It will be sad day for dog owners and breeders if this passes in TEXAS. It will give those Animal Wrongists back the ammunition that we've been wresting away from them, and they will start firing back at other states with the "Look at Texas" refrain! Tell all your Texas Friends, relatives, acquaintances to contact their representatives to vote NO on the amendments. Stormy Hope On May 24, 2011, at 12:53 PM, Bokenkampgsd1@xxxxxxx wrote: Come on folks in Texas....please read carefully and got back to your representative to not approve the senate amendments! Getting to be the last chance everyone. Molly Trillia German Shepherds since 1972 Member GSDCA, GSDCC, GSDC of Beaumont, lifetime member CKC "Blessed are the cracked, for they let in the light" From: rpoa@xxxxxxxxx Reply-to: TX_RPOA_E-News-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: TX_RPOA_E-NEWS@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sent: 5/24/2011 2:31:03 P.M. Central Daylight Time Subj: [TX_RPOA_E-News] Texas Senate passes HB 1451 but it ain't over! TX-RPOA E-News >From RPOA Texas Outreach and Responsible Pet Owners Alliance "Animal welfare, not animal 'rights' and, yes, there is a difference." Crossposting is encouraged. May 24, 2011 Texas Action Alert! Sad day in Texa s but it's not over until the fat lady sings! The Texas Senate passed HB 1451, the HSUS Anti-Breeder Bill, with a vote of 22-9 senators. RPOA had . 14-15 votes at one time to keep the bill from going to a Floor vote but for whatever reason, we lost them. If we could have had only two more senators stand strong for us, the bill would have died. HB 1451 no longer contains the "commercial or high volume breeder" wording. It is now just "dog and cat breeders." We will remember on Election Day! As the bill was hurriedly called up on the Senate floor, the microphone picked up Whitmire muttering in the background: "Gotta make sure more people don't change thei r damned mind ." So it wasn't easy but he worked the Senate hard all day and in the end rammed the bill through with 22 votes. Rep. Senfronia Thompson also worked the Senate Floor all afternoon, picking out our supporters and taking them to the back room for more "discussion" to vote for her bill. Every legislative rule in the book has been broken this Session. Senator Whitmire made the remark several times: "We'll come back next session and make changes." Remember the RPOA flyer which is on our website: "Get anything passed and come back later" with Texas Humane Legislation Network President Cile Holloway's quotes. Senator Jeff Wentworth said Page 8 of the bill is inappropriate and gives free license - delegating the Commission to do whateve r they want to do. Exactly what RPOA has been saying all along. Senator Troy Fraser tried an amendment to increase the sale of "20 puppies or kittens" to 60 puppies or kittens as in PA and Ohio, but Whitmire opposed and it failed. He said 60 puppies is a "puppymill." Whitmire said most states use "3 Intact Females" as licensing criteria. Probably what he has in mind for next Session. Senator Hegar wanted an amendment to strike the annual veterinarian examination for each dog/cat (whether needed or not) which financially benefits veterinarians. But Whitmire moved to table and amendment failed. Hegar did get a minor amendment regarding euthanasia. RPOA heard Senator Carona would be proposing an amendment for "show dogs" - however that would be defined - but it never materialized. Texas Wildlife Association and Texas Veterinary Medical Association both sold us down the river. NEW MARCHING ORDERS! We can still kill HB 1451! It's not over! The bill now goes back to the House Floor to concur or not concur with the amendments made in the Senate. If we can get 76 representatives' votes this time, we can kill the bill in the House of Representatives. So get on the horn with your representative and tell him: * Do not accept the senate amendments on HB 1451! * This is not a puppymill bill as the words "commercial or high volum e breeder" aren't even in it. It simply says "dog or cat breeder" now. * There are 35 USDA licensed breeders in Texas now. No more breeders will qualify for a license. The bill mandates that standards adopted must "at a minimum meet federal (USDA) regulations." This is impossible to do in a home environment. * The exemptions for certain dogs in the Senate version are not defined and are impossible to define. Clearly they are designed to be deleted later. Senator Whitmire stated several times yesterday that he will bring the bill back next Legislative Session. If you'll recall we had 44 representatives' votes opposing HB 1451 when it passed in the House. So this is a piece of cake! Have your friends,&nbs p; relatives and neighbors contact their elected House representative who can be found on the Texas Legislature Home Page www.capitol.state.tx.us Send rpoa@xxxxxxxxx feedback from your representative. ............................................................ Subscribe to this announcement only email list to stay informed regarding all Texas animal issues by emailing: TX_RPOA_E-News-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Donate with PayPal or mail in: www.rpoatexasoutreach.org ============================================================================ 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. 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