[ SHOWGSD-L ] INdiana, ILlinois, OKlahoma, this week
- From: stormy435 <stormy435@xxxxxxx>
- To: "showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 23 Feb 2009 10:38:25 -0800
Please read carefully what is detailed below (pared down from a lengthy alert
from John Yates) and then share with friends, relatives, and puppy buyers in
these states. Legislators can and will listen to the concerns of their
constituants so it is imperative that contact be made. All you need to do is
send a simple fax stating your opposition to Bill # xxx for this reason - and
then make a short one or two sentence comment.
Dana Johnson
DPCA Legislative Director
============
Action is scheduled this week on:
An Indiana bill that will make anyone who sells even one litter of puppies a
year into a pet dealer. This bill was snuck through committee with no notice
given to dog owners, and has gone to the full House for a vote. Many serious
hobby breeders also would be classed as commercial kennels for very intense
regulation and a prohibition of outdoor housing that is dangerous for hunting
and working dogs. Many rescue groups also would be destroyed.
An Illinois bill snags up everyone who owns three intact breeding females under
commercial kennel rules, and sets a 20-dog maximum on the number of sexually
intact dogs that can be owned or possessed. Many trainers, handlers and serious
hobby breeders would be harmed needlessly. We also urge dog owners to sign our
online petition to stop this bill (see below).
And an Oklahoma bill passed through committee by an 11-2 vote and is headed
toward the full House for a vote. This legislation targets anyone who sells,
offers to sell, gives away or adopts out 25 or more dogs or puppies a year, by
subjecting them to truly totalitarian enforcement measures. Some rescue
programs would be destroyed.
Indiana
House Bill 1468 was snuck into the House Courts and Criminal Code Committee
last week as an unannounced amendment to an animal cruelty bill relating to
convicted felons. This kind of political dirty trick is used to eliminate
opposition to controversial measures, by denying opponents the opportunity to
read the legislation, contact elected officials and testify at the hearing.
Dog owners thus were robbed of the opportunity to participate in the process,
and not given a chance to try to convince the legislators to vote against this
amendment.
The amended legislation was approved by the committee by an 11-1 vote, and
sent to the full House of Representatives with a recommendation for passage.
It is IMPERATIVE for every Indiana dog owners to immediately contact their
legislators and explain your reasons for asking him or her to vote against HB
1468. Without a very strong response from dog owners, we expect this measure to
be approved and sent to the Senate, which will be our last chance to stop it.
Rep. Ralph Foley (R-47) of Martinsville, IN, was the only committee member to
vote against this legislation. Please take the time to contact Rep. Foley and
express your gratitude for his support of the rights of dog owners, and his
opposition to the animal rights agenda. Also, please ask him for his continued
support. Here is a link to his email contact
form: http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact-2-5.pl?data=h047 ;..
Here is a summary of the impact HB 1468 will have on dog owners:
It will destroy the rescue network in Indiana. While rescue groups are exempt,
a person or organization that breeds dogs cannot qualify for this exemption.
People who raise dogs began the rescue movement decades ago, and remain at its
heart today. Almost all rescue groups for specific breeds rely on people who
raise that breed of dogs to foster homeless animals. In addition, many of the
highest quality breeders of dogs for show and performance take a very active
leadership role in the rescue community.
Anyone who sells five or more dogs to the public in a year will be classified
as a pet dealer. Thus, in many cases, even having a single litter of puppies
will require extensive record-keeping of all dogs sold and all veterinary
records, and require the dog owner to make that information available to law
enforcement officials and potential pet buyers. This provision also will allow
animal rights activists to go on legal fishing expeditions by posing as puppy
buyers.
The definition of commercial dog breeder will entrap many serious hobbyists who
are working hard to improve the breed of dogs they own. Anyone who produces 10
or more litters of puppies will fall under this category. It also will be
illegal for anyone to possess more than 30 dogs that have not been spayed or
neutered. Many serious breeders keep all of their retired dogs for the rest of
their lives, and also are working with and evaluating several young dogs.
Having 30 dogs does not indicate that a kennel is commercial. These breeders
would be required to microchip all dogs and puppies, and to obtain veterinary
certification before breeding a dog. The legislation also would create a strict
puppy lemon law.
