The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation filed suit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to rescind a new rule restricting the importation of dogs into the United States. Although the agency’s stated reason for the action is to prevent the spread of rabies, the new rule applies to dogs coming from any country—including Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and many others which the CDC itself classifies as “low risk” or “free” of dog rabies.
“We aren’t going to stand by while CDC cancels sporting dog breeders and hunting or trialing across the border without a fight,” said Dr. Todd Adkins, vice president of Government Affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “CDC has one speed, and that’s to over-regulate to the point of ruin, so let’s see what a federal judge has to say about this agency running roughshod over the American people once again.”
The CDC rule includes new paperwork requirements and microchips for those who want to enter the United States with a dog and goes on to prohibit any dog under the age of six months from entering the U.S. at all. Health certificates or vaccination records for puppies are irrelevant—puppies are totally banned under the rule.
The new requirements and puppy ban include U.S. citizens who are attempting to re-enter the country after visiting Canada with their dog for hunting, trialing or for any other purpose. There are no exceptions for personally owned dogs. The puppy prohibition also has no exceptions, and this ban will completely crater a thriving community of long-established Canadian sporting dog breeders who send puppies to customers throughout the United States. Similar breeding programs for sporting breeds like Drahthaar (Germany) and Bracco Italiano (Italy) also stand to be decimated.
“CDC either doesn’t know or doesn’t care how destructive this rule is for our members who hunt or trial across the border or get puppies from Canadian or European breeders,” said Michael Jean, litigation counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “Regardless of whether this was done out of ignorance or maliciousness, we are going to protect our community.”
Joining the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation in filing the lawsuit is a coalition of sporting-dog enthusiasts, Frieda Krpan of Branko’s Beagles in Canada, Michigan resident George Guthrie and other members of the Sportsmen’s Alliance—all of whom are adversely affected by the draconian CDC rule. The North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association (NAVHDA), a national group dedicated to promoting and improving many of the sporting dog breeds with significant international breeding programs, is also among the groups represented in the suit.
Some of the strongest hunting and trialing bloodlines on the North American continent are produced by sporting dog breeders located in Canada and abroad, with many of them in operation for decades. The CDC rule will force them to close. While some argue that the puppy prohibition is not a problem because breeders can adjust their programs to account for the six-month minimum, those who actually understand dogs and care about the health and wellness of young puppies know much different.
“Pups need to go to their new owners when they are around 10 weeks of age. That’s the prime time for a young pup to be socialized and easily make the adjustment to new people and surroundings,” said Frieda Krpan, co-owner of Branko’s Beagles and producer of the most storied beagle bloodlines in the hunting and trialing world. “Six months is ridiculous and harmful to the dogs. It’s clear the people at the CDC who dreamed up this scheme are not dog owners and couldn’t care less about dogs, because all they had to do is speak to responsible breeders like me and I would have given them an earful.”
CDC has been taken to task by federal courts before on overreaching regulations, especially those pertaining to the Coronavirus pandemic. In case after case, federal judges ruled against the agency for going beyond what the law provides.
“This rule is completely arbitrary and capricious,” said Torin Miller, associate litigation counsel at the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation. “The CDC is claiming to be stopping the spread of rabies from countries the agency admits don’t have the disease. No matter how hard they try, they can’t make it make sense, and we’re confident the court will agree.”
CDC Director Mandy Cohen and Secretary of HHS Xavier Becerra are also named as defendants in the suit.
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