W. Virginia Eyes Pet Food Registration Fee Increase

Photo by Sherri L. Collins/BowTie Inc.

The West Virginia Senate Agriculture Committee will hear a bill next week that would raise the permit fee on certain pet food and feed packages to provide funding for a spay and neuter fund.

Senate Bill 479 establishes a Spay Neuter Assistance Fund to subsidize spay and neuter programs throughout West Virginia, with the aim to decrease the number of animals euthanized in West Virginia shelters, according to the bill text. The bill would also raise the registration fee for pet food from $50 to $75 per product and deposit $25 from the fee into the fund. It would also raise the commercial feed fee from $40 to $50 and deposit $10 in the fund.

The bill will be heard by the committee on Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2012.

The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council opposes the bill, saying the cost of spay and neuter services should not be borne solely by pet food distributors and their customers. The council advised everyone affected by the bill to contact committee members with concerns and questions and attend the hearing.

West Virginia is also considering a measure that would grant authority to the Department of Agriculture and Bureau for Public Health to ban possession of all species of animals that are not specifically defined as domestic and livestock, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fresh water fish.

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