which completely removed all bond for care language – was passed by the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.

As we continue to see these bills being introduced, AKC’s GR team is continuing to fight for the rights of responsible breeders and dog owners and ensure that those found not guilty should have their animals returned. Breeders should be innocent until proven guilty – and not lose their animals simply because they miss or cannot afford a bond for care payment.

For questions or more information on this issue, contact AKC Government Relations at (919) 816-3720 or [email protected].