He had the backing of varied animal welfare advocates.
“Arizonans don’t need insurance coverage corporations telling them what sort of pet they will have,” stated Michelle Simpson, an lawyer who volunteers at animal shelters and pet rescue facilities, together with one dedicated to pit bulls.
She stated shelters have an “unbelievable overpopulation” of pets, with greater than 30,000 a yr going by Maricopa County alone annually.
“A majority of these pets are people who can be excluded by these insurance coverage insurance policies,” Simpson advised lawmakers. “And, subsequently, these pets are susceptible to euthanasia each day.”
Rep. John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction, stated the upper premiums charged for sure bigger canine are primarily based on a mistaken assumption they’re extra aggressive.
For him, Exhibit No. 1 is a small Shih Tzu owned by his brother. “Each time I’m going go to he bites me,” stated Fillmore, calling the arguments by insurance coverage corporations “slightly convoluted.”
Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, spoke of her personal experiences.
“I might say that my Chihuahuas are in all probability extra aggressive than my massive canine,” she stated. “I simply need to warning that once we’re speaking about the kind of breed of animals, loads of instances it’s how the those who educated the animals, or the house owners, that makes the canine act the way in which that they do.”