anne
Wise Old Weim
Joined: 10 Aug 2005
Posts: 2421
Location: Los Angeles, California
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 Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:29 pm Post subject: Legislative Alert: Virgiinia: HB1570 Mandatory spay/neuter |
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More critical bills to be opposed in Virginia.
See message below. This will be heard tomorrow.
Linda Hartheimer
Legislative Liaison
Weimaraner Club of America
http://grayhart-weimaraners.gotpetloversonline.com/
----- Original Message -----
From: Sharyn Hutchens
To: VFDCB-Announce@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 26, 2008 2:28 PM
Subject: [VFDCB-Announce] SECOND ALERT: HB1570 Mandatory spay/neuter
The Mandatory Spay/Neuter bill has been assigned to subcommittee now
and will be heard Tuesday. WE NEED ALL HANDS ON DECK for this one.
The bill description is below and subcommittee members below that –
contact them by phone Monday or email today. The meeting starts at
7:30 AM Tuesday, so Monday afternoon is the last chance to get your
word in.
HB1570 *** Companion animals; sterilization; penalty (Hull)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?081+ful+HB1570
OPPOSE
Animal pounds, shelters, and rescue groups are already required to
sterilize animals when sold, either prior to sale or by contract
with the buyer for sterilization at a later time. This bill
adds 'dealers' to that list. Failure to comply would allow the state
veterinarian or a court to void the sale. Both buyer and seller
would be fined $150. (Though the intent of the legislators was NOT
to include hobby breeders/fanciers in the definition of dealer, some
counties have been interpreting it to include anyone who breeds a
litter of puppies.)
There are a number of specific requirements for the pet sales
contract in HB1570.
The three kinds of 'good' breeders who would be exempt from the
mandatory spay/neuter requirement are defined as follows:
1. "'Breed improver' means a person who: (i) breeds working dogs,
show dogs, and hunting dogs or cats of specific breeds, not as a
source of income, but to perpetuate the breed or eliminate physical
shortcomings and disease, or who could otherwise demonstrate a
conscious and deliberate plan of breed improvement; and (iii)
adheres to the American Kennel Club's 22 responsible breeding steps,
United Kennel Club's breeders code of ethics, American Working Dog
Federation's constitution and bylaws, or a substantially similar
code of ethics or Cat Fanciers' Association breed standards."
2. "'Fancier breeder' means a person who: (i) regularly shows or
competes at competitions sanctioned by the American Kennel Club, the
United Kennel Club, the American Working Dog Federation and their
member clubs, or the Cat Fanciers' Association and their sanctioned
competitions, or similar organizations for rare breed dogs and cats;
and (ii) adheres to the American Kennel Club's 22 responsible
breeding steps, United Kennel Club's breeders code of ethics,
American Working Dog Federation's constitution and bylaws, or a
substantially similar code of ethics or Cat Fanciers' Association
breed standards."
3. "'Hobby breeder' means a person who wishes to breed and then will
find homes for one litter, but not for profit."
Fraudulently claiming to be one of the above would get you a fine of
$1000.
WHAT'S WRONG:
Now who's going to determine whether someone is really one of
the "good guys" up there? How do you prove whether you're a "breed
improver"? Why does showing automatically mean you're a good
breeder? Why does NOT showing mean you are not? What does "shows
regularly"mean? So do "hobby breeders" in the third definition have
to give puppies away or somehow insure that they don't make any
profit? This is a bad idea, poorly written.
If this bill could work as written, it would shift Virginia to
importing a large fraction of its dogs and cats. In the real world
the result would be that a large fraction of our pet owners and
nearly all non-commercial breeders would be in violation of the
law. If it were enforced at all, it would be selectively – make
your local shelter or ACO mad, get a complaint from a neighbor, and
the Breeder Gestapo will be on your porch asking for your proof
of "a conscious and deliberate plan of breed improvement." Or maybe
they'll just want to see your vet receipts and dog food bills to
insure that you didn't make a profit on your puppies.
Even if this were a well-written MSN bill, it would still be a
terrible idea.
Mandatory spay/neuter has been proven not to work wherever it has
been tried. In San Mateo County, CA, euthanasia rates went up and
licensing went down. Mandatory spay neuter laws have been repealed
in Montgomery County, MD, and in Fort Worth, TX. In the places they
have stayed in effect, licensing has gone down and in most places,
kill rates have gone up. For details, see Laura Allen's article at
http://www.ab1634.com/Files/ARE_MSN.pdf
Mandatory spay/neuter does not address the heart of the problem,
which is relinquishment of dogs by owners who either cannot or will
not deal with them, it is impossible to enforce, it unfairly
penalizes responsible breeders and owners.
Here's some more information.
http://www.naiaonline.org/issues/HJerpe_letter_to_CVMA.htm
http://www.cobankopegi.com/blog/2007/04/mandatory-spay-and-neuter-
resources-and.html
http://saveourdogs.net/population.html
And should this pass, since it won't reduce euthanasia by one iota,
they will be back next year to take out the exemptions for "good
breeders." Only then, they'll have the names and addresses of
the "good breeders" who applied for exemptions.
AKC also has issued an alert on this bill at
http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=3412
ACTION:
Contact the Ag subcommittee below and ask them to OPPOSE HB 1570. Be
polite.
Bobby Orrock (address him "Dear Chairman Orrock") General Assembly
Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1054
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Renee Hudson
Email: DelBOrrock@house.state.va.us
Ed Scott
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1030
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Lisa Drummond
Email: DelEScott@house.state.va.us
Matt Lohr
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406 Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1026
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Audrey Berkshire
Email: DelMLohr@house.state.va.us
Danny Marshall
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1014
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Mary K. Franklin
Email: DelDMarshall@house.state.va.us
Charles Poindexter
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406 Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1009
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Brenda Bowman
Email: DelCPoindexter@house.state.va.us
James Shuler
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1012
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Email: DelJShuler@house.state.va.us
Lynwood Lewis
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406 Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1000
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Laurie Naismith
Email: DelLLewis@house.state.va.us
Bobby Mathieson
General Assembly Building
P.O. Box 406
Richmond, Virginia 23218
Phone: (804) 698-1021
Fax: (804) 786-6310
Legislative Assistant: Jason Robinson and Brent McKenzie
Email: DelBMathieson@house.state.va.us |
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