[ SHOWGSD-L ] Re: [doglegislation] Ruh-Roh? PA propsed state law
- From: "Ginger Cleary" <cleary1414@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Showgsd-L@Freelists. Org" <showgsd-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:00:58 -0400
If this passes, no more vaccinating or worming your own puppies. You
will be REQUIRED to take very, very young puppies into the vet for
vaccinating and/or worming.
The currently regulations in PA are more than adequate IF THEY WERE
ENFORCED. And in true AR fashion they now want more, even more restrictive
regs.
-----Original Message-----
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/2008/04/10/ruhroh
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Ruh-Roh?
Would a proposed state law protect dogs in Philly, or just put breeders
on a short leash?
by J.F. Pirro
Published: April 9, 2008
There's a lot of dog in Sonny Robinson's three-story North Philadelphia
home. His Cane Corso Italian mastiffs weigh in at between 80 and 150 pounds
each, and there's more than 20 of them. They have free run of the place, for
the most part.
This house is the doghouse.
Among the inhabitants here are his breeding females ? Smoke, Vida,
Delilah, Zayla and Three Fifty Seven ? as well as Robinson's 2-year-old
daughter, Harmony, and her two pet pit bulls, Red Bone and Chica.
Though one might expect complete chaos, it's actually rare. The Italian
mastiff originated as a guard dog, and despite its chiseled, imposing
physique, is usually elegant and calm. If a mêlée does erupt, Robinson
controls the pack with his voice ? like a schoolteacher, he says ? and with
indoor crates and outdoor kennels.
Last year, after 15 years of breeding dogs as a hobby, Robinson filed
for commercial kennel registration with the Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, which oversees dog law and
licensing in the state. He called the business the Marshall Law Kennel, and,
because more than 26 dogs passed through his West Tioga Street home last
year (due to litters), was required to pass state kennel inspections.
In its first inspection, last June 21, Marshall Law received
unsatisfactory ratings. In his remarks, inspecting warden Richard Martrich
noted broken wire on several pens, and that several dogs needed to be
brought up to date on rabies shots. But by Oct. 18, Martrich, who declined
to be interviewed for this story, wrote in his remarks: "Passed Inspection."
Michael T. Regan
HUMANE SQUEEZE: "Cruelty is an epidemic in Philadelphia," says the
PSPCA's Howard Nelson, shown here at the society's Erie Avenue kennel.
Of the inspection process, Robinson says, "It's infringing, but on the
other hand, this is a business. If someone wants to come take a look, come
take a look. I'm constantly cleaning and sanitizing. My dogs aren't out in a
barn or a garage or anything like that."
Robinson's standards, however, might soon not be good enough. New
legislation, crafted by the Department of Agriculture's Bureau of Dog Law
Enforcement, is expected to be introduced to the House of Representatives.
It could crack down on conditions in newly defined "commercial breeding
kennels" (those that annually breed five or more litters for broker kennels
or pet stores, or keep and then transfer 60 or more dogs a year). The new
provisions would also tighten dog law in all kennels, beef up the focus on
cruelty provisions and give the state more leeway in seizing endangered
dogs. One preliminary draft that circulated last December is more than 80
pages long (there's also a six-page drafted amendment to the state's animal
cruelty statutes, and an entirely separate anti-tethering bill in the
works).
Among many commercial-breeding provisions, the draft calls for increased
veterinary care and supervision; revises the formulaic calculation for cage
space; and calls for "unfettered access" to outdoor runs. It requires 24-7
access to drinkable water, regulated kennel temperatures and smoke alarms.
Commercial breeding kennel owners would no longer be allowed to euthanize or
vaccinate their own dogs.
The state has also said that fines for violations could dramatically
increase. The current law allows for civil penalties of up to $300 per
incident. Drafted figures range up to $1,000 per day of non-compliance.
Against long-standing practice, amendments to the cruelty law could make
it illegal for a breeder to dock (or shorten) a puppy's tail after a set
number of days, or to perform Caesareans or "debark" (destroy the vocal
cords of) their dogs. Like euthanasia and vaccination, such procedures would
have to be done by a veterinarian.
At first blush, much of this sounds sensible. Indeed, proponents say
that, if enforced, the amended laws will finally protect the pups in
Pennsylvania's infamous puppy mills ? highlighted just last week by Oprah
Winfrey, who launched a national awareness campaign with a show inspired by
Main Line Animal Rescue (MLAR) in Chester Springs ? and help law enforcement
catch abusers, like underground fighting rings. But to owners worried about
reconfiguring or rebuilding kennels, regulating temperature or paying extra
vet bills for things they've always done themselves, the proposals seem
draconian and punitive. They fear that their legitimate businesses will be
collateral damage in the state's attack. Instead of improving the welfare of
canines, the whole thing is threatening to disintegrate into a statewide
culture war over the role of dogs in people's lives.
