[ SHOWGSD-L ] Ohio dog owners - Keep sending those letters!!
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 13 May 2008 08:35:58 -0400
-----Original Message-----
Ohio Dog Owners: Please Keep
Writing To Your State Legislators
They Are Hearing Our Voices On Dog Legislation
by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
COLUMBUS, OH â?? There are signs that our voices are being heard on two
pieces of legislation that would have a severe impact on all dog owners and
hobby breeders in Ohio, but it is more important now than ever to keep
communicating with state legislators and senators.
The Senate State and Local Government and Veteransâ?? Affairs Committee has
canceled a hearing that had been scheduled for this Thursday on a substitute
bill for S.B. 173 (House version is H.B. 223). This legislation imposes heavy
financial and legal burdens on kennel owners, and would virtually eliminate
hobby breeding of purebred dogs by imposing burdensome regulations and
frightening penalties.
The House Local Municipal Government and Urban Revitalization Committee
reportedly will discuss amendments to H.B. 446 at a meeting next Thursday, and
it is possible that the committee members will vote on this legislation that
adversely affects all dog owners. The amendments reflect some of the concerns
expressed by dog owners, but many more changes are needed to make the bill
livable
It appears that an attempt is being made to ram these two bills through the
legislative process as quickly as possible.
These two bills take a giant step toward fulfilling the extreme animal rights
agenda of the eventual elimination of the private ownership of animals. They
would drastically reduce the number of puppies available in Ohio by sharply
curtailing hobby breeding of purebred dogs.
Our prior reports have contained detailed analysis of both bills, and
todayâ??s report will only summarize. For readers who want an in-depth
analysis, please contact us at asda@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
S.B. 173 (companion to H.B. 223) has the potential to destroy hobby breeding
of purebred dogs in Ohio in a misdirected effort to curtail â??puppy mills.â??
A reported substitute bill is not available at this time.
H.B. 446 originally mandated licensing for puppies at eight weeks of age,
plus increased fees, a lowered age for a spay/neuter the license fee
differential to six months, gave county auditors the power to revoke kennel
licenses, and made it much harder for good Samaritans to help lost dogs.
Amendments would keep the age for licensing at the current 90 days, and make it
somewhat easier to help a lost dog.
Testimony on the bills has been mixed, with only a few people attending
previous hearings. However, some of the legislators and senators asked some
hard questions and expressed doubts. Others, however, have signed on as
cosponsors to this legislation.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance is supporting Ohio dog and kennel owners
in an effort to defeat this legislation, and has offered strong testimony in
opposition to the two bills. Ohio Valley Dog Owners President Norma Bennett
Woolf has addressed the hearings on behalf of dog owners. Ms. Woolf has worked
tirelessly to defeat this destructive legislation, and she is one of the true
heroes of the movement to protect dog ownersâ?? rights.
We strongly urge all Ohio dog and kennel owners to take an active role. Your
participation and support are crucial. We cannot emphasize too strongly that
this legislation stems from an extreme animal rights agenda that aims to
greatly reduce the number of dogs as a giant step toward eliminating dog
ownership altogether.
S.B. 173
This legislation (a companion to H.B. 223) claims to target â??puppy
mills,â?? but would have a devastating impact on every kennel that has nine or
more unsterilized adult dogs that could be construed as a â??breeding dog.â??
Because of the definition and required burden of proof, almost all small hobby
breeders will be affected.
A breeding dog is defined as any male or female dog that is intended for
breeding or has produced one litter in a year, either as a stud dog or a
mother. The law does not define standards for this definition or for the burden
of proof, and the burden of proof rests with the kennel owner. We see this as a
â??Catch 22,â?? as there would be no way to conclusively prove the purpose for
keeping any dog. It would a matter of convincing the dog warden to take the
ownerâ??s word.
This unvarnished animal rights legislation also grants dog wardens the power
to confiscate any dog for which there is probable cause to call a breeding dog.
The standards for probable cause are not defined, but could be construed as any
dog that has the potential for being bred.
To obtain a breeding license, a kennel owner would have to pay an annual fee
ranging from $150 to $750, submit to inspections by state officials, provide
proof of insurance, purchase a bond guaranteeing financial liability, submit to
a personal background check by the police, be fingerprinted and obtain and use
an approved vendor number to advertise or sell a dog or puppy.
Inspections would open any area that houses dogs to state officials without a
warrant, including the ownerâ??s home. Papers, documents and bank records also
could be examined or subpoenaed.
Citations can be given and fines levied for violations or â??threatened
violations,â?? which are not defined. Any hearing, trial or appeal of an action
must be done through only one Ohio court, in Franklin County.
