WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined his colleagues in reintroducing the Puppy Protection Act, legislation to create stronger standards for veterinary care, housing, and breeding for dogs. The Puppy Protection Act would ensure that dogs within breeders’ care have suitable and safe enclosures, access to outdoor areas, and regularly interact with other dogs and humans.
“For many of us, dogs are a part of our families. They should be raised in safe and humane conditions throughout their lives,” said Sen. Warner. “As an animal lover, I’m proud to support this legislation that helps ensure breeding facilities are treating their puppies with respect and care.”
Specifically, the bill would do the following:
- Caging and space requirements: Expand enclosure requirements to allow dogs to stand on their hind legs without touching the top of their enclosure and increase the number of square feet of their enclosure based on the dog’s size. Enclosures may not be stacked on top of one another.
- Exercise: Offer dogs over the age of 12 weeks unrestricted access from their primary enclosures to a ground-level, enclosed outdoor exercise area.
- Socialization: Set a 30-minute requirement per day for dogs to socialize with humans and compatible dogs outside of the time spent in veterinary care.
- Breeding: Require a screening by a veterinarian prior to each attempt to breed and prohibit breeding of two litters in any 18-month period or more than six litters in a dog’s lifetime. Breeders must also find a humane placement for retired breeding dogs, such as with adoptive families or rescue organizations.
This legislation is also sponsored by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV).
Sen. Warner has been an advocate for dogs in Virginia and throughout the country, earning a 100% on the Humane Society of the United States’ Humane Scorecard for 2025. He is a longtime supporter of the Puppy Protection Act. In 2022, he successfully fought for the rescue of hundreds of dogs in acute distress from the Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia. Also in 2022, Sen. Warner secured the passage of new language requiring the Department of State to report on the status of dogs in the Explosive Detection Canine Program (EDCP). This program came under scrutiny in 2019 after an Inspector General (IG) report found that the Department failed to conduct proper follow-up after sending highly-trained dogs to foreign partner nations, resulting in the death of at least ten dogs from largely preventable illnesses.
Read the full bill here.
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