The dog-law issue has gained firm traction in Pennsylvania, opponents of
the legislation say, because Gov. Ed Rendell, who has two rescued golden
retrievers, wants to better protect dogs.
Backed by a galvanized, well-funded group of animal rights activists,
Rendell began in May 2006 by firing 15 of 16 members of the state's Dog Law
Advisory Board (DLAB), which advises the secretary of agriculture on dog
issues. The revamped DLAB includes 16 statutory members, plus eight new
at-large positions. The new leadership established a new enforcement
structure, which, as intended, yielded an increase in dog law enforcement.
In 2006 the state revoked only three kennel licenses; in 2007 it revoked 21.
Nine of these were in Lancaster County, home to 11 percent of the state's
2,600 licensed kennels.
After the initial shakeup, the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement tried to
introduce new regulations to existing dog law. But when the revision process
turned dicey ? the drafted regulations drew a record 16,000 responses during
a public comment period and at open meetings ? Rendell decided instead to
take a legislative approach, and the bureau (with input from the revamped
DLAB) eventually drew up the draft that may soon come before the state House
and Senate. Initially, it targeted mid-March to introduce its new
strictures, but progress has been slowed by ongoing back-room wrangling.
One of Rendell's allies in this effort was the activist who attracted
Oprah's attention with a Chicago billboard that begged her to do a show on
puppy mills ? MLAR founder and executive director Bill Smith. His shelter's
work was the focus of the show's first 20 minutes last Friday. In an
undercover mission, he and Lisa Ling, Oprah's special investigator, rescued
39 dogs from some of the state's worst kennels.
Smith says the new legislation could represent more relief for
Pennsylvania.
"What will help the most in the legislation is the section prohibiting
pet stores and dealers from buying from unlicensed breeding kennels," Smith
says. "If we fine the pet stores, which must be licensed, for buying dogs
from people who are not licensed, the stores will stop carrying their dogs.
'Underground' kennels will stop breeding puppies if they can't sell them to
make a profit."
MLAR vice chairman of the board Marsha Perelman, who was on Rendell's
ad-hoc committee and is an at-large DLAB appointee, says she's most pleased
with the cruelty statutes, particularly regarding c-sections, and the
potential elimination of owner-administered euthanasia ? which can be by
shotgun in PA. She says the increased fines send a clear message, and
applauds the fact that no dog over the age of 12 weeks will be enclosed in a
stacked metal cage any longer.
"Just like we've changed the penalties on drunk driving over time, these
laws attempt to change the standards a kennel must maintain," she says.
"We're going to have even stricter standards," echoes Jessie L. Smith, a
special deputy secretary for the DLAB, "and we'll have more enforcement
tools."
But these animal-rights activists find themselves pitted against
licensed hobby breeders, sporting dog enthusiasts, shelters, rescue groups
and pet store owners who say they, too, care about dogs, and are
already
following the rules. They say they're concerned about constitutional
freedoms like the right to make a living, and that a manipulative media
outreach ? so-called "poor-puppy" press, such as Oprah's work ? has
unnecessarily stirred public sentiment against them.
"The goal is the elimination of all animal ownership," says John Yates,
founder of the American Sporting Dog Alliance (ASDA), a bird dog trainer and
breeder of English setters in Oil City, Pa. "PETA, HSUS (the Humane Society
of the United States) and the ASPCA will take what they can get ? one inch
at a time or one mile ? and continue pushing for anything that will tighten
the noose on animal owners' necks. For Rendell, the dog issue is a crusade,
almost like it's religion. He doesn't want people to make a living with
dogs. It's what he thinks is the new slavery."
That may be an extreme interpretation, but kennel owners sense the eye
of Big Brother. In bolstering its dog-law bureau, last May Pennsylvania
became the first in the nation to post its kennel inspection results online
(
agriculture.state.pa.us/padoglaw)
. It's how City Paper found Marshall Law Kennel, and copies of
Robinson's inspections.
Nina Schaefer, a fired DLAB member and president of the Lafayette
Hills-based Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs Inc., which includes many
of the state's hobby breeders, says allowing the public to access kennel
records online is a gross invasion of privacy. "This is nuts," she says.
Even the initial regulatory revisions ? before the legislation was being
drafted ? were absurdly stringent, opponents say.
"Is there a law that stipulates 24-7 access to water for children?" asks
Frank H. "Terry" Griffin III, district director of the Masters of Foxhounds
Association of North America and master of hounds at Malvern's Radnor Hunt
Club where the well-reputed Ardrossan beagles are also kenneled. "Yet, I've
spoken to a Dog Law Advisory Board member who told me, 'Someone else can
take care of the children. Our job is to take care of the dogs.'"
