Dear Friends:
This email is an update on where the bills sponsored by Social Compassion in Legislation (SCIL) currently stand.
The California Legislature is currently on recess, however they will be back in session soon, and both of our bills (SB 250 and AB 241) will be heard in committee later in August.
First, let me be honest about the primary purpose for this email. We need your help to reach out to all supporters of animal friendly legislation in California, and alert them that these important bills are almost to the finish line! We need dedicated support now more than ever. And, the battle is getting costly, because our opponents are pouring money into California, trying to kill these good bills.
So here's what I am asking:
Please forward this email to at least three people you know in California who love animals. Our hope is that they will visit www.YESonSB250. com and www.YESonAB241. com, fill out easy support letters, and join the thousands of supporters working towards making our state a better place for pets.
Please consider participating in our new 25 bucks for SB 250 campaign. SCIL is run completely by volunteers and has no paid staff. However, running legislative campaigns is very expensive.
You don't have to donate $25... any amount at all will help us fight towards our goal to reduce shelter euthanasia through spay and neuter legislation. Click here to donate.
This is a historic time for animal friendly legislation in California and it's supporters like you who have made it all possible. Thank you!
OK, now for the good stuff... here's the latest on the bills:
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SB 250, The Pet Responsibility Act, authored by Senate Majority Leader Dean Florez, remains one of the biggest bills in Sacramento today. It has generated more support than any other bill this session. SB 250 simply requires that dogs be spayed or neutered unless their owner/guardian obtains an unaltered dog license when they license their animal. SB 250 also requires that roaming cats be spayed and neutered by their owner/guardian.
SB 250 will dramatically increase the number of pets who are spayed and neutered, thus reducing shelter overpopulation by decreasing the numbers of accidental pet pregnancies. In Santa Cruz County, where a similar law was passed over 10 years ago, shelter impounds dropped by over 64%! You can read about their success by clicking here. Santa Cruz is so successful that they are actually now taking in excess animals from other shelters to help ease overcrowding in those areas.
But the rest of the state is not so lucky. California shelters bring in approximately one million dogs and cats every year, and euthanize (kill) over half, simply because there are not enough homes. This enormous number of homeless pets actually means that every dog born in the state of California today has nearly a 1 in 4 chance of ultimately becoming homeless and dying in a shelter. Two-thirds of the cats entering California shelters are euthanized. And, the numbers are getting worse every year.
According to the State Controller's City and Counties Annual Reports for Fiscal Year 2006-07, California spends $300,000,000 per year housing and killing animals. This is a moral and financial crisis that we can finally begin to address with SB 250.
SB 250 will be voted on in the Assembly Appropriations Committee later in August, followed by the full Assembly vote, and then the Governor's desk. We will alert you shortly when it is time to contact your legislators.
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AB 241, The Responsible Breeder Act, authored by Assemblymember Pedro Nava, limits cruel puppy mills in a reasonable way, by simply limiting owners and breeders to a maximum of 50 unaltered animals.
While 50 unaltered animals may sound like a lot, in reality puppy mills in California today house up to 500 animals. They live in overcrowded, filthy, and inhumane conditions with inadequate shelter and care. Many puppy mill breeding dogs live on wire mesh and never touch the ground their entire life.
AB 241 will be voted on in the Senate Appropriations Committee on August 17th, followed by the full Senate vote, and then the Governor's desk. We will alert you shortly when it is time to contact your legislators.
OK, now for the not-so-good stuff... one of the most frequent questions I am asked about SB 250 is:
Who could be against this legislation?
The answer is: the vast majority of opposition to animal friendly legislation comes from one group - underground animal breeders who fear that new legislation will affect their unscrupulous businesses.
These backyard breeders are joined by hunting groups, fur farmers and other people who make their living off the backs of our animal friends.
The leaders of these groups rely on the most outrageous arguments and claims. They do this in order to rile up animal breeders and animal profiteers, compelling them to call, fax and visit legislators to complain against the bills.
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Here are the two primary arguments used by opponents:
Spay and neuter legislation is actually designed to eliminate dogs and cats forever. The supporters of spay and neuter legislation are radicals who do not want anyone to own pets.
