[ SHOWGSD-L ] Bad Law in Alburqueque NM

  • From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 17:39:06 -0400

-----Original Message-----
I am cross posting this from another group.

PERMISSION TO CROSS POST
ALBUQUERQUE EMERGENCY: ONLY 35 DAYS TO FORCE HEART TO A PUBLIC VOTE
A referendum petition aimed at Albuquerque registered voters has only 35
days to garner enough valid signatures (17,458) to refer the so-called HEART
(Albuquerque's Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment) ordinance to
an "up" or "down" vote in Albuquerque. Drafted over three years by City
Councilor Sally Mayer with the help of AR groups and passed by six of nine
city councilors after months of delays followed by heated public hearings,
the bloated and burdensome HEART ordinance becomes Albuquerque City law upon
the signature of a seventh individual, the Mayor, who has publicly declared
his intention to sign. The city charter then allows only 35 days and
requires 17,458 valid signatures to petition for the right to force HEART to
a vote by the Albuquerque electorate. A "down" vote would override the city
council and the mayor. It will be necessary to collect 25,000 to 30,000
signatures to be assured of having the required number of valid signatures.
If HEART is not stopped, it will affect the entire State of New Mexico. WE
NEED HELP - LOTS OF IT - TO GET SIGNATURES OF REGISTERED VOTERS IN
ALBUQUERQUE.
The Albuquerque ordinance contains the usual (and usually absurd) AR
provisions (no leash longer than eight feet permitted, "premises shall be
kept in such a way that no animal has the opportunity. to get splinters from
wooden boards" or that "a motor vehicle operator who strikes a [skunk or a
lizard] shall immediately call 911"), but absurdities become serious
business, when you realize that under HEART, the charge for being caught
using a flexi-lead or for failing to report hitting a skunk is ANIMAL
CRUELTY and you're left to explain an animal cruelty conviction to the AKC
or UKC or on your next employment application or security clearance. No
doubt the AR will then point to the rising "animal cruelty" convictions to
justify further onerous and intrusive provisions in subsequent ordinances.
The HEART Ordinance would also require an ANNUAL fee hike from $25 to $150
for each intact animal. Of greater concern, however, is that the fee would
no longer be defined as a "license" fee, but rather a "permit" and would
allow the city to inspect the residence of the permit holder "upon
reasonable notice." A Litter Permit (valid for six months) with a $150 fee
is also required for each pregnant animal.
That the fees are far out of context with the New Mexico economy (compare
them to the $60 intact animal fee recently passed in Los Angeles) is of
concern, but by far the gravest concern is that the ordinance empowers the
Mayor to issue at will a "moratorium" on permits. With pet stores under
HEART prohibited from selling dogs and cats and with a moratorium declared
on Litter Permits, the AR will have obtained their goal of making shelter
animals the only legally obtainable pets within the city of Albuquerque. A
moratorium on Intact Animal Permits conjures up an even more nightmarish
scenario. With Intact Animal Permits good for only one year what happens to
the law-abiding, conscientious exhibitors, whose dogs and addresses are
known to the City, when due to a moratorium their Intact Animal Permits
cannot be renewed??
Ron Gustafson, ron.gustafson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, phone 505-864-3513, is
spear-heading the petition drive. Contact him directly for information or
for copies of the petition. The petition and ordinance are also posted on
the New Mexico Animal Control Forum discussion group, in the FILES section -
under the HEART Referendum Petition folder (both as JPEG and PDF). To
access the FILES section, please request to join the list.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/VCNM_Animal_Control_Forum/

ALL HELP IS NEEDED AND APPRECIATED!!

=====================

Ps... if you don't think the moratorium can happen... think again.  The
Mayor is on VERY, VERY good terms with ARistas.

Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA
"A lie gets halfway around the world before
the truth has a chance to put its pants on."
~ Winston Churchill
www.rihadin.com


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