Griffin feels there are numerous untenable provisions in the proposed
law.
"Is a water bowl half-empty or half-full?" he asks. "You look at all the
ways the secretary or his designees can impose civil or criminal charges and
it just boggles your mind. The most insignificant violation could end up in
a sanction that shuts a kennel down."
As for the provision that calls for kennels to publicly display their
license: "There's no way on God's green earth we're letting the public near
our kennels. It's a liability issue."
The battle in Pennsylvania is similar to that in other agrarian states
with traditions of hunting with dogs. Virginia just passed similar kennel
legislation. In Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Ohio, laws are pending. Meanwhile,
the Animal Legal Defense Fund, a California-based group that ranks states
according to their animal protection laws, says that Pennsylvania lags
behind in protecting animals. Pennsylvania moved from a "middle tier"
ranking in protecting animals in 2006 to "bottom tier" in 2007.
At times, the fight can sound a lot like other culture war battles, such
as gun control, in which opponents of new laws argue that what's needed is
enforcement of existing rules. "The answer is to fix a broken bureaucracy,"
Yates says. "Another layer is going to drive good people crazy."
We know how gun-law negotiations tend to go. With all of these strong
feelings about dog laws from suburban and rural Pennsylvania, does new dog
legislation stand a chance?
Perelman says proponents have already made numerous concessions, and
that her side can't claim any "total wins." She hopes there aren't further
compromises. "But [the legislation] has to go through both the state House
and Senate agricultural committees," she says, "and there are members on
both with agricultural interests, and some of them represent breeders who
see dogs as a cash crop."
ADVERTISEMENTOn March 21 ? Good Friday ? the state police, accompanied
by officers from Philadelphia's Narcotics Field Unit, conducted a drug raid
on a residence on the 2400 block of Reese Street in North Philadelphia. In
doing so, they seized 100-plus maltreated animals. All appeared to be part
of a sordid animal-fighting ring. Adult pit bulls and their puppies,
roosters, a caged hawk and other animals were removed by the
Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania SPCA, whose veterinarians are now treating
them. Several of the pit bull puppies' ears had been freshly cropped with a
pair of scissors that one of the men admitted to using.
Authorities also seized videos of animal fights, one filmed in a bar,
says Howard Nelson, the PSPCA's CEO.
"I don't think I will ever be the same after watching it," he says.
"Capturing the full horror of an underground network like this on video is
highly unusual."
As in so many other respects, Philadelphia is unique in Pennsylvania
when it comes to canine cruelty concerns. Underground breeders and
dog-fighting rings are extensive problems here ? so much so that the PSPCA,
a privately funded humane group, is currently doubling the number of humane
officers outside city limits from three to six so the nine inspectors
specifically assigned to the city can stay home rather than also helping in
the field.
"They're definitely needed here," says Nelson.
On Feb. 1 the PSPCA, which has a $6.8 million annual budget, launched a
24-7, anonymous animal cruelty tip line (866-601-SPCA). Shortly after, the
organization also began working with the Discovery Channel on an initial
10-episode, season-long series for Animal Planet called Animal Cops:
Philadelphia. The show, which has an option to renew for five seasons, is
scheduled to debut by August or September. Three producers and two camera
crews have been following PSPCA agents since February, documenting cruelty
cases.
In January 2008, PSPCA took on 540 new cases, the largest volume in its
existence. With the new hot line, Nelson anticipates 800 to 1,000 calls a
month. The agency answered 8,000 calls in 2007.
"Cruelty is an epidemic in Philadelphia," Nelson says. "The police and
the district attorney's office are cooperating. The efforts under way by the
PSPCA represent the largest crackdown on cruelty and neglect in Philadelphia
history, and it's all funded by our donors and caring residents."
An important question, locally, is whether the state will be able to
help Philadelphia tackle its cruelty problem. And the answer will depend, it
appears, on whether Pennsylvania can find a way to better tackle illegal
activity without taking out hard-working breeders like Sonny Robinson. And a
lot of that depends on what the final legislation looks like.
"The better quality of life my females have, the better pups they'll
have, and the better pup I can give to someone else," says Robinson says,
who sometimes gets up in the middle of the night to distribute treats.
He believes licensing and legislation will make his business more
legitimate. "It's the only way to do it," he says. "I welcome inspections.
If the law's tougher, it's for me. You're either doing it right or you're
doing it wrong. I just hope the regulations don't choke me out if there's a
lot of them."
(j_pirro@xxxxxxxxxxxxx)
© Philadelphia City Paper
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Ginger Cleary - Rome, GA www.rihadin.com
"A nation of sheep begets a government of wolves." --Edward R. Murrow
GA Director RDOE
Member GSDCA
please help rescue... http://lasthopesafehaven.com/
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