[ SHOWGSD-L ] Mandatory spay/neuter proposed for Tacoma with editorial comment
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2006 12:44:08 -0500
Ginger Cleary, Rome, GA
Never underestimate the ability of the hypocritical to hoodwink the
sanctimonious. www.rihadin.com
-----Original Message-----
Comment - it's estimated that less than 1% of cats
euthanized at shelters were deliberately bred. Except
for pit bulls and Rotties (who are very difficult to
rehome b/c people are afraid to take one with an
unknown history), only 17% of dogs euthanized at
shelters were deliberately bred.
The place to stop unwanted animals is to stop
unplanned and unwanted litters - not to attack the
planned and wanted litters from responsible breeders.
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/6196804p-5416123c.html
Fix your pet or pay for a permit?
ADAM LYNN; The News Tribune
Published: October 28th, 2006 01:00 AM
Tacoma residents who own an unaltered dog or cat would
be required to buy an annual breeders permit ? whether
they intend to breed their pet or not ? under proposed
changes to the city?s animal control ordinance.
The new fee would be in addition to the $55-per-animal
charge they already pay.
City Councilwoman Julie Anderson is championing the
revisions to the code, which are tentatively scheduled
for a public hearing Nov. 24.
Anderson said this week that requiring pet owners to
pay higher fees to keep unaltered animals should
prompt more people to get their dogs and cats fixed.
That would help curb what she called a serious pet
overpopulation problem in the city.
?This basically states that having an unaltered animal
is no longer a right or something you can just do,?
she said. ?I think of it as a ban on backyard
breeding.?
Requiring almost all companion animals to be altered ?
called a mandatory spay-neuter program ? also will
help the Humane Society of Tacoma and Pierce County
toward its goal of becoming a ?no-kill? shelter by the
end of 2008, she said.
?It?s the right thing to do,? Anderson said.
The Humane Society euthanized more than 2,400 healthy,
adoptable pets in 2005, according to the
organization?s Web site.
What the annual breeders permit in Tacoma would cost
has not been determined.
?Our goal is to make it affordable so people comply,?
Anderson said.
Cities and counties across the nation have implemented
similar measures recently.
This summer, Los Angeles County began requiring people
who live in the unincorporated area to get their dogs
sterilized and microchipped or face a $1,000 fine.
Albuquerque, N.M., put a mandatory spay-neuter law in
place earlier this month.
backed by animal rights groups
Many national animal welfare organizations ? People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and the Humane
Society of the United States among them ? support such
laws.
?Only by implementing widespread sterilization
programs, only by spaying and neutering all companion
animals, will we get a handle on pet overpopulation,?
the Humane Society states in a fact sheet posted on
its Web site.
Tom Sayre, a spokesman for the Humane Society of
Tacoma and Pierce County, said his organization
supports ?the idea 100 percent? if enforcement issues
are clarified.
But some organizations, including the American Kennel
Club, oppose mandatory spay-neuter programs, saying
they unfairly burden responsible breeders.
The organization sent letters and e-mails to its
members in January when Virginia lawmakers proposed a
mandatory spay-neuter program.
The letter called the effort ?confusing, ineffective?
legislation, and urged AKC members to ?contact the
bill sponsor and express your opposition.?
Jesse Taylor has been breeding and training Weimaraner
dogs in Tacoma for more than 30 years.
Taylor said he supports most spay-neuter programs and
said Tacoma?s current regulations ? which charge the
owners of unaltered dogs and cats more for pet
licenses than those whose animals are fixed ? ?keep
people who shouldn?t be breeding (animals) from
breeding.?
But he said he worries that adding more fees will
force many to take their breeding programs
underground.
?Let?s face it, if they make it really hard, you?re
going to have a lot more backyard and closet breeders
who just aren?t going to pay the fee,? said Taylor,
who has yet to see Anderson?s proposal. ?If it?s a
punishment-type penalty, I?m against it. There is a
place for reputable breeders and good breeders in this
world.?
The new rules also call for any dog or cat caught
running loose by animal control officers to be spayed
or neutered, even on a first offense.
working toward no-kill shelter
City Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg cautioned at an
August meeting of the council?s Public Safety and
Human Services Committee that such provisions ?may
cause a significant problem? among the owners and
breeders of show dogs, according to minutes of the
meeting.
Such folks ?generate a significant amount of income?
from their dogs and could file suit against the city,
Ladenburg said.
Anderson said she is sensitive to the property-rights
issues involved but is convinced that something must
be done to ?reduce the pipeline? of unwanted pets
winding up at the Humane Society.
The mandatory spay-neuter rules are part of a
substantial revision of the animal control ordinance
under consideration by the City Council.
The proposed changes also refine regulations regarding
dangerous dogs, prohibit residents from keeping
livestock or poultry within the city (aside from the
Metro Parks District, circuses and animal haulers),
create new rules for animal day-care facilities and
add regulations on animal noise, among other things.
The proposal also contains a section titled ?Problem
Pet Owners,? which defines what a problem pet owner
would be ? basically, someone who commits multiple
violations of the code ? and the punishments he or she
would face: revocation of all pet licenses.
It?s unlikely the City Council will vote on the
proposed changes until early next year.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Read more Local headlines E-mail this story
.
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