Dog-related legislation
From BayTeam
Members of the Bay Team and other local community members might want to keep up on what dog-related legislation is pending and how they can get involved.
| For any info posted here, please first try to neutrally describe the legislation or issue, and then identify whether any further information is for or against. |
Contents |
Mailing list
The Bay Team has a club-members-only legislation mailing list to which you can subscribe or unsubscribe.
News on Pet Related Regulation
SB250 Did Not Pass
- SB250 was introduced in February 2009 and provided, among other things that "that no person may own, keep, or harbor an unaltered and unspayed dog, except as specified." The bill failed to get sufficient votes to pass out of the Assembly. On 31 August 2010 at 10:35 pm the final vote was 27 Yes 39 No and 12 Abstain.
Resources
The best way to stay informed of legislation and its consequences is to (a) visit relevant web sites regularly and (b) subscribe to mailing lists. There is nothing wrong with subscribing to, listening to, and asking questions in lists representing various views.
- To review other dog related California legislation and subscribe to keep up-to-date visit the CDOCA Legislation Page The AKC now has a service that enables you to check the status of canine legislation in each of the 50 states, as well as federal legislation. http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation The service is a reference tool and does not necessarily indicate that AKC has taken a position on the legislation.
Sites generally against pet control legislation
- Save Our Dogs Strongly opposed to most dog and cat control legislation with a focus on concerns regarding working dogs and working dog breeds in various capacities.
- PetPAC A political action committee formed to work against most pet control legislation.
- National Animal Interest Alliance Generally in opposition to pet control legislation.
- Concerned Dog Owners of California has an email based newsletter to keep up to date on legislative issues.
- California Anti Pet Legislation Awareness Moderate volume discussion list covering the politics and personalities driving activism on both sides in addition to the actual pet related legislation. Your choice to participate via email or web site.
- American Kennel Club - Canine Legislation Monitors and reports on legislation affecting its members, participants and supporters. Generally good at providing concise information.
Sites generally in favor of pet control legislation
- Animal Shelter Reform A high traffic discussion list seeking nationwide legislative efforts primarily focused on shelter populations, including mandatory spay and neuter laws. Your choice to participate via email or web site.
- PETA Advocates compulsory sterilization toward creating a "No Birth Nation."
News of Interest
American College of Theriogenologists position paper regarding MSN
- The American Veterinary Medical Association's advisory body for spay and neuter issues, the American College of Theriogenologists,issued a position paper on mandatory spay and neuter. In summary the organization supports voluntary spay and neuter and recommends against mandatory spay and neuter because of the need to balance a variety of health and social considerations.
Commentary
A little shy about speaking up?
- Whether it is that you are just shy, or feeling overwhelmed, or believe you don't have time to speak up, now is the time to reconsider. Your voice does count. If your view does not prevail will you be able to say that at least you tried? What bad thing will happen if you try?
So What's the Problem with SB250?
- While SB 250 is mandatory spay and neuter some people feel comforted because ... well if you are a good person and you obey all the rules it won't be enforced against you, right? Well not exactly. You can be a good person, follow all the rules, and still get cited for a violation of the rules. If animal control can send out a demand letter to license a stuffed dog http://www.kget.com/news/local/story/Bakersfield-woman-hounded-over-pet-pooch/iLMJ6p-_HkadnXbfclgZ8A.cspx they can decide that you violated a rule when you didn't. Not every accusation is as easy to disprove as the stuffed dog incident. Not everyone out there is a good person reporting with honesty and integrity. Some people believe that anyone who breeds is evil and must be stopped. What is a little lying in pursuit of that? Also the rules don't require intentional violation. A mistake is good enough to get your right to own intact animals revoked, permanently. If local agencies follow the recommendations of the Los Angeles Spay/Neuter Advisory Committee Report there will not be intact licensing available for any AKC dogs.
- Most of us don't follow all the rules. Because we run collarless in agility most of us regularly break the law that says our dogs must wear their license tags at all times. That is all that is required to enforce the law that says your dog must be sterilized, and to revoke any intact/breeding permits you may hold.