Outdoor housing will be banned for these kennels, which is hazardous for dogs
that are used for hunting, herding and other activities. The bill requires
temperatures between 65 and 78 degrees at all times. Most human homes
in Indiana could not meet that requirement! Working dogs do their jobs in all
kinds of weather, and it is dangerous for them if they are not acclimated to
the conditions they will face. It is cruel, absurd and reckless to pass a law
that forces people to keep sled dogs, hunting dogs or herding dogs in a heated
environment, when those dogs will face winter weather extremes.
And the legislation specifically allows municipalities to pass laws that are
more strict or detailed than the state law.
Here is a link to the text of HB
1468: http://www.in.gov/legislative/bills/2009/HB/HB1468.1.html ;.. This is the
amended version that passed the committee. Earlier versions may not contain the
amendment.
Here are the representatives email contact
information: http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/contact/contact.pl ;..
This link will lead to each representatives home page, which contains full
contact
information:http://www.in.gov/cgi-bin/legislative/listing/listing.pl?data=alpha&chamber=House ;..
Illinois
House Bill 198 targets even the smallest hobby kennels with a legal
designation as a commercial kennel. Anyone who sells a single puppy would be
classified as a puppy mill, if they own more than three sexually intact female
dogs.
In addition, no one would be able to own or possess more than 20 sexually
intact dogs, if they also have three intact females and sell at least one
puppy. This would destroy some of the best breeding programs in Illinois,
because serious dog fanciers routinely keep older and retired dogs for their
entire lives, keep several puppies for evaluation, and have several dogs
actively engaged in competition. This provision also would effectively prohibit
most professional handlers and trainers from raising even a single litter of
puppies.
HB 198 says that:
Anyone who owns more than three intact females and sells puppies would be
classified as a commercial breeding kennel, subject to high fees for licensure,
rigorous inspections, the forfeiture of several constitutional protections,
mandatory fingerprinting and criminal background checks by the state police and
Federal Bureau of Investigation, forfeiture of the right to redress in a court
of law, heavy loads of paperwork, unworkable standards of care, and the
forcible invasion of personal and financial records.
In addition, no one would be permitted to keep or own more than 20 dogs that
are not spayed or neutered. No dog could be bred unless it is examined by a
veterinarian. Also, people would not be able to raise a litter of puppies
inside their home if other adult dogs are present. It would be illegal to keep
more than three dogs together, which would apply to the number of dogs kept
inside a home, ban the common practice of kenneling a pack of hounds together
and eliminate large fenced lots to allow young dogs to get plenty of exercise.
There also is an ambiguous provision that requires the state to pass judgment
on the qualifications of a kennel license applicant before issuing a license.
This would be an entirely subjective judgment by the kennel inspector, as the
legislation does not define adequate qualifications.
Only veterinarians could euthanize a dog, which causes terrible suffering and
agony if a veterinarian cannot be located quickly.
Dog owners also could face heavy fines and loss of licenses for irrelevant
violations, such as surface rust on wires, a few cobwebs, a knocked over water
bowl or chipped paint. Temperature requirements would make it impossible for
people to acclimate hunting, herding and performance dogs to weather
conditions, thus creating danger for the dogs. Fines and civil penalties would
multiply exponentially, and even minor offenses would have the potential to
destroy a dog owner financially and cause the loss of her or his home and
lifetime savings.
The legislation also contains numerous powers to seize dogs, or to require
their owners to turn them over to an animal shelter within seven days of
license revocation, or if a dog owner is incorrectly licensed.
The bills formal name is the Dog Breeders License Act. HSUS and other animal
rights groups are nicknaming it Chloes Bill, for a dog allegedly rescued from
an Illinois puppy mill. It is sponsored by State Rep. John A.
Fritchey (D-Chicago). Its Senate counterpart, SB 53, is sponsored by Sen.Dan
Kotowski (D- Mt. Prospect). Joint introduction is another sign that this bill
is being pushed hard and fast.
