Update: The Indiana assembly has now adjourned, and H.B. 1258, failed to progress further this session. For more on this bill, read Animal Law Coalition's report below.

Indiana House Bill 1258 would do several good things for animals - (1) require pet stores selling dogs and cats to provide consumers with information about the animals including their breeders;  (2) make promoting an animal fight a racketeering crime, meaning it would be easier to prosecute;  and (3) require basic shelter and care for horses and other equines so they are protected from extreme weather and standing water.

The bill has passed the state House of Representatives but has hit the committee where other animal welfare including anti-dog fighting bills have died - Indiana state Sen. Senator Brent Steele's Committee on Corrections, Criminal, and Civil Matters.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you live in Senator Steele's district, call his office TODAY and ask him to hear the bill and pass it as written. Phone#: 1.800.382.9467 Find out here if Sen. Steele is your IN state senator.

If you live in Indiana, find the other committee members here and find contact information for them here. Write (faxes or letters are best) or call and urge them to pass this bill, H.B. 1258 now AS WRITTEN.

Contact your Indiana state senator found here and urge him or her to push this bill, H.B. 1258, to a vote by the full Senate and help pass it AS WRITTEN.

More on the bill

In addition to the improvements in the animal fighting law and some shelter for horses, the bill would require retail pet stores to provide to purchasers of dogs or cats and conspicuously post information on the cage about the animal's breed, age, date of birth, gender, color vaccinations and medical treatment including the name of the veterinarian, name and address of the breeder, broker or transporter; USDA license number, if any; and retail price. Purchasers must also be advised of any "congenital disorder or hereditary diseases", whether the animal was returned previously, and a statement about the number of litters produced by the breeder:

          (A) 0 to 2 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
          (B) 3 to 10 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
          (C) 11 to 39 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
          (D) 40 to 99 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born. 

          (E) 100 to 249 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
           (F) 250 to 499 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
            (G) 500 to 1,000 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.
            (H) More than 1,000 litters during the one-year period preceding the day this dog or cat was born.

The pet store must report all of this information after each sale.