- A stand against mandatory spay and neuter is not the same as a stand against spaying and neutering. Most people who have the resources to do so do spay and neuter. Most people who don't have the resources will spay and neuter if given help and non-judgmental education. The positive effects of spay and neuter can be accomplished without the detrimental side-effects of legislation. Recognize the different influences of culture on the human-animal relationship and open the door to communication with those of varying views.
Officials and the Law
- Draw the law clearly and narrowly to reduce the opportunity for abuse. Do not count on "intent" to protect you. Would a public official ever abuse legislative intent? Consider this question and answer published in the Palm Beach Post (Florida) on January 13, 2008. (Archived articles require a fee to view in full)
- Dianne Sauve has been director since 2002 of Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control. Ms. Sauve is strongly backing a proposal, being discussed Tuesday by county commissioners, that would require pet owners to spay or neuter their animals or pay a $75 fee and sign a no-breed pledge.
- Q - They'd be allowed to pay ($75) per dog and keep them intact even without a hobby permit?
- A - The answer is, yes, they could. But they would have to sign an affidavit not to breed and because they are now the subject of an investigation for failure to comply with an ordinance, they would be prohibited from moving those animals, which means we're able to go back and keep an eye on those animals. In other words, we will be such a nuisance that you will either surrender your animals to us or you're going to move from Palm Beach County.
- The City of Los Angeles "DAWS" program follows the lead of Palm Beach, Florida in recruiting uniformed volunteers to enforce various animal control laws. Prepare yourself to act calmly and legally if you should be faced with an unwelcome visit from animal control or its volunteers. The City of Los Angeles "DAWS" program naturally tends to attract anti-breeder volunteers.
Background Issues
Shelter Practices
- Regardless of which side you are on with regard to laws mandating pet sterilization it helps to have some background on what is going on in shelters. The No Kill Advocacy Center filed suit against Los Angeles County Shelters alleging unlawful and abusive treatment of animals. Essentially the County has claimed there was insufficient basis for the lawsuit to proceed and the judge disagreed. So it will proceed to the proof portion.
- While shelters express concern about the number of animals killed allegations of their policies and practices can cast doubt on the sincerity of those concerns. Consider, for example, this description of an attempt to adopt a dog, and this description of the practices of Kern county shelters. The comments to the follow up are important in suggesting that problem discussed in the original article is not unusual.
When and Whether Sterilization is the Right Health Choice
- One issue in mandatory sterilization legislation is the pet owner's ability to evaluate and determine when and whether sterilization is a sound choice for their particular circumstance. An article by By Margaret Root-Kustritz, DVM, PhD, reviews a variety of studies and literature to evaluate the spay / neuter decision. This discussion sets aside the issue of population control to look at the health issues involved.
- The article Determining The Best Age At Which To Spay Or Neuter provides charts and academic resources. See also Determining the optimal age for gonadectomy of dogs and cats which is essentially the same article for an academic audience.
- Early Spay-Neuter Considerations for the Canine Athlete - One Veterinarian's Opinion by Chris Zink, a vet who also does agility. Draws her conclusions based on a summary of studies.
- Long-Term Health Effects of Spaying and Neutering in Dogs; another survey of studies, organized slightly differently.
Enforcement Practices
- Those who feel that they need not worry about pet legislation because they plan to just ignore it may find themselves in a difficult position. Enforcement efforts will put such people to the choice of between important pet health care or evading official notice. For example, if you take your pet for rabies vaccines California law now requires the veterinarian to report that transaction to local animal control for matching against their records. Some ordinances make refusal to comply a criminal offense.
- Enforcing agencies are demanding club membership rosters or show catalogs as evidence that a dog meets exemption criteria. These agencies then use the rosters to locate individuals who have not registered their dogs or applied for exemptions. Failure to obtain an exemption before enforcement may waive the ability to get an exemption from mandatory sterilization provisions.
