[ SHOWGSD-L ] [SAOVA_West] NEWS BRIEFS March 31, 2011
- From: Stormy Hope <Stormy435@xxxxxxx>
- To: "showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx List" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 31 Mar 2011 13:14:35 -0700
The Animal Wrongists want to ban ALL animals from ownership, ban
hunting, fishing, animal sports. We need to be unified, not
divided!!!!
stormy
SAOVA message to sportsmen, farmers and pet owners concerned about
protecting their traditions, avocations and livelihoods from anti-
hunting, anti-breeding, animal guardianship advocates. Forwarding and
cross posting, with attribution, encouraged.
NEWS BRIEFS March 31, 2011
Many state legislatures are in session and bills affecting animal
owners and sportsmen are piling up. After the 2010 election, overall
turnover of all legislative seats was higher than average which means
there are many new faces in state capitols. Rest assured activists
have already taken time to meet the new legislators and lobby for
their causes. The animal rights crowd cannot be allowed to define
us. We must maintain the role as animal experts and carry that
message to our legislators. If you cannot meet personally with a
legislator, the best methods of communication are: telephone calls,
faxes and direct emails to key staff. Never underestimate the
influence staff has on policy decisions. This includes professional
staff and administrative staff. They all have some level of influence.
The world not only belongs to those who show up, it's controlled by
the best
informed and most motivated. Thanks for reading.
Susan Wolf
Sportsmen's & Animal Owners' Voting Alliance
Issue lobbying and working to identify and elect supportive legislators
Visit SAOVA News http://saovanews.blogspot.com
CENSUS BUREAU TO BEGIN SURVEY ON WILDLIFE RECREATION
WASHINGTON, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On April 1,
2011, U.S. Census Bureau employees will begin the first wave of data
collection for the National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-
Associated Recreation from about 53,000 households across the country.
Conducted every five years by the Census Bureau, the survey is
sponsored by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Participation in this survey is important because the results help us
better manage our natural resources and to understand the demands
being put on our wildlife and their habitat," said Robert Groves,
director of the Census Bureau. "This is one of the many surveys
conducted by the Census Bureau for other federal agencies."
The information collected for this survey focuses on individuals
involved in fishing, hunting and other wildlife-associated recreation,
such as observation, photography and feeding.
The latest data from the survey show that in 2006, more than 87
million Americans 16 and older enjoyed some form of wildlife-related
recreation and spent $122 billion in pursuit of these activities.
The questions ask in which state these activities occurred and focus
on such items as the number of trips taken, duration of trips and
expenditures for food, lodging, transportation and equipment. Federal
and state agencies use this knowledge for conservation efforts and to
maintain areas where we go for outdoor recreational activity.
Preliminary survey findings will be available in summer of 2012. The
final national report will be issued in the fall of 2012, followed by
a report for each state.
Data collection will begin April 1, 2011. Respondents will be surveyed
primarily by telephone. Residents will receive a letter from Groves
informing them of the survey. All information collected is kept
strictly confidential and only statistical totals are published.
The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated
Recreation has been conducted since 1955 and is one of the oldest and
most comprehensive continuing recreation surveys.
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau. CONTACT: Tom Edwards Public Information
Office 301-763-3030/3762 (fax) e-mail: pio@xxxxxxxxxx
FEDERAL LEGISLATION
* Bill to curtail antibiotics use in livestock reintroduced
March 11, 2011 WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rep. Louise Slaughter, (D-NY), has
introduced legislation to ban use in livestock and poultry of certain
antibiotics. Her bill, H.R. 965, the "Preservation of Antibiotics for
Medical Treatment Act," would prohibit the use of antibiotics that
prevent or control diseases and improve feed efficiency and weight
gain in food animals. The National Pork Producers Council, which
strongly opposes the bill, has pointed out that numerous risk
assessments, including one conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration, have shown risk levels associated with antibiotic use
in agriculture that are extremely low and that nationally recognized
scientific studies have shown that the removal of important animal
health products could actually increase food-safety risks. Full
article at Ag Professional http://tinyurl.com/4pffkdx
* HR 835 Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety Act (PUPS) 2011
reintroduced by Rep. Jim Gerlach (R-PA); cosponsors Sam Farr (D-CA),
Lois Capps (D-CA) and C.W. Bill Young (R-FL)
As with all previous versions of “puppy mill” legislation PUPS would
amend the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) with strict regulations on retail
breeders and sellers. Bill proponents continue to state their
legislation closes a loophole in federal law although the AWA was
never intended to apply to retail, in-home breeders. In May, 2010,
USDA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) conducted a review of APHIS’
regulation of problematic dog dealers. The report documented and
detailed known licensed breeders and brokers, many of whom had been
previously cited for violations of the AWA. The report concluded the
enforcement process of APHIS Animal Care Unit (AC) was ineffective
against problematic dealers. The report found further that many
inspectors did not adequately describe violations in their inspection
reports, and that inspectors miscalculated and misused guidelines
thereby incorrectly assessing minimal fines that did not deter
violators. PUPS does not address specific problems cited in the OIG
report and instead focuses on expanding federal regulation into the
private sector by creating a new classification of high volume breeder
defined in part by sales. There is no substantive evidence to prove
that expansion of the existing AWA will improve animal welfare to a
higher level than properly enforcing current regulations and licensing
those kennels operating commercially without USDA licensure.
