Several states have subsidized programs to neuter or rehome companion animals or address animal abuse and neglect, and recently, more states are proposing to adopt similar efforts. While noble in cause, several of these states’ means for solving these social issues involves increasing taxes on pet food manufacturers. The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) believes that the costs of these efforts should not be borne by the pet food industry through legislatively mandated taxation and has worked to defeat several of these state bills, which ultimately impacts the costs of purchasing pet food and treats for all citizens.
Instead of tax increases on businesses, AFIA advocates for special license plates, voluntary tax form checkoffs, humane facility licensing and private donations as reasonable tools to raise money to provide care for homeless pets and feral cats. In most states, animal food registration fees are authorized through statute to cover the costs of regulatory oversight of the feed and pet food industries and were not originally intended to fund animal welfare programs.
Recent state legislation involving pet food taxes
A few examples of state government overreach have come in 2024 with Maryland HB 85 and Maryland SB 641, two identical bills that planned to raise the tax on pet food from US$100 per product to US$130 per product, phased in over three years beginning October 2024, to fund spay and neuter services. AFIA successfully testified against both bills, which aimed to also fund a mobile veterinary clinic and expansion of subsidized veterinary care to feral cats and pets owned by low-income Maryland residents. The House bill passed and moved to the Senate, where it ultimately died.
Like the Maryland bills, Virginia SB 31 proposed to fund a new sterilization program for pets of low-income citizens with a US$50 per ton tax on pet food. AFIA sent a letter opposing the measure, and the commonwealth’s Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee tabled the bill until 2025.
AFIA assisted the Vermont Feed Dealers and Manufacturers Association and Northeast Agribusiness and Feed Alliance in their opposition to the tax increase proposed by Vermont H 626, an animal welfare bill. The measure intended to create a new state director of animal welfare, funded by a US$10 increase in product registration fees on all commercial feeds sold in the state including pet food. Fortunately, before the governor signed the bill into law in June 2024, state legislators amended it to remove the tax increase as a funding source for the position.
The evolution of animal welfare infrastructure
The animal welfare infrastructure, which is behind many of these initiatives, has evolved into a business world with buildings, staff and overhead costs. This business-like approach has improved the outcomes for companion animals, but many shelters and rescue organizations are just that, nonprofit businesses, and should not be subsidized by increased taxes on pet food products or the diversion of registration fees intended for regulatory support to animal welfare purposes.
Maine, the first in the U.S. to use taxes on pet food manufacturers to fund spay and neuter programs, has an interesting back story. The state’s animal welfare and spay and neuter program is managed through one of its oldest humane societies, which undertook an early effort to reduce the number of dogs and cats euthanized. Prior to 1995, between 7,000 and 10,000 animals were admitted to the organization each year, of which half were typically euthanized.
In 2015, the Maine legislature began collecting a surcharge from businesses selling pet food in the state to fund low-cost spay and neuter efforts. By 2018, following implementation of a no-euthanasia policy and after embarking on a sterilization education program, the long-serving Maine humane organization started bringing hundreds of animals from other states’ shelters to Maine, in part to meet the demand for adoption and, as stated in a recent annual report, to help cover overhead costs and ensure the sustainability of their mission. Indeed, a room at the facility has been renovated for the sole purpose of receiving out-of-state pets.
In 2021, Maine used over US$730,000 in taxes collected from animal food companies to pay for subsidized spay and neuter programs and animal welfare efforts. During the same year, over 8,000 cats and dogs were imported into the state to meet adoption demand, and, through their adoption fees, offset operating costs for animal shelters. The purpose of spay and neuter and animal welfare programs to reduce euthanasia of dogs and cats is admirable, but Maine taxes businesses to fund animal welfare, and then imports thousands of non-local animals into the state annually to fund the animal welfare infrastructure and meet adoption demands.
Animal food manufacturers are not perpetuating the problem facing many local communities of feral cat colonies or animal welfare issues yet are the ones bearing the costs to manage these social issues, on top of their other philanthropic giving, which often includes pet food or other donations to these same shelters. AFIA urges legislators to think creatively and increase the use of voluntary means to address the ongoing needs of homeless pets and feral cats rather than unjustly taxing businesses that are not part of the problem. With state legislatures done for 2024, AFIA will continue to monitor these and other similar state bills in 2025.
Briefly: Top 5 takeaways
Several states have subsidized programs to neuter or rehome companion animals or address animal abuse and neglect, and more states are proposing to adopt similar efforts.AFIA believes that the costs of these efforts should not be borne by the pet food industry through legislatively mandated taxation.Maryland, Virginia and Vermont are among the states looking to enact legislation that raises taxes on pet food in order to fund spay and neuter programs.The animal welfare infrastructure has evolved into a business world, which has improved the outcomes for companion animals, but many shelters and rescue organizations are nonprofit businesses and should not be subsidized by increased taxes on pet food products.AFIA urges legislators to think creatively and increase the use of voluntary means to address the ongoing needs of homeless pets and feral cats.