Pet overpopulation is a myth. Dogs and cats killed in shelters are unadoptable, and therefore cannot find homes anyway. And, the reason pets are killed in shelters is not overpopulation. .. it is actually the fault of uncaring shelter directors, shelter workers and rescue groups who just don't try hard enough.
It saddens and angers me just to type those words. The idea that the thousands of animal rescuers (including myself) working to pass these bills, most of us whom live with several pets and use our own money to rescue and place others, would want to eliminate pets is the most outrageous, insulting lie I have heard in my over 25 years of animal rescue.
The claim that there is no pet overpopulation problem defies logic. The 500,000 pets who die in California shelters each year are there because the pool of animals born each year is larger than the number of available homes... period.
In Their Own Words
Here are some of the most vocal opponents of spay and neuter laws, and some others opposed to animal laws in general, in their own words (shown in blue).
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William Hemby, founder of PetPAC, describing who he thinks is behind SCIL legislation:
"...across the United States you have some of these animal rights extremist groups like the Animal Liberation Front... it started years and years ago, if you remember, about throwing the blood on fur coats and all that jazz....
Well now... these people want to eliminate all dogs and cats in California, and so they want everybody else to conform to their society."
As far as I can tell, it was PetPAC's Mr. Hemby who first coined the phrase "Pet Extinction Act" to describe spay and neuter laws. The term has inflamed breeders and presumably increased donations to PetPAC.
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PIJAC (Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council), on pet overpopulation:
The claims of pet overpopulation are "without sound basis" and "intended to alarm the public about an overpopulation problem that does not even exist".
Regarding the enormous number of pets euthanized in shelters "it is unclear where the evidence for such statements comes from, or whether it even exists".
A quick note... PIJAC is the primary lobby group representing pet stores in California, and these quotes are taken from a letter submitted by JK Pedrotti, a Government relations firm representing PIJAC.
Clearly, it is in pet stores best interest to pretend there is no overpopulation problem. If PIJAC will not believe the shelter admission and euthanasia numbers submitted to the State by the shelters themselves, then they will never believe that we have a problem, no matter how many pets we kill each year.
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We the People for Pets, an anti-pet legislation group:
Animal rights is a "staircase leading to pet extinction and total loss of pet owner rights", and spay and neuter laws are being pushed with tactics "used by the Nazi party to dehumanize their targets".
I can't really find words to address this lunatic fringe stuff...
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Nathan Winograd, author and shelter consultant, on pet overpopulation:
"Shelter killing is not the result of pet overpopulation; it is the result of shelter managers who find killing easier than doing what is necessary to stop it."
Nathan states that shelter workers are "content to kill animals" while "hiding behind the myth of pet overpopulation" .
I must take a moment to comment on this. I have spent much of the last four years meeting with shelter workers across California. I have seen their tears as they explain their anguish at having to put down healthy animals every day. I have seen the emotional toll, and I have seen their pain as they come to grips with the horrible task they are faced with every day, thanks to careless pregnancies and reckless overbreeding. You can watch interviews with many of these shelter workers at www.YESonSB250. com.
The claim that it is the shelter workers who are to blame for the number of pets flowing into our shelters, rather than the irresponsible pet owners and breeders who fill those shelters with their careless actions, is callous, shallow thinking.
Nathan is now selling books directly to breeders via a book tour with PetPAC, who advertise "Tour Dates" for him on the PetPAC website. And incredibly, he is now involved with radical underground breeder publications like The Animal Herald, a newsletter based partially on the idea that spay and neuter laws are "akin to genocide of dogs". The founder of this publication, cat breeder Diane Amble, appears to devote a lot of time trying to find ways to use the term "terrorist" in conjunction with the term "animal rights". This image is a capture from the latest edition of The Animal Herald... you can see a cartoon of Senator Florez, Assemblymember Nava and myself, dressed as "angels of death" for trying to pass animal protection laws. Nathan Winograd's contribution to this classy publication begins directly under the cartoon.
Ironically, or conveniently, pet breeders have become the biggest cheerleaders for Mr. Winograd, and they are often seen at the Capitol with a copy of Nathan's book clutched as their bible. Nathan has given backyard breeders an 'out' for a problem they directly contribute to, while blaming those who have to clean up the mess.
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Gina Spadafori, regular contributor to AKC (American Kennel Club) Publications:
Pet breeders must "realize that we're all in this together, pet-owners against the forces of pet extinction".
