[ SHOWGSD-L ] Senator Santorum's complete remarks re PAWS on 5/26
- From: Pinehillgsds@xxxxxxx
- To: showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005 20:04:03 EDT
The following e-mail from the PA Fed. of Dog Clubs:
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These remarks by Senator Santorum encourage us to believe that he is hearing
the concerns that many people have expressed. We expect the AKC to continue
to have an influence on the progress of this legislation.
SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT ON PAWS
Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, on May 26, 2005 I introduced with my colleague
Senator Durbin the â??Pet Animal Welfare Statuteâ?? of 2005, or â??PAWS.â??
PAWS
amends the Animal Welfare Act to strengthen the Secretary of Agricultureâ??s
authority to deal with the problems of substandard animal dealers.
I want to make clear to our colleagues and the public that we believe the
vast majority of animal dealers are conscientious persons who make every effort
to treat their animals humanely and to comply with the law. But,
unfortunately, there are some animal dealers who do not care properly for
their animals
and who seek to profit at the expense of the animals and the public. They
exploit the weaknesses and loopholes in the current law to evade or ignore
basic standards for the care and condition of animals. These substandard
dealers give the entire pet industry a black eye, all the while preying upon
the
public. It is these unscrupulous animal dealers at which PAWS is targeted.
PAWS strengthens the Secretary of Agricultureâ??s authority to deal with
substandard animal dealers by making four important improvements to the Animal
Welfare Act. First, it will bring under coverage of the Animal Welfare Act
high
volume dealers who are in every respect like those dealers currently
regulated, but are evading regulation because they sell animals exclusively at
retai
l. PAWS will continue to exempt real retail pet stores, and will add a new
exemption for small dealers and hobby and show breeders. Second, PAWS will
help the Secretary of Agriculture identify persons not complying with the law
by requiring those who acquire animals for resale to keep records of the
source from whom the animals are acquired and make these records available to
the
Secretary upon request. Third, PAWS will create an incentive for dealers to
quickly correct serious problems by giving the Secretary authority to
temporarily suspend dealersâ?? licenses for up to 60 days if a violation is
placing
the health of an animal in imminent danger. Finally, PAWS will strengthen
the authority of the Secretary to obtain injunctions to shut down dealers who
fail to comply with the law.
The marketplace for animals has changed dramatically since the 1970s when
the current animal dealer provisions of the Act were written. At that time
only
retail pet stores and small hobby and show breeders sold pet animals, so
regulating wholesale sellers and exempting persons who sold animals at retail
and were regulated by the market made some sense. With the advent of the
Internet, mass national marketing channels, and mass importation of puppies
for
resale, there are a large number of unregulated dealers who are in every
respect identical to the dealers regulated by the Act, except that they evade
regulation by selling exclusively at retail. By regulating these high volume
retail sellers, we will assure that they meet the same standards for the
humane
care and treatment of animals that breeders and brokers selling at wholesale
have been meeting for 30 years.
PAWS defines the term â??retail pet storeâ?? so that only real retail pet
stores are exempt, where customers can see the animals and the conditions where
they are kept. PAWS also adds a specific exemption for small dealers and
hobby
and show breeders. Only persons who sell more than 25 dogs per year would
be regulated. In addition, breeders who sell dogs and cats from fewer than 7
litters a year bred or raised on their own premises, or fewer than 25 dogs
and cats per year bred or raised on their own premises, which ever is greater,
would be exempt. For example, if an Irish Setter breeder has 6 litters that
average 6 puppies each for a total of 36 puppies, they can sell them without
being regulated. If a toy breeder has 10 litters that average only 2 puppies
each for a total of 20 puppies, they can sell them without being regulated.
These breeders could also sell 25 or fewer other dogs a year not bred or
raised on their own premises such as stud puppies or puppies from
co-ownerships,
without being regulated. I firmly believe that the sport and hobby of
breeding and raising dogs and cats should not be a federally regulated
activity.
PAWS will, for the first time, put an explicit exemption into the Animal
Welfare Act to protect small hobby and show breeders from regulation.
Some persons who sell dogs for hunting purposes have expressed a concern
that PAWS will bring them under regulation. The current Animal Welfare Act
already covers persons who sell hunting dogs, and has for almost 30 years.
They
are regulated on the same basis as those who sell dogs for pets. PAWS will
continue to regulate sellers of hunting dogs on the same basis as those who
sell dogs as pets. Only high volume sellers who exceed the exemptions set
forth in PAWS will be subject to regulation.
Some rescue and shelter organizations have expressed concern that because
they often charge an adoption fee to those who adopt the dogs they place, these
organizations will fall within the definition of â??dealersâ?? in PAWS and be
regulated. True rescue and shelter organizations who do not sell dogs or cats
in commerce, for profit, will not be brought under regulation by PAWS,
whether or not they are formally incorporated as not for profit organizations.
Some high volume dealers in cats and dogs who will be brought under coverage
of the Animal Welfare Act by PAWS, but who are still small enough that they
breed and raise dogs or cats in essentially a residential environment, have
expressed concern that they will be forced to build kennels and catteries and
will no longer be able to raise animals in a residential environment. There
is nothing in PAWS, or in the current Animal Welfare Act, that precludes
persons from breeding and raising animals in a residential setting, provided
the
animals are properly housed and cared for. In implementing PAWS, the
Secretary of Agriculture will have to assure that the animal care regulations
take
into account breeders and dealers who conduct their operations in a
residential setting.
I want to make clear that PAWS is a very different piece of legislation than
the bills that Senator Durbin and I have introduced in previous Congresses.
PAWS does not require or justify creating any new animal care standards,
like our previous legislation did. It focuses only on bringing under
regulation high volume commercial dealers currently evading regulation and on
strengthening the Secretary of Agricultureâ??s ability to identify and bring
into
compliance high volume dealers who are not in compliance with existing law or,
as
a last resort, shut them down.
Senator Durbin and I in the Senate, along with our colleagues
Representatives Gerlach and Farr who have introduced PAWS in the House of
Representatives,
consulted with a broad array of animal interest and animal welfare groups in
creating PAWS. We believe that the enactment of PAWS will be a major
milestone in the history of animal protection in the United States. We are
delighted that it has brought together animal interest groups and animal
welfare
groups that in the past have often been on opposite sides of animal
legislation,
including our own past bills. Having said that, no legislation is perfect
when introduced. As Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committeeâ??s
Subcommittee on Research, Nutrition and General Legislation, which has
jurisdiction over
PAWS, I intend to convene a hearing and mark-up of PAWS shortly after the
August recess to make technical corrections, and to clarify some of the
billâ??s
language to better reflect our intentions as set forth in this statement.
PAWS is not intended to restrict breeding or impose a hardship on rescue and
shelter organizations. PAWS specifically recognizes the importance of
protecting small breeders and the non-commercial purebred dog and cat fancy
from
federal regulation. My family and I purchased our beloved German Shepherd dog
Schatzie from a small breeder. We and Schatzie raised a litter of puppies
in our own home last year, and fully understand the hard work and commitment
that it requires. I also know that most commercial breeders are dedicated to
their profession and to their animals. I believe that PAWS will protect
small hobby and show breeders and the vast majority of compliant commercial
breeders as well as the public from those breeders and brokers who evade or
fail
to comply with the law. And, most importantly, it will protect the animals
themselves. I urge my colleagues and all those in the animal welfare
community
to join us in this effort."
*********************************
Kathy
three generations of Dual Titled Champions live here!
visit _Pine Hill German Shepherd Dogs_
(http://www.geocities.com/pinehillgsds/)
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