..hired a lobbyist this year. It's a stretch for the dog clubs in Maine to spend that much money but I think it has paid off in the formation of this work group instead of the legislature rubber stamping Norma Worley's bill (Ben Pratt sponsored it, but Norma Worley , Director of Animal Welfare for the state of Maine and a California transplant, wrote the initial, very intrusive draft). We (the Federation of Maine Dog Clubs) were instrumental in getting Ken Marden of the AKC (he lives in the area) appointed to the committee. Ken is on the NAIA's and AKC's board. We also get to appoint a rep of our own to serve on the committee. Since we haven't had an official seat at the table for awhile, now, this is all good news. The Maine Federation of Humane Societies also has a seat at the table and the person representing them will likely be Steve Dostie (an AKC judge and breeder to Portuguese Water Dogs) so we should have an ally there, too. I have volunteered to fill the FMDC's seat on the working group. Hopefully, we'll have a moderating influence on what was a decidedly animal rights oriented bill. Laurie Pruett >http://bangornews.com/news/t/news.aspx?articleid=163013&zoneid=500 >Dog breeder measure enacted >By Sharon Kiley Mack >Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - Bangor Daily News >AUGUSTA, Maine â?? A bill to encourage ethical dog breeding and discourage >puppy mills through a special task force has been passed by the Legislature. >The bill requires the Maine Department of Agriculture to establish a >working group to redefine breeding kennels, and review the laws and >regulations that apply. >"This is a unique opportunity to bring all the stakeholders together, >which has never been done before," Norma Worley, director of Maineâ?*s >Animal Welfare Division, said Monday.... ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2007. 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 - www.showgsd.org ============================================================================