[ SHOWGSD-L ] AKC<>MA Committee to Consider Numerous Dog Bills on May 11

From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
To: "showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx List" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 29 Apr 2011 10:47:44 -0700

April 29, 2011

The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Municipalities and Regional  
Government will consider a series of dog bills at its hearing on May  
11, 2011.  Responsible dog owners in Massachusetts are encouraged to  
attend the hearing or contact the committee with comments on any of  
the bills on the agenda.

View the names and contact information for the committee here.

http://www.malegislature.gov/Committees/Joint/J10


If you are interested in attending the hearing on May 11, contact the  
Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners  
(MassFed) at info@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Summary:

Over 10 bills are scheduled to be considered by the joint committee,  
including:

House Bill 562– <http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/H00562>  
The AKC and MassFed both support this bill, which strengthens the  
Commonwealth’s dangerous dog laws by creating a number of provisions,  
including:

        • Allowing dogs declared “at risk” to have the designation removed if  
the dog does not exhibit the behavior again within two years.
        • Preventing municipalities from establishing breed-specific at-risk  
or dangerous dog policies
House Bill 1455– <http://www.malegislature.gov/Bills/187/House/ 
H01455>The AKC and MassFed both oppose this bill, which makes numerous  
changes to the animal control laws, including:

        • Requiring an intact animal permit for all owners of intact dogs  
(current law already requires a special license for unspayed  
females).  The AKC opposes all differential licensing for owners of  
intact dogs.
        • Allowing municipalities to ban or regulate specific breeds.  Once  
approved, the local government must develop a 3-person board “to  
identify and determine the breed of dogs”.  This board would include  
two members of the public (one who must be an “expert in the field of  
animals”) and the local animal control officer.
        • Providing a list of recommended penalties  for nuisance violations,  
including sterilization or euthanasia
Other bills to be considered by the committee include:



Senate Bill 1033– This bill makes numerous changes to the animal  
control and licensing laws, including differentiating between  
commercial breeder kennels, personal kennels and commercial boarding/ 
training kennels.

House Bill 1437– This legislation mandates the sterilization of all  
cats, unless the owner possesses an intact animal permit. As currently  
written, cats would be the only animals subject to this license.

House Bill 2326–Among other provisions, this bill expands the crime of  
animal cruelty to include “knowingly and unjustifiably” failing to  
provide veterinary care “that results in unnecessary suffering.” It is  
unclear how these terms would be defined.

House Bill 2885–Current law requires all cities and towns to appoint  
an animal control officer or contract with a charitable organization  
to perform these duties.  HB 2885, among other provisions, would  
impose a $500/day fine on cities that are not in compliance with this  
mandate.

House Bill 2886– This bill would prohibit the sale of a dog or cat  
that is under 8 weeks of age.

For more information on these and other bills on the agenda, visit the  
Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners  
website at www.massfeddogs.org or contact the AKC Government Relations  
Department at (919) 816-3720 or doglaw@xxxxxxxx



If you would rather not receive future communications from The  
American Kennel Club, let us know by clicking here.
The American Kennel Club, 8051 Arco Corporate Dr. Suite 100, Raleigh,  
NC 27617 United 
States============================================================================
POST is Copyrighted 2011.  All material remains the property of the original 
author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind 
are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the 
Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. 

Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post.  This group and its 
administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in 
any post.

ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY 
MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS 
PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY 
FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE 
PROSECUTED. 

For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx

VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org  
SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html
NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/
============================================================================
[ SHOWGSD-L ] AKC<>MA Committee to Consider Numerous Dog Bills on May 11

Other related posts:
