http://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_17839703 Vermont Legislature considering four varied animal rights bills KEITH WHITCOMB JR. Posted: 04/13/2011 11:00:14 PM EDT Wednesday April 13, 2011 BENNINGTON -- Four bills involving the treatment of dogs, cows, and horses have been introduced to the state legislature this session. Joanne Bourbeau, senior state director for Vermont and New Hampshire for the Humane Society of the United States, said an event held at the Statehouse in Montpelier Thursday will give some guidance to those involved with animal rights and welfare on how to speak to their representatives on getting legislation passed. House H.303 involves pet merchants, Bourbeau said. It would close tax loopholes on "backyard breeders" by defining what a pet merchant is and requiring those people to place kennel numbers on advertisements for puppy sales. A related bill, H.340, would establish minimum care practices on breeders with 10 or more "intact" -- non-spayed -- female dogs and not allow people to have over 50 breeding dogs at one time. House bill H.229 is also related to dogs, Bourbeau said, and would require certain medical procedures to be conducted by a veterinarian while the animal is anesthetized. Those procedures include de-barking -- removing the dogs vocal chords so it cant bark; tail docking -- removing all or part of the tail; and surgical birth or C-sections...... NAIA News National Animal Interest Alliance ============================================================================ POST is Copyrighted 2011. All material remains the property of the original author and of GSD Communication, Inc. NO REPRODUCTIONS or FORWARDS of any kind are permitted without prior permission of the original author AND of the Showgsd-l Management. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Each Author is responsible for the content of his/her post. This group and its administrators are not responsible for the comments or opinions expressed in any post. ALL PERSONS ARE ON NOTICE THAT THE FORWARDING, REPRODUCTION OR USE IN ANY MANNER OF ANY MATERIAL WHICH APPEARS ON SHOWGSD-L WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF ALL PARTIES TO THE POST AND THE LIST MANAGEMENT IS EXPRESSLY FORBIDDEN, AND IS A VIOLATION OF LAW. VIOLATORS OF THIS PROHIBITION WILL BE PROSECUTED. For assistance, please contact the List Management at admin@xxxxxxxxxxx VISIT OUR WEBSITE - http://showgsd.org SUBSCRIPTION:http://showgsd.org/mail.html NATIONAL BLOG - http://gsdnational.blogspot.com/ ============================================================================