Mass. House approves standards for dog kennels

BOSTON — Representatives voted five times Thursday to approve animal safety and treatment bills, sparking a late-session push for more oversight of dog shelters and a ban on the use of some exotic mammals in traveling shows.

The House approved the bills, several of which have long been a priority for animal rights advocates, without any opposition as lawmakers headed into the final week of formal debates of the 2023-24 term.

One bill (H 4919) would establish new statewide protective barriers around pet hotels and boarding facilities, where advocates say there is a lack of oversight.

These facilities would be required to be licensed for a maximum number of animals in their care at one time, and would be inspected by local officials at least once a year. The state would also be required to create rules and regulations regarding best practices for animal husbandry, injury reporting, care requirements and more.

Animal shelters and boarding facilities would be required to report any injuries to animals or people, and state regulators, if they take enforcement action against a facility, would publish reports of investigations into those incidents online.

Supporters have dubbed the bill “Ollie’s Law,” after a Longmeadow labradoodle who died in 2020.

Amy Baxter, Ollie’s owner, told a State House event last year how she left him at “doggie daycare” and Ollie suffered serious injuries. He died eight weeks later after several surgeries, and Baxter said the shelter owner was reluctant to say what happened.

Rep. Carole Fiola said the current status quo leaves oversight of animal shelters and similar facilities up to each of the state’s 351 cities and towns.

“With these provisions, we hope that the tragedy that Ollie experienced will never happen again,” said Fiola, a Democrat from Fall River.

Another proposal that the House supported unanimously (H 4915) would ban circuses and other traveling entertainers from using elephants, big cats, primates, bears and giraffes.

Animal rights activists and some lawmakers have for years called for a ban on event organizers parading the animals, arguing that the practice results in inhumane living conditions.

Ten other states have enacted restrictions on the use of exotic animals in exhibits and shows, according to the MSPCA, and bans are also in effect in 15 Massachusetts cities and towns.

“The bill protects public health and safety and ensures that our state no longer supports the cruel traveling exotic animal industry where animals suffer from extreme confinement, brutal training, neglectful veterinary care and limited opportunities to express natural behaviors,” said Liz Magner, animal advocacy specialist at the Mass. Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

The Act exempts performances in permanent, fixed facilities if the animal in question is resident there, and in the case of permitted filming. The Act also expressly permits the transport of these covered animals for veterinary care or for the purpose of changing residence from one permanent location to another.

Some of the most high-profile events have phased out the use of large animals in recent years. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey closed their circuses in 2017 after phasing out the use of elephants, and reopened in 2023 without the animals.

The House also unanimously approved a bill (H 4911) that would extend the deadline for reporting animal cruelty and reform Department of Children and Families rules governing the placement of foster and adoptive children in homes with dogs.

Sponsors of the bill say families with certain breeds of dogs that are considered more likely to be aggressive could be barred from fostering or adopting a child. Instead, they say social workers should take a more holistic approach to each animal and its individual temperament.

Rep. Jack Lewis told his colleagues that when he and his husband were thinking about adopting a second child or becoming foster parents, a DCF caseworker visited their home and asked about the breed of their bulldog, Brownie.

“If that DCF social worker, even though she had good intentions, had put down a pit bull mix or something else under those same conditions, my family would not be able to take any more people into our home, and I would not have the joy of having the number of children that I have now,” Lewis said. “That is what today’s bill is about.”

Two other animal-related bills approved by the House on Thursday create a committee to investigate misrepresentations of companion animals as service animals (H 4197) and update veterinary technician licensing (H 4912).

The fate of all five measures in the Senate is uncertain.