____________________________________ From: rpoa@xxxxxxxxx Reply-to: TX_RPOA_E-News-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: TX_RPOA_E-NEWS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 1/1/2011 5:46:19 P.M. Central Standard Time Subj: [TX_RPOA_E-News] RPOA in the news ... "Animal Rights" Bills to be filed in Texas TX-RPOA E-News >From RPOA Texas Outreach and Responsible Pet Owners Alliance "Animal welfare, not animal 'rights' and, yes, there is a difference." Permission granted to crosspost. January 1, 2011 We would like to wish you a Happy New Year but the 82nd Session of the Texas Legislature which convenes January 11th will once again be a minefield of many "animal rights" bills being filed. Let's hope we can celebrate on June 1st when the legislature adjourns as we did last session! The Animal Abusers Registry mentioned below clearly demonstrates the radical agenda of Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), an "animal rights" national organization of attorneys dedicated to obtaining legal "personhood" for animals in the courts equal to humans. The ramifications would be startling. Pet ownership is "slavery" they say. ALDF is very active in Texas through the Texas State Bar's Animal Section, Texas Humane Legislation Network and Robert (Skip) Trimble, THLN's legislative chair and former ALDF chairman. This article below appeared in both the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News but the SA newspaper has some extra paragraphs at the end with quotes by "Skip" Trimble (THLN) and Mary Beth Duerler (RPOA). Please "educate" these newspapers: Letters to the Editor (SA Express-News): _letters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (mailto:letters@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) Letters to Houston Chronicle: _viewpoints@xxxxxxxxxx (mailto:viewpoints@xxxxxxxxx) You must give name, address & phone number for confirmation. Keep it brief but do let the newspapers know they are being duped by THLN. This is a national anti-pet legislation agenda by HSUS and other animal rights organizations. ........................................................... _http://tinyurl.com/33xlebr_ (http://tinyurl.com/33xlebr) Plan would treat animal abusers like sex offenders Rockets owner Alexander backs registry for felons By PEGGY FIKAC HOUSTON CHRONICLE and SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Jan. 1, 2011, 7:53AM _http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/7361450.html_ (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/7361450.html) AUSTIN - People convicted of felony animal cruelty offenses would have to register just like sex offenders do under a proposal being pushed by Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander. Alexander is one of the advocates hoping lawmakers take time to focus on animal welfare in the upcoming legislative session. "A predator is a predator, if it's against a human or it's against an animal," said Alexander, who in 2007 put muscle behind toughening Texas' animal-cruelty law. The registry proposal hasn't yet been filed. Four Houston lawmakers plan to carry it forward: Democratic Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Republican Rep. Beverly Woolley. Among other pet-related proposals is a revival of the so-called puppy mill bill, which would create a state regulatory program to license and set minimum standards for commercial breeders. The measure's still being drafted. Thompson plans to carry it as she did in 2009, when it died after being opposed by veterinarians and a group including hobby breeders. This time, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association has helped work on a new version of the measure, which is a priority of the Texas Humane Legislation Network. "I want to make sure the puppies that are being sold are healthy animals, that they are being treated in a humane way," Thompson said. A separate bill that has already been filed would allow pets to be added to protective orders in family violence cases. Tally is not complete Some of the measures have been tried before, but the registry effort is new. Lobbyist Bill Miller, pushing the idea for Alexander, said no other state has passed it. A registry has been approved in New York State's Suffolk County. The idea would work like the Texas registry that makes information public about sex offenders, though it might be tiny in comparison. Texas has 62,971 registered sex offenders. Since the animal cruelty law was toughened in 2007, just 24 people have been sent to the Texas Department of Criminal justice for cruelty to non-livestock animals. But that tally is incomplete. It doesn't include those simultaneously serving time for an animal-cruelty felony and another crime with a longer sentence. It also doesn't include those who receive deferred adjudication, who also would be required to register. Those figures couldn't be obtained Thursday. "A list has to start somewhere, with someone," Miller said. "It will be a deterrent and a valuable tool" for checking on potential pet owners. Backers cited a connection between animal abuse and violence toward people. "As a former prosecutor and judge, I am aware that those with a history of animal abuse may potentially commit future violent acts," Huffman said in a statement. In a bow to the tough fiscal times, it's envisioned as being funded by donations and gifts. Alexander said he'll "be chipping in big." Woolley in a statement called the registry "another step toward stopping some child predators. Studies show that child predators begin as animal abusers. . To be the first state to achieve this, without using general revenue, relying solely on private donations, makes this bill a good way to usher good feelings into the Legislature." 'High-tech Scarlet Letter' Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project, however, called it "one of the more inane legislative ideas I've heard." "The idea of criminal justice is you commit the crime, you pay the penalty. Why do you have this ongoing punishment with the registry? It becomes like a high-tech Scarlet Letter," Harrington said. The so-called puppy mill measure would set up state licensing and regulation for commercial breeders. The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently oversees breeders who sell wholesale, but there's no regulation of those who sell retail. Skip Trimble of the Texas Human Legislation Network said the measure wouldn't affect hobby breeders and would apply only to those who have 11 or more breeding females and sell their offspring. Mary Beth Duerler of the Responsible Pet Owners Alliance voiced concern over what she called the "agenda" of those who have pushed the measure. "These extremists do not want you to use animals for any reason, whether you eat 'em, wear 'em or pet 'em," she said. Legislation . Legislation allowing pets to be added to protective orders has been filed as Senate Bill 279 and House Bill 323. . 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