The inspections would be based on providing a specified level of physical
care in housing, sanitation, medical care and food and water.
They would require a kennel to be cleaned every 12 hours, mandate
professional veterinary care for even minor conditions, injuries or ailments,
require grooming and nail trimming, mandate vaccinations, deworming and
heartworm prevention, and require available water at all times, even in
freezing weather.
Here is a link to the actual text of this legislation:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_SB_173 .
We urge dog and kennel owners to submit written comments to each member of
the committee. Emails, letters and phone calls all are important. This is
urgent!
This link will take you to a list of the committee members:
http://www.senate.state.oh.us/committees/com_state.html . A page will open up
giving you a link to each senatorâ??s email and mailing addresses.
HB 446
Every dog owner will be affected by HB 446.
It says:
a.. Puppies must be licensed for $10 apiece at 12 weeks of age, and also
must wear a collar and license tag at that age. A puppy must be registered and
licensed before it can be sold or transferred. Unlicensed puppies and dogs can
be confiscated.
a.. Individual dog licenses would rise from $2 to $10 per year, and kennel
license costs would rise from $10 to $50. The extra charge for licensing for a
dog that is not spayed or neutered will be imposed on dogs at six months of
age, instead of the current nine months. However, dogs that reside in kennels
still would have to be individually licensed.
a.. Kennel licenses would be required for anyone who raises a single litter
of hunting dogs. The bill says: â??A kennel owner is a person, partnership,
firm, company, or corporation professionally engaged in the business of
breeding dogs for hunting or for sale.â??
a.. A particularly onerous part of the legislation gives county auditors
the unrestricted power to revoke kennel licenses (this includes anyone who
raises a single litter of hunting dogs) for unproven allegations of animal
cruelty. County auditors do not have the qualifications to make judgments about
animal cruelty, and the guilt or innocence of a dog owner facing such
accusations should be determined only in a court of law. This power is given to
auditors â??if the auditor determinesâ?? that a violation of animal cruelty
statutes has occurred. No limits are placed on this power, and the legislation
does not define any criteria for an auditor to use. In fact, the law gives an
auditor the power to revoke a license if he/she simply feels that a kennel
owner may have violated cruelty statutes, or even extra-legal personal opinions
about what constitutes cruelty.
a.. Good Samaritans who find a stray dog must notify authorities within two
days and would have to license the dog in their name within two weeks, under a
new amendment. The original bill required people who find a lost do to turn it
over to the animal control agency within 10 days. This would have exposed the
dog to a high probability of euthanasia. The amendments still do not give
people the option of turning over the dog to a no-kill shelter or rescue group,
or to find someone to take the dog if its owner cannot be found..
Other provisions regulate dogs that are declared dangerous, cats, ferrets and
other animals.
The purpose of greatly increased fees is to make law-abiding dog owners pay
for the cost of animal control in Ohio. The unfairness and irrationality of
this approach is that responsible dog owners and breeders, who are perhaps the
least likely cause of the problem, are the people who are being forced to pay
for it.
Breeders and owners of purebred dogs rarely burden animal control agencies
and animal shelters. Moreover, purebred puppies almost never are found in
municipal animal shelters. This legislation makes responsible dog owners and
breeders the â??cash cowâ?? that will be milked to pay for animal control
efforts directed at irresponsible people who ignore the law. ASDA regards this
as the unethical exploitation of law-abiding citizens.
People who actually violate the law should pay for the cost of enforcing it,
through fines and other penalties. This cost should not be borne by law-abiding
dog owners. We should not be held responsible for the actions of others, over
which we have no control.
We urge dog and kennel owners to submit written comments to each member of
the committee.
Here is a link to the text of the legislation:
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_446.
This link will take you to a list of the committee members:
http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/Committee.jsp?ID=21. Please click on each
memberâ??s name. A page will open up giving you a link to the legislatorâ??s
email and mailing addresses.
Please feel free to use any information contained in this report, and also to
cross-post it and forward it to your friends.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance is the unified voice of sporting dog
owners and professionals in America. We work at the grassroots level to defeat
unfair legislation and policies that are harmful to dogs and the people who own
and work with them. Our work to protect your rights is supported solely by the
donations of our members. Your participation and membership are vital to our
success. Please visit us on the web at
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ginger Cleary
"... more harm and misery have been caused by men determined to use coercion
to stamp out a moral evil than by men intent on doing evil."-- Fredrich v Hayek
My Ebay site My Cafepress store
Rome, GA http://www.rihadin.com/
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