Shared by Peggy...please don't ask me "Joe who?" because I don't know. Just look at the material, will you? Follow-up of the AKC presentation to the Missouri Breeders Association: I first must say and I want this to be clearly understood, Tom Sharp of the AKC did a magnificent job of presenting the AKC's position concerning PAWS . His presentation was well thought out and professionally prepared and presented. With that said, let's move on to the meat of the deal. Just as we had suspected, the AKC has gotten into bed with the devil himself and sold out everyone who raises dogs for resale of any kind, although the AKC thought they had struck a deal with the AR people to protect the so called show breeder and Dog Fancy person... by asking for wording that would make them exempt, the bill in its present form will cover EVERYONE that has sales that total more than 500.00 of all animals sold. There is no distinction of what kind of animals, so if you sell a cow or a horse a puppy or a chicken and the total sales for the year exceed 500.00 you then are required to be a USDA license holder and must meet all of the kennel standards as specified by the USDA. In addition the bill provides for the use of outside inspectors to inspect kennels..... Another back room deal between the AR people specifically HSUS and the AKC to sub-contract inspection duties for the USDA.. This is nothing more than the AR peoples' attempt to gain authority over people who breed dogs.. We also see this as a way for the AKC to punish those who do not agree with them as well. If you are not a AKC breeder than you will more than likely have a few problems... (reading between the lines). There are several other points of the bill that are offensive to most dog owners of any type, The AKC board of directors must have lost their minds, or they left them at home the day they made this decision. Following the meeting,the MPBA held a board of directors meeting and voted to NOT support PAWS and to work toward its defeat. The wording selected was carefully crafted as not to be too harsh, however In my own opinion this bill must be defeated at all costs. Not only must this bill be defeated we must as breeders pool our resources nationally to remove Senator Santorum from office in the up-coming elections as well as the officers who are presently in power at the AKC. These people are not the friends of breeders of any kind and they are working towards regulation that will hurt everyone involved in the business of dogs no matter how small or how large. Personally I am not opposed to having all kennels licensed for the establishment of specific care standards, I am opposed to any organization the has no capital interest in the actual business trying to regulate the industry. Hey folks, the AKC is a "Dog Registry,", HSUS is a Animal Rights Group ... Regulation must be from within the industry written by and for the people who are actually involved in the day to day business. I am stopping short of calling for a Nationwide boycott of the AKC, however I am calling for a reversal of their position. Joe ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2005. 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. 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@xxxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://www.showgsd.org ============================================================================