[ SHOWGSD-L ] CFA thanks everyone who helped stop CA AB 1734 (long)
- From: Peggy <pmick12@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: gsd list <Showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:13:31 -0400
shared by Peggy
7/13/07
Permission to forward
Cat and dog friends;
(I’m grateful to George Eigenhauser, CFA Legislative Information
Liaison, who had enough energy left on Wednesday to post a full report
on the hearing
and outcome of California AB 1634. If you have not read his excellent
coverage let us know and we will be happy to forward this. I still had
one more
meeting Wednesday afternoon so I was not home until late evening.)
As you know, mandatory spay/neuter of all cats and dogs will not be
state law in California!! We all deserve to celebrate and take pride in
this
accomplishment. It took a huge cooperative effort to persuade lawmakers
this was a misdirected, confusing and detrimental proposal. The media
now has a much better understanding of why we rejected this proposal
that claimed to be a solution to the killing of animals in shelters.
Some form of AB 1634 will come back in January 2008 - a revised bill
will be heard again in the Senate Local Government Committee. AB 1634
has already
been amended 7 times but it will be further watered down. According to
Senator Lloyd Levine in Wednesday’s hearing the new version will not
“mandate
spay/neuter” with an intact permit. He wants to rewrite the bill so that
possessing an unaltered cat/dog would be a “secondary” offense if
someone is found
in violation of another animal law. He mentioned at the hearing if a
cat/dog is at large or if there are too many animals in a household
according to
local ordinance then animal control could require sterilization.
Obviously one of the objections to AB 1634 has always been that
“complaint driven” laws
tend to encourage neighbor harassment or vigilantes filing complaints
based on suspicion of some animal law violation.
THANK YOU for being in Sacramento, for writing over 10,000 personal
letters to the Senators, for visiting your Assembly Members and Senators
and for your contributions of time and money to help defeat this bill.
This was an enormous cooperative effort unparalleled since CFA has been
involved in
legislative advocacy. Many individuals were highly active in California,
walked the corridors in Sacramento and contacted their own legislators.
We also had help
from people all over the country who posted updates, signed petitions,
donated to CFA’s Sy Howard Legislative Fund, produced YouTube videos and
contributed to strategy. I can’t begin to single out the numerous
individuals who worked tirelessly on this bill since February but every
effort counted. Special
appreciation goes to those who brought Lassie and Timmy to the Capitol!
This brought some fun into the Senators’ offices and good media coverage
for our
side. It made up for all their broken fax machines and used cartridges.
It was a real joy to see so many familiar cat fancier faces in the
audience at the Capitol steps rally on Wednesday and to meet many
dedicated dog owners we’ve come to know through emails. There were about
30 dogs there and one cat.
Success was due to the ability of all the organizations to work together
for our common goal. The Cat Fanciers’ Association and American Kennel Club
hosted several strategy conference calls that included professional
lobbyists advising and working behind the scenes. CFA and AKC kept clubs
and fanciers
informed of what was needed every step of the way and AKC hosted two
lobby day meetings in Sacramento. We owe a great deal to many other
organizations that played a big part – the National Animal Interest
Alliance, SaveOurDogs, California Federation of Dog Clubs, the Concerned
Dog Owners of California, The
Animal Council, The National Pet Alliance, Sacramento Council of Dog
Clubs, No On AB 1634, and the newly formed “Veterinarians Against AB
1634”. There was considerable information on all the websites and each
of the organizations contributed to media interviews. We appreciated the
support of Alley Cat
Allies, The International Cat Association and the Pet Industry Joint
Advisory Council. The courage of numerous California veterinarians to
speak out against
the stance of the California Veterinary Medical Association on this bill
and the work to get the CVMA to withdraw as a co-sponsor was an incredible
accomplishment.
Very special kudos must go to PetPAC. Their tireless work to reach the
cat and dog clubs, fanciers, service dog and law enforcement canine
groups was
extremely valuable throughout these past 4 -1/2 months. They
consistently presented a message to the media that this bill was
mischaracterized through
incorrect, exaggerated data and would impact a large number of animal
interest groups without solving shelter problems. They lobbied all
Assembly Members
and Senators, organized the press conferences in the Capitol, did
numerous radio and TV interviews and coordinated the Capitol rallies.
With CFA’s financial
help they produced effective TV commercials that aired on the major
morning shows before the hearing reinforcing the message that opposition
to AB 1634
represented dog and cat pet owners, those with service dogs and law
enforcement dogs.
Speakers at the Committee hearing included Dr. John Hamil, former
President of the CVMA who spoke about general and veterinary issues,
Bill Hemby of
PetPAC on law enforcement, Joan Miller for CFA and the unowned cat
issues, Angie Niles with the shelter data analysis, Douglas Surber of
SaveOurDogs on the loss of breeding stock for working, sporting and
herding dogs; Paul Mundell on service dog issues, and Jeff Leacox on
behalf of AKC and the punishment of
responsible pet owners. It was a well orchestrated presentation to cover
all points. Lassie watched from the front row ready to bark if needed.
There will always be challenges when it comes to homeless animals in
shelters. Punitive legislation harmful to pet owners is not the answer.
AB 1634
has been extremely divisive and will make it more difficult to
collaborate with the shelter community in the future. This is something
we hope can be
rectified in time. The best thing about this bill is that it has brought
the diverse dog and cat groups together. We are now stronger and better
prepared to
take on whatever comes before us in local ordinances and on the state
level in 2008.
WHAT TO DO NOW –
1. Call or send a note to the Chair, Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod, Vice
Chair, Senator Dave Cox, thanking them and every one of the Senators
on the Local Government Committee for allowing a thorough hearing of the
issues and for their understanding of our reasons for opposition. Yes,
we know
that Senator Christine Kehoe (Dem. San Diego) helped Levine save the
bill from total failure, but lots can change before January and we want
her on our
side by then.
2. Watch for information on Assembly Member Levine’s run for the Senate.
With a primary in February this bill will bring attention to his
campaign. We may take a special interest in his opponent.
3. Be ready for resurrection of several local ordinances that were put
on hold because of this bill. Riverside County and Los Angeles City may
suddenly hold hearings.
Many thanks to George Eigenhauser, CFA Legislative Information Liaison,
and Sharon Coleman, CFA Legislative Legal Analyst; also to Jean Grimm
who spoke
before the Assembly Committee for CFA.
On behalf of CFA – thank you all for your help and support.
Joan Miller
CFA Legislative Coordinator
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