Last Wednesday, I testified before the Michigan Senate Committee on Economic Development and Regulatory Reform in support of HB 4663 (Koda’s Bill) which I authored. Although the bill was amended in the House to ensure passage and does not provide a full pound seizure ban, it does ban pound seizure by USDA Class B dealers and mandates that people be allowed to designate in writing whether their pet can be taken directly by a research or training facility for experimentation. If you have had a chance to read my book on How Animals are Brokered for Experimentation: Understanding Pound Seizure, you will know that removing Class B dealers from our nation’s animal shelters is a good step toward protecting shelter pets and the integrity of the animal sheltering business.

The committee did not vote on the bill and we are working to answer their questions so that it can be passed out of committee. I have worked on banning pound seizure in Michigan for 10 years and we are almost finished in getting this bill passed. Unfortunately for Soup (the dog in the photo), banning B dealer pound seizure in Michigan did not occur in time to save her.

Listen to my interview on WGVU Public Radio from yesterday regarding the hearing, the bill and the work that is still left to be done for Michigan and the other 32 states that still allow pound seizure.