[ SHOWGSD-L ] AKC Alert<<URGENT: Chicago City Council to Consider Mandatory Spay/Neuter
- From: Stormy435@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:10:27 EDT
URGENT: Chicago City Council to Consider Mandatory Spay/Neuter
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[Wednesday, July 23, 2008]
The Chicago City Council Committee on Finance will hold a joint hearing with
the Committee on License and Consumer Protection on Tuesday July 29th to
discuss a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance. It is vital that responsible dog
owners
and breeders attend the hearing to oppose this measure.
The ordinance will require that all dogs cats and over the age of six months
be spayed or neutered unless they qualify for one of the following exemptions:
â?¢ A licensed veterinarian certifies that the animalâ??s health would
best be served by spaying/neutering after a specified date, or that due to age
or poor health it is unsafe to sterilize the animal at this time.
â?¢ The owner of the dog or cat has a valid $100 breeding permit.
â?¢ Applicants are required to undergo a criminal background check.
â?¢ Residents are permitted to whelp only 1 litter per year unless
they receive a special exemption from the commission. A separate permit is
still
required for each animal, even if it is not being bred that year.
â?¢ This permit is in addition to the $50 intact license fee.
â?¢ The breeding permit number must be displayed in any advertisement
for sale.
â?¢ Breeders are required to provide contact information for new
owners to the city and to present the new owner with an application for a pet
license.
â?¢ The dog or cat is registered with a registry approved by the
commission and is kept for the purposes of competing in legitimate shows or
competitions. (It is unclear how an owner would demonstrate this.)
â?¢ The dog has earned, or is actively being trained and is in the
process of earning an agility, carting, herding, protection, rally, hunting,
working or other title from an approved registry or association. (It is unclear
how a resident would prove an animal is being â??trained.â??)
â?¢ The dog is trained or in the process of being trained as a guide,
signal or service dog or is enrolled in a licensed breeding program for these
activities.
â?¢ The dog is trained or in the process of being trained and is
actively used by law enforcement agencies or the military.
The ordinance makes a variety of findings, many of which are related to
dangerous dogs and dog fighting. It is not reasonable to believe that
individuals
who are engaging in dog fighting, which is a felony under Illinois state law,
would comply with animal control regulations, the violation of which generates
only the issuance of a citation. Enactment of this ordinance would only serve
to punish responsible dog owners and breeders for a problem they did not
create.
The proposal allows animals to be impounded simply because they are not
sterilized, a situation that is likely to increase the number of animals in
shelters, not decrease it. To reclaim an animal it must be sterilized and
microchipped and the owner must pay the full costs of those procedures in
addition to
penalties. Again, this is likely to force more abandonments and increase
shelter
populations.
The American Kennel Club opposes the concept of breeding permits, breeding
bans, or the mandatory spay/neuter of purebred dogs. Instead, we support
reasonable and enforceable laws that protect the welfare and health of purebred
dogs
and do not restrict the rights of breeders and owners who take their
responsibilities seriously. Additionally, we strongly support and actively
promote a
wide range of programs to educate the public about responsible breeding
practices and the responsibilities of dog ownership.
What You Can Do
â?¢ Attend the Committee meeting at 10am on July 29th
Chicago City HallÂ
121 North La Salle Street,Â
Chicago, IL
â?¢ Chicago residents, send a letter to the Alderman who represents
your district. Please click here for a sample letter. Remember that this
letterÂ
must be personalizedand you need to include your full name and mailing address
so you will be recognized as a constituent. To find out who represents you,
please click here.
� Fanciers who have traveled to Chicago to attend dog events,
please personalize this sample letter and send it to the authors, Aldermen
Burke and
Rugai as well as Alderman Schulter, Chair of the Committee on Licensing and
Consumer Protection.
� Club Officers please have your club author a letter opposing this
ordinance and send it to the Aldermen listed below. A sample letter to
personalize can be found here.
Contact Information for the Aldermen Burke, Rugai and Schulter
Alderman Edward BurkeÂ
Chair, Committee on Finance
121 N. LaSalle St., Room 302Â
Chicago, IL 60602Â
eburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxÂ
FAX: (312) 744-1955
Alderman Virginia Rugai
121 N. LaSalle St., Room 300 Â Â
Chicago, IL 60602Â
vrugai@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FAX: 773- 238-9049
Alderman Eugene Schulter
Chair, Committee on License and Consumer ProtectionÂ
121 N. LaSalle St., Room 300 Â Â
Chicago, IL 60602Â
ward47@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
FAX: 312-744-1509
<FONT COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" FAMILY="SANSSERIF" SI
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