Urge Pinellas County Commissioners to REJECT New Ordinance

to Include Flawed Canine Care Certification

Pinellas County has new "ordinance recommendations" on the schedule for further discussion to further regulate Pinellas County Pet Stores and the lawful breeders they obtain puppies from to sell in their store to include Canine Care Certification program.

Despite the fact that in 2022, Pinellas County Commissioners discussed banning the retail sale of dogs in pet stores. So-called, "compromise" legislation was passed instituting a moratorium preventing any new pet stores from selling dogs in Pinellas County.

The USDA is responsible for regulating and enforcing the federal Animal Welfare Act, which sets rigorous standards for the treatment of animals to be sold in retail pet stores.

It is crucial to recognize that the vast majority of pet stores already have stringent policies in place to ensure the welfare of the animals they sell. Many stores refuse to purchase puppies from breeders with even a single direct USDA violation within three years.

• However, there are animal activists pushing Pinellas County Commissioners to adopt yet another new round of regulations overseeing pet stores and the breeders from whom they source their puppies despite the fact that Pinellas County has already adopted new ordinances just one year ago.
• These activists are pushing hard for the Pinellas County ordinance to adopt the Canine Care Certification (CCC) falsely claiming that it is "science based."
• If the CCC were truly science-based, the requirements would be published in reputable, peer-reviewed veterinary journals and subject to rigorous scrutiny from the broader scientific community. However, the CCC standards were developed with input from groups that have a vested interest in controlling breeding practices, not from unbiased scientific studies.
• CCC standards appear to be cherry-picked from animal rights-backed legislative proposals, many of which lack scientific merit and are designed to put breeders out of business.
• Mandates on kennel size and space requirements that go beyond USDA standards and have no demonstrated benefit to canine health or welfare.
• Housing requirements that do not reflect scientific evidence on what actually keeps dogs healthy and comfortable. In some cases, forcing dogs into larger enclosures with unfamiliar animals can increase stress, aggression, and disease transmission—contrary to what science supports.
• Socialization requirements that may sound good on paper but do not account for breed-specific needs or responsible breeding practices that already ensure proper early-life development.
• The program fails to incorporate proven genetic testing and selective breeding strategies that actually improve canine health.
• The focus on facility aesthetics over genetic health and disease prevention demonstrates that CCC is more about optics than actual scientific best practices.
• Many of the so-called "science-based" welfare requirements are similar to arbitrary mandates in animal rights-driven legislation, which have been widely criticized for lacking empirical evidence.
• One of the most glaring red flags is the fact that breeders must pay $1,800 before they even see the full set of CCC requirements.
• True scientific standards are publicly available, transparent, and built on reproducible research—not pay-to-play schemes.
• If CCC were truly science-based, there would be no secrecy or financial barrier to reviewing its requirements.

For these reasons and the following points below, we urge you to contact the Pinellas County Commissioners and urge them to reject mandating the Canine Care Certification program on retail pet stores in Pinellas County.

Using some of the talking points mentioned above, please click the tab below and send your emails directly to each Pinellas County Commissioner to OPPOSE their consideration of mandating the Canine Care Certified program to their regulatory oversight of pet stores.

Please make modifications to the boiler-plate letter to make it your own.

Thank you for taking action!