- SB 185 the companion animal (dog and cat) vaccine mandate is scheduled for a hearing on Tuesday 2/25/2020 at 10:30 at the Indianapolis State House in the Agriculture Committee. Room 156-A This is the only bill they are hearing that morning, so it should be a fast hearing, not an all day at the Statehouse thing. Pretty quick and easy.
- Please come to testify against the vaccine mandate portion of this bill. We want that portion removed. And if they refuse, we at least want the definition of seller to be changed so that it does not include everyone. Some other states define seller as a breeder who sells more than one litter a year or more than 9 animals a year. That would effectively remove the vaccine mandate for those people who are simply charging a small fee to rehome their dog due to various reasons such as if the owner is too sick to continue to care for their dog.
- Please call AND email all the members of the Agriculture committee. Ask them to remove the vaccine mandate from the bill or at least change the definition of seller to a breeder who sells more than one litter a year. You can call and leave a message for some of them on the weekend if they accept voicemail. This weekend please at least email them all with the above request, and then for sure call on Monday. If you call early on Tuesday morning, there is still some time for them to listen before the hearing.
- Don Lehe 317-234-3827 H25@iga.in.gov COMMITTEE CHAIR
- Steve Bartels 317-232-9802 H74@iga.in.gov
- Beau Baird 317-232-9981 H44@iga.in.gov
- Doug Gutwein 317-232-9815 H16@iga.in.gov
- Brad Barrett 317-232-9815 H56@iga.in.gov
- Dave Heine 317-232-9816 H85@iga.in.gov
- J.D. Prescott 317-234-3827 H33@iga.in.gov
- Christy Stutzman 317-232-9753 317-232-9753
- Ethan Manning 317-232-9620 H23@iga.in.gov
- Melanie Wright 317-232-9794 H35@iga.in.gov
- Justin Moed 317-232-9794 H97@iga.in.gov
- Ross Deal 317-232-9976 H7@iga.in.gov
- Terry Goodin 317-234-9048 H66@iga.in.gov
SB 185 is a version of what is known as a puppy lemon law. There at least 27 other states that have similar laws that require a breeder to compensate the purchaser if the puppy they sold has a known health issue. However, Senator Ron Alting’s SB 185 takes it a step further and goes beyond what many other states are requiring in similar laws. SB 185 requires all sellers, defined as anyone who sells their dog or cat for even $1 including pet rescues, to fully vaccinate the dog and cat following the recommended vaccine schedule. There is no opt out or deviation from the recommended schedule. A puppy or kitten that is smaller than the rest of the litter will no longer be allowed to forego vaccination until a later date. This allows ANY and ALL new vaccines that are added to the recommendations to be automatically mandated. At least other states with this mandate, list out the vaccines and don’t give a blanket statement that any recommendations are required.
This law is brought to you by Purdue Vets. They are pushing the vaccine mandate for all dogs and cats sold at any time in their life in Indiana. If you don’t go get your pet the boosters shots at least every 3 years, and you have to rehome your dog or cat, then you are out of compliance with the law. If the vet or person who now owns the animal finds out, you can be fined a minimum of $500 for the first offense. At the Senate hearing, they were trying to figure out how to enforce this law, and they said they hoped people would be turned over for prosecution. A good way for them to force compliance is for the veterinarians to eventually disallow anyone to purchase pet vaccines at farm stores. They can easily make a law that only allows the vets to give the vaccines, and that would create more office visits and an electronic record for every dog and cat in the state that is purchased for any amount of money. To be clear, this has nothing to do with the already mandated Rabies vaccines. This is for the entire recommended vaccine schedule to be required at any time in an animals life before they are sold for any amount of money.
One of the Senators kinda mocked us for blowing up the phones before the senate hearing for this bill but not having any of us showing up to testify against the bill. Let’s show them that we can show up to testify against tyranny, whether it’s tyranny against our bodies or tyranny against the bodies of our furry friends.
Here is a recent article from mainstream news talking about the possibility of over vaccinating our pets.