UNDERCOVER INVESTIGATION BILLS – IOWA AND FLORIDA
Legislation moving forward in Iowa will protect farms and processing
facilities from activists who gain employment under false pretenses in
order to obtain undercover videos. The bill expands the definitions
relating to agricultural production, and imposes a range of criminal
penalties for animal facility tampering, animal facility interference
and fraud, crop operation tampering, and crop interference and fraud.
The bill imposes criminal penalties ranging from a simple misdemeanor
to a Class C felony. Originally introduced as HF 431 by Rep. Annette
Sweeney (R-44), a rancher and Ag Committee Chair, the legislation was
approved by the House March 17 by a 66-17 vote. The measure moves to
the Senate for consideration.
Sweeney is quoted as saying, "This legislation deals with people who
lie about the intent of their employment. It will help prevent people
from going into livestock or poultry facilities and staging the videos
and abusing animals to create these types of pictures. There's also
the biosecurity factor to consider, to help preserve our livestock and
poultry operations and maintain them as producers of safe and
wholesome food."
A similar measure has been introduced in Florida. SB 1246 makes it a
first degree misdemeanor for anyone, other than an employee or agent
of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or a law
enforcement officer, to enter onto a farm or other property where
legal agricultural operations are being conducted and produce audio or
video records without the written consent of the owner.
The bill analysis provides background for the introduction of this
legislation. “Presently, certain animal rights groups attempt to
expose what they consider to be animal abuse on America’s farms and
processing facilities by trespassing on those facilities, either under
the cover of darkness or by other surreptitious means such as posing
as potential employees, and taking hidden camera footage of those
facilities. This footage is compiled and uploaded to their various
websites and used for documentary films which are adversarial to the
animal farming business. Examples of this type of investigation are
present in the anti-factory farm campaigns of many organizations such
as the Humane Society of the United States which sent an undercover
investigator into a Cal-Maine egg farm in Waelder, Texas under the
pretext of working for the farm for 28 days, and the group Mercy for
Animals which claims that while “wired with hidden cameras, [their]
team of undercover investigators documents the harsh realities of
industrial animal agriculture.”
SB 1246 was approved by the Senate Ag Committee and referred 3/24/11
to Criminal Justice.
HSUS ANNOUNCES CONGRESSIONAL AWARDS
Animal rights organization HSUS and its affiliate, the Humane Society
Legislative Fund (HSLF), announced the recipients of their
congressional Humane Awards for 2010. Top honors as 2010 Humane
Legislators of the Year went to:
-- Congressman Elton Gallegly, R-Calif., for introduction of the new
bill to ban crush videos, as well as introduction of a bill to require
federal agencies to buy pork, egg, and veal products only from those
who raise animals without intensive confinement; and
-- Congressman James Moran, D-Va., for introduction of a fur labeling
bill, along with his work as Chairman of the House Interior
Appropriations Subcommittee to protect wild horses and to allow the
EPA to collect greenhouse gas emissions data from the largest factory
farms, and his assistance on the crush video legislation.
The HSUS press release also recognized the work of Gallegly and Moran
as co-chairs of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus organizing
animal advocates in Congress to become a more powerful political force.
Previous recipients of the Humane Legislator of the Year Award include
Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., in 2009, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Rep.
John Conyers, D-Mich., in 2008, Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., in 2007,
Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., in 2006, and Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., in
2005.
In addition, twenty-five legislators who received a perfect score on
the 2010 Humane Scorecard were presented with Humane Advocate awards.
The Scorecard compiled by HSLF lists HSUS supported legislation in
Congress, tracking key votes as well as co-sponsorships.
http://tinyurl.com/4lp5fh5
The message above was posted to Oregon, Washington, California, Alaska
and Hawaii residents by the Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting
Alliance (SAOVA) on one of six regional read only elists.
SAOVA is a nonpartisan volunteer group working to protect Americans
from the legislative and political threats of radical animal
rightists. Visit our website at http://saova.org for this program's
goals, methodology and list signup details.
To unsubscribe from this list, exercise that option at
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