04/05/2025
URGENT!!
The following is a message from Kelly Peterson from Humane World For Animals (formerly known as HSUS).
We are so close to moving SB 1076 forward, and hanging on by a hair and 
WE NEED YOUR HELP  to get to the next steps!! See how you can help below. Thank you!!:
It’s time for dog and cat breeders to be regulated in Oregon! 🐶🐱🦜🐰
SB 1076 has just one committee day remaining—Tuesday, April 8th at 1 p.m.— to receive its work session (i.e., committee vote) in the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee before the first legislative deadline.
Because there is tremendous opposition from the two Republicans on the committee, we have struggled to secure a vote because the Chair has concerns about passing the bill out of his committee along party lines, with a 3-2 vote. But it happens, and it is usually the result of a tremendous force beyond the committee members that elevate the importance of a bill—and shine a bright light on an issue—where it doesn’t matter if the bill has bipartisan support or not. It only matters that we have the majority of votes in a committee, which we do!
You can be that force for GOOD.
The committee members need to know there is overwhelming support and urgency for the passage of SB 1076—and that comes from all of us reaching out to our state senators asking that they support and champion SB 1076, legislation that directs the Oregon Department of Agriculture to create a Breeder License and Standards Program for dogs, cats, small mammals, and small birds.
Compounding a sense of urgency, 10-15 breeders showed up yesterday at the capitol, representing the National Animal Interest Alliance, wearing LARGE “No on 1076” buttons!
So, we need YOU today!
Oregon’s animal rescues have been licensed and regulated since 2019. There is a clear and ongoing shelter capacity crisis in Oregon. According to Shelter Animals Count, in 2024, 65,764 cats and dogs entered Oregon’s shelter and rescue system. It is vital to find a secure and equitable financial solution for this program so that increasing licensing fees do not overburden at-capacity Oregon’s rescues and shelters, which serve as a public resource in urban and rural communities and provide lifesaving services across the state.
Conversely, Oregon breeders are not licensed, regulated, or inspected. It is time for Oregon breeders to be held accountable to standards and responsibility for animal care and welfare, disease prevention, and oversight.
How to find your Oregon Senate Senator!
Click on the link here: Find Your Legislator
Type in your physical address where it says, “Find address or place”.
The first lawmaker listed is your state senator! 😊
As a constituent, you are the most influential messenger to your state senator, so if you have just 5 minutes today or this weekend, I can assure you, your email can make a difference!
A simple message could be: Please champion SB 1076 in the Senate Natural Resources and Wildfire Committee. In the face of Oregon's shelter capacity crisis and the unsustainable strain on animal rescue entities across the state, it is time for Oregon breeders to be held accountable for high animal care and welfare standards, disease prevention, and oversight.
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Thank you so much for your continued voice for Oregon’s animals.
Kelly
P.S. Please consider sharing this email with friends, family & kindred spirits. 😊
History:
When the 2019 Oregon Legislature established the Animal Rescue Entity (ARE) Program, funding was only provided for the first biennium, with continued funding for the program anticipated and projected from ARE licensing fees. Unfortunately, that was a miscalculation—and as a result, the Oregon Department of Agriculture was forced to propose an increase in license fees in 2024 of nearly 500% for rescues (that assist more animals) to help offset the operational and staffing costs of the program. In other words, the more animals an organization saved—and thus the more benefit it provided to the public and the animals of Oregon— the higher its fee. Organizations were understandably and rightly concerned that they were being financially penalized the more animals they helped.
Because of tremendous opposition, the proposal by the ODA was paused, but the funding concerns remain. Conversely, breeders of dogs, cats, small animals, and birds are not licensed, regulated, or inspected in Oregon. This is a glaring omission, and breeders should equally be held accountable to standards and responsibility for animal care and welfare, disease prevention, consumer protection, and oversight, just as Oregon animal rescue entities have been since 2019.
Oregon shelters take in tens of thousands of homeless dogs and cats every year. According to Shelter Animals Count, in 2024, 65,764 cats and dogs entered Oregon’s shelter and rescue system. It is vital to find a secure and equitable financial solution for this program so that increasing licensing fees do not overburden at-capacity Oregon’s rescues and shelters, which serve as a public resource in both urban and rural communities and provide lifesaving services across the state.
There is a clear and ongoing shelter capacity crisis in Oregon—and it is vital to find solvency and a secure, equitable funding source for the operational costs of the Animal Rescue Entity (ARE) program so that it doesn’t fall on the backs of at-capacity Oregon’s rescues and shelters, largely comprised of nonprofit organizations, who are focused on saving lives and offering second chances to the thousands of homeless pets across Oregon.
Kelly Peterson
Oregon State Director
[email protected]
Our goal is to reduce the number of pets left at shelters or on the streets.
