[ SHOWGSD-L ] NAIA<> Connecticut...SB499

From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Sun, 3 May 2009 08:36:04 -0700
******* Please Crosspost *******

http://capwiz.com/naiatrust/issues/alert/?alertid262406&type=ST&show_alert=1

http://tinyurl.com/czv3h6

Lemon Law Passes Connecticut Senate
We Need an Outcry of Opposition!

May 1, 2009

The Connecticut State Senate has just passed SB 499, a pet lemon law,
with a last minute amendment that would have serious negative
implications for hobby breeders. If this bill is allowed to pass the
House, breeders will suddenly be subject to unreasonable veterinary exam
requirements, outrageous guarantees for unspecified congenital defects
and be forced to file immediate certification of each puppy sold with
the state, or face heavy penalties.

It is absolutely URGENT that you contact your State Representative
immediately asking them to oppose this poorly written, unfair and
irrational bill! SB 499 could be brought up for a House vote as early as
May 5th.

We agree with the original intent of the bill, which was to provide the
consumer some guarantees when purchasing pets from pet stores and
?commercial kennels? (actually defined in Connecticut law as
boarding kennels). However, after passing the Judiciary Committee, a
last minute amendment was passed on the Senate floor that opened the
bill up beyond just pet stores and boarding kennels to ALL licensed
kennels in the state. In the state of Connecticut, anyone who sells more
than 2 litters in a year must obtain a kennel license from their city.
So this bill now impacts almost every hobby breeder in the state!

SB 499 would require all licensed kennels to:

* Have every puppy examined by a veterinarian every 15 days prior
to sale.

* Provide guarantee of replacement or full refund, at the option of
the buyer, for congenital defects diagnosed within 6 months of the
purchase and in the case of death, reimbursement for veterinary services
incurred as the result of a congenital defect.

* File a ?certificate of origin? to the Connecticut Department
of Agriculture within two days of sale or be subject to a $100 fine or
imprisonment not more than 30 days or both for every day in violation.
Since only localities are currently set up to handle this type of
licensing, enforcement of this new program would be difficult, unwieldy
and expensive for the Department.

Click here to read SB 499, and the NEW AMENDMENTS passed by the Senate.

It is worth noting that SB 499 includes cats in the language as well but
there are no licensing requirements to support that, so cat breeders
would be exempted.

We strongly oppose this legislation because it appears to be poorly
written, it has unreasonable veterinary exam and reporting requirements,
it fails to adequately define congenital defect and it is unreasonably
punitive in nature. All of these factors will inevitably hurt
responsible breeders, and undermine the best source of healthy pets for
the community.

NAIA believes pet consumers deserve some measure of protection from
unscrupulous dealers, but it is inappropriate and unrealistic to view
living things like manufactured goods. Pet "lemon laws" that mandate
"perfect world" solutions aimed at protecting consumers from every
conceivable problem miss opportunities to educate pet buyers before they
purchase a pet and are often difficult to enforce. To be effective, we
feel consumer laws should reasonably reflect the obligations of both
parties.

That is why NAIA offers an alternative approach; a workable solution
that carefully and fairly addresses the needs of both buyer and seller.
Click here to read our new NAIA Guide to Dog Friendly Consumer Laws.

TALKING POINTS:

I am a constituent who is very concerned about SB 499, aimed at
protecting pet consumers who purchase pets from pet stores.
Unfortunately, the last minute changes passed by the Senate go too far
by forcing stringent new requirements on almost all small hobby  
breeders.

I strongly oppose SB 499 because it has unreasonable veterinary exam and
reporting requirements, it fails to adequately define congenital defect
and it is unfairly punitive.

SB 499 will hurt responsible breeders who provide the best source of
healthy pets for the community, and who were never the original focus of
this bill.

SB 499 could have the unintended consequence of holding breeders
responsible for undefined genetic defects that are beyond their control.

Requiring a breeder to have their puppies examined by a veterinarian
every 15 days is simply unnecessary and unreasonable.

Pet sellers and consumers are dealing with living beings and it is
unrealistic and may be harmful to our pets to encourage consumers to
think of them like they think of manufactured products.

As a taxpaying citizen of Connecticut during the current economic
crisis, I strongly oppose setting up a new burdensome, expensive system
of certification for the state Department of Agriculture to administer
and enforce.

All living creatures are biological organisms, not manufactured
products, so quality control, as is done with a product, is impossible.
In a perfect world no animal would be made to suffer from a genetic
disease, but all dogs and cats carry six or seven genes for various
genetic defects. Legislative efforts that try to create a perfect world
will never succeed.

I support laws that protect consumers from fraud, misrepresentation and
health problems that were known at the time of sale, whether they are
purchasing or adopting, but SB 499 does not do that.

The public is better protected by laws that educate consumers prior to
the sale, enabling them to distinguish between responsible and
irresponsible sellers.

To help consumers educate themselves, purchasers can be directed to
organizations like Cat Fanciers Association, the American Kennel Club,
(with parent clubs for specific breeds), to learn more about the breed
or species they are interested in before buying.


Stormy Hope
www.carpoc.org
AKC Legislative Liaison, GSDCA
Sunshine Squad <showgsd.org/sunshine.html)
GSDs and more

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[ SHOWGSD-L ] NAIA<> Connecticut...SB499

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