Don’t believe the “job-creating” rhetoric coming out of the current administration. At every turn, Obama’s bureaucrats are developing new and creative ways to make it more difficult for small businesses to survive. Down at the Department of Agriculture, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has decided to broadly expand their jurisdiction. Under the new proposed rule, all pet breeders who sell their animals over the internet, phone, or mail will now be subjected to the demanding licensing and inspection requirements of the federal Animal Welfare Act.
Under current law, retail pet stores are not required to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. The proposed APHIS rule would strip the retail pet store exemption from any breeder who uses the internet, phone, or mail to sell their pets, as many have chosen to do in the modern economy. During a conference call unveiling the rule, APHIS clarified that if a breeder sells even one animal in a location other than where the animal was bred, the breeder would then be subject to the AWA. They refer to this change as “closing a loophole.” In actuality, it is a vast expansion of the regulatory jurisdiction of the federal government. Continue reading