Here is a link to the actual
legislation:http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?DocName=&SessionIdv&GA?&DocTypeId=HB&DocNum8&GAID&LegID@220&SpecSess=&Session
This page lists the committee members, with links to their home pages and
contact
information:http://www.ilga.gov/house/committees/members.asp?committeeIDw3.
This page lists all of the House members contact
information: http://www.ilga.gov/reports/rptMemberList.asp?gaid&ChamberId=H ..
Please note that the Illinois Legislature does not provide email addresses.
You will need to phone, fax, hand-deliver or mail your comments to most of the
members. Here are the few email addresses that we have located for this
committee: Chairman is Rep. Robert Rita, robertbobrita@xxxxxxx; Rep. Edward J.
Acevedo, Sylvia_idrovo@xxxxxxxxxxxxx;
Rep. Daniel V. Beiser, dvbeiser@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; Rep. Daniel J.
Burke, burkedj2@xxxxxxxx ; Rep. Thomas Holbrook,holbrookta@xxxxxxxx ; Rep.
David E. Miller, repdavidmiller@xxxxxxx ; and Rep. George Scully
Jr., Smangiaracina@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Oklahoma
House Bill 1332, sponsored by Rep. Lee Denney, is called the Oklahoma Pet
Quality Assurance and Protection Act. Rep. Denney introduced virtually the same
bill last year, but it was soundly defeated in the House Agriculture Committee.
This year, however, the bill was put before the House Economic Development and
Financial Services Committee. Convincing leadership to put a bill in an
inappropriate committee falls under the category of a political dirty trick.
It passed the committee by an 11-2 vote at a hearing that was held on short
notice, and gave only a handful of dog owners an opportunity to attend. Only
Reps. Lewis H. Moore (R-96lewis.moore@xxxxxxxxxxx ) and Charles Key
(R-90 charles.key@xxxxxxxxxxx ) voted to support dog owners. We are asking all
dog owners to contact Reps. Key and Moore and thank them for their support.
HB 1332 now goes before the full House, and a vote is possible at any time.
Co-sponsors have come forth in the House and the Senate.
Gives any animal control officer, peace officer or animal cruelty investigator
unrestricted access to a kennel owners home, facilities, animals, records and
property. The bill denies kennel owners constitutional right of protection from
unreasonable searches and seizures, as no warrants are required.
Effectively prohibits any Oklahoma resident from buying a puppy or dog from
another state, as the breeder would have to be licensed in Oklahoma and follow
prohibitive requirements. An amendment following our objection to the original
legislation says that an out of state breeder may enter Oklahomaonly for the
sole purpose of attending a dog show or field trial. However, this is far from
adequate, and many people train hunting dogs in Oklahoma, simply pass through
on their way to other destinations, or make a trip for several different
purposes.
Requires every breeder, rescue organization, animal shelter and pet store to be
state licensed not just dealers or commercial kennels if the sell, give away or
adopt out 25 or more animals a year. For a hobby breeder, that may be only
three litters of puppies a year for many breeds. Hobby breeders also would fall
under the definition of a pet store.
All kennels will be required to follow federal regulations for housing, care
and other management issues.
Gives the state the authority to implement complete regulations for the
management of all kennels and the care of the dogs, with no provision for
legislative approval or input from dog owners.
Requires extensive record keeping, and kennel management and medical practices
to be approved by a veterinarian.
Denies a license to anyone who is on probation or parole for any offense, even
if they have nothing to do with animals.
Provides fines of up to $2,500 for each violation, while granting the kennel
owner only the right to an administrative appeal. Placing liens against a
kennel owners property is authorized to collect fines, penalties and costs for
seizing dogs. Several provisions allow the state to seize, confiscate and
euthanize animals.
Here is a link to the text of HB
1332:http://webserver1.lsb.state.ok.us/2009%2D10bills/hb/hb1332%5Fhflr..rtf
This link will give information about each legislators phone, surface mail and
email contacts:http://www.okhouse.gov/Members/MemberListing.aspx ;... Email
addresses are on this page. Please click on each legislators name to be taken
to home pages with complete contact information.
--
Stormy Hope
carpoc.org
ACK Legislative Liaison, GSDCA
GSDs And more clubs
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