A bill authored by State Sen. Van H. Wanggaard in the Wisconsin Senate seeks to ensure dogs and cats in testing facilities are offered for adoption before euthanasia, promoting animal welfare and accountability, according to the Wisconsin State Senate.
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s official website, the bill was described as follows: “requiring animal testing facilities and breeders to offer certain dogs and cats for adoption to releasing agencies and providing a penalty. (FE)”.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill mandates animal testing facilities and breeders to offer dogs and cats that are no longer needed and do not pose public health risks to releasing agencies for eventual adoption, prior to considering euthanasia. The offering period for adoption must be at least three weeks. The bill permits state-operated facilities or educational institutions to create internal adoption programs to comply with these requirements. Facilities and breeders must report annually to the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, detailing the number of animals owned, used for research, offered for adoption, and adopted internally. Violations of this mandate carry a maximum forfeiture of $5,000 per offense.
The bill was co-authored by Rep. Joel Kitchens (Republican-1st District), Sen. Jodi Habush Sinykin (Democrat-8th District), Sen. John Jagler (Republican-13th District), Sen. Sarah Keyeski (Democrat-14th District), and Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (Democrat-16th District). It was co-sponsored by Rep. Clinton M. Anderson (Democrat-45th District), Rep. David Armstrong (Republican-67th District), and Rep. Mike Bare (Democrat-80th District), along with 16 other co-sponsors.
Van H. Wanggaard has authored or co-authored another 114 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with five of them being enacted.
Wanggaard graduated from Gateway Technical College.
Wanggaard, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2015 to represent the state’s 21st Senate district, replacing previous state senator John Lehman.
In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB414 | 09/04/2025 | Requiring animal testing facilities and breeders to offer certain dogs and cats for adoption to releasing agencies and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB372 | 07/16/2025 | Crime victim notification cards. (FE) |
| SB333 | 06/19/2025 | Increasing certain court fees and surcharges and indexing those amounts for inflation. (FE) |
| SB317 | 06/11/2025 | Requiring cardiac emergency response plans for cardiac emergencies that occur on school property or at school-sponsored athletic events. (FE) |
| SB312 | 06/04/2025 | Changing an individual’s sex on a birth certificate |
| SB311 | 06/04/2025 | Prohibiting funding for health services for unlawfully present individuals. (FE) |
| SB307 | 06/02/2025 | 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline grants. (FE) |
| SB300 | 05/30/2025 | Eliminating the 13-week limit on the garnishment of earnings of certain debtors |
| SB299 | 05/30/2025 | A grant program for the purchase of automated registration plate reader systems. (FE) |
| SB279 | 05/22/2025 | Grants to law enforcement agencies for data-sharing platforms |
| SB278 | 05/22/2025 | Sunset of the community-oriented policing-house grant program |
| SB270 | 05/20/2025 | The right of appeal for complainants aggrieved by decisions of the Elections Commission concerning the conduct of election officials |
| SB266 | 05/20/2025 | Human trafficking and trafficking of a child and providing a penalty |
| SB263 | 05/20/2025 | Findings of fact when the court grants less than equal physical placement of a child |
| SB248 | 05/09/2025 | License eligibility and restriction extensions relating to ignition interlock devices |
| SB246 | 05/09/2025 | A special observance day in schools for Armenian Genocide Awareness Day |
| SB239 | 05/09/2025 | Prohibiting hotels, inns, and motels from discriminating against dog handlers who are accompanied by search and rescue dogs |
| SB238 | 05/09/2025 | Harassment of search and rescue dogs and providing a penalty |
| SB230 | 04/29/2025 | Requiring retail sellers to accept cash and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB229 | 04/29/2025 | Transferring adjudicatory functions for worker’s compensation from the Division of Hearings and Appeals in the Department of Administration to the Department of Workforce Development. (FE) |
| SB227 | 04/29/2025 | The law enforcement officers’ bill of rights |
| SB220 | 04/25/2025 | Residency requirements for persons circulating nomination papers or recall petitions |
| SB209 | 04/16/2025 | Limiting liability relating to traffic control devices for manufacturers and others |
| SB202 | 04/14/2025 | Local guaranteed income programs |
| SB194 | 04/14/2025 | Obtaining attorney fees and costs under the state’s public records law when an authority voluntarily or unilaterally releases a contested record after an action has been filed in court |
| SB184 | 04/14/2025 | Governmental restrictions based on the energy source of a motor vehicle or other device |
| SB169 | 04/03/2025 | Privacy protections for judicial officers |
| SB159 | 03/27/2025 | Requirements for lighting on police vehicles |
| SB155 | 03/21/2025 | Requiring periodic inspections of parking structures |
| SB147 | 03/21/2025 | Interpreter action by telephone or live audiovisual means in civil or criminal proceedings |
| SB146 | 03/21/2025 | Prohibiting persons who have been convicted of a violent crime from changing their name and providing a penalty |
| SB138 | 03/21/2025 | Prostitution crime surcharge and making an appropriation. (FE) |
| SB133 | 03/14/2025 | Maximum life and allocation period for Tax Incremental District Number 9 in the village of DeForest and the total value of taxable property that may be included in tax incremental financing districts created in the village of DeForest. (FE) |
| SB130 | 03/14/2025 | The distribution of certain material on the Internet |
| SB100 | 03/07/2025 | The requirement that first class cities and first class city school districts place school resource officers in schools. (FE) |
| SB99 | 03/07/2025 | Spinal cord injury research grants and symposia and making an appropriation. (FE) |
| SB82 | 02/26/2025 | Governmental restrictions based on the energy source of a motor vehicle or other device |
| SB66 | 02/21/2025 | Registration plate concealment devices and providing a penalty |
| SB65 | 02/21/2025 | Impoundment of vehicles used in certain reckless driving offenses. (FE) |
| SB64 | 02/21/2025 | Injuring or killing a police or fire animal and providing a penalty |
| SB39 | 02/12/2025 | Establishment of a Palliative Care Council. (FE) |
| SB34 | 02/12/2025 | Withdrawal of candidacy for certain offices filled at the general election and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB30 | 02/12/2025 | Required instruction in civics in the elementary and high school grades, high school graduation requirements, and private school educational program criteria. (FE) |
| SB12 | 02/03/2025 | A sales and use tax exemption for the sale of gun safes. (FE) |
| SB6 | 01/24/2025 | Impoundment of vehicles used in certain traffic offenses |
| SB5 | 01/24/2025 | Battery or threat to jurors and providing a penalty |