Gina is a columnist and author of pet books. Shame on her for constantly pushing the bogus claim that pet owners are against spay and neuter legislation. The truth is that tens of thousands of pet owners have written and called in support of the bills. Those "pet owners" who come out against these bills consistently turn out to be people only looking out for their own self-interest (the "Me Me Me" crowd).
In fact, according to a 2008 poll by the well respected firm Zogby International, "California voters are strongly in support of a law that would enforce the spaying and neutering of pets." The Zogby poll found that 66% of California voters supported spay and neuter laws, and that after learning more about the laws, a full 80% of the voters supported them. The Zogby poll conclusion? Pet owners overwhelmingly support spay and neuter laws to reduce shelter euthanasias.
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From the scarier side of the breeder community... some breeders refer to violence as a possible answer to what they perceive as an intrusive government in league with animal rights "wackos":
Walt Hutchens, Timbreblue Whippets breeder in southwestern Virginia:
"We need to win as rapidly as possible, hopefully before there is any significant violence. The effect of violence on our chances of victory cannot be predicted." In general Mr. Hutchens seems to oppose violence, but he also slyly notes "By making the AR wars 'interesting, ' it will lead to much more media interest".
Joe Overlease, Cocker Spaniel breeder from Missouri who ships dogs nationwide:
"Every Breeder I know is armed to the teeth as well, hot lead is a good motivator even for the most sincere AR wacko... Welcome to Fort Cocker".
Walt Hutchens' writings appear on the website Rexano.org, which is devoted to keeping exotic animal ownership legal and unregulated. Rexano also offers the opportunity to download posters and purchase bumper stickers:
The posters are by artist Tamara Burnett, who envisions pet legislation as a PETA / HSUS plot to remove dogs and cats from society. Tamara has painted her depiction of me on the broom, wearing a PETA hat and stealing dogs from children. I included these posters to illustrate just how far out these folks are (and how much time they have on their hands!).
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California Farm Bureau Federation writing about SB 250:
"Not all counties have provisions for intact [differential] licenses, and the amendments do not seem to allow dog owners to obtain an intact license if their cities or counties do not have them. This would force... dog owners residing in these counties to sterilize their dogs."
This statement from the Farm Bureau is completely wrong, and is one of the many scare tactics being used by opponents of animal legislation. In fact, statewide law for differential licenses have been in existence since 1973 (Food and Ag code 30804.5).
"Farm Bureau is also concerned about the potential for... actions taken against our members who may leave their dogs in the back of a pickup truck."
This is another example of outlandish hyperbole meant to scare Legislators. There is no provision in SB 250 that would allow animal control to seize a dog, and in the several California communities where similar laws are already in place, these hypothetical events do not occur.
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Save Our Dogs, an anti-spay and neuter legislation group:
"...are the supporters trying hide the fact that the real goal of the bill is to eliminate all cats and dogs?"
The Save Our Dogs website, registered to someone in Oregon, also provides misleading graphs for download. The site consistently tries to influence opinion by presenting only part of the available data. In my opinion, this group was formed solely to provide misinformation about spay and neuter laws.
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John Yates, American Sporting Dog Alliance (in Pennsylvania) , on spay and neuter laws:
"Such is the murderous intent of [this]... movement, which seeks to gradually eliminate animals from American life. Its immediate goal is to force people to sterilize or euthanize as many dogs and cats as possible, and SB 250 was written for this reason."
Unbelievable. The delusions held by some of these people are downright ridiculous.
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Last, but not least.
No overview of spay and neuter law opponents would be complete without mentioning the Oregon group National Animal Interest Alliance (NAIA). This group is front and center when it comes to opposing legislation that helps any type of animal, whether it is spay & neuter laws, curbs on puppy mills, or restrictions on animal cruelty.
Who are they? According to SourceWatch, who featured NAIA in their "FRONT GROUPS" project, "The NAIA is a front group and industry funded lobbying organization for animal commerce and agriculture based in Portland, Oregon. Agendas include financial interests, legislation and public perception related to farm animal agribusiness, commercial breeding, hunting, fishing, trapping, fur ranching, animal testing, horse slaughter, rodeos, circuses and entertainment. "
At this point, you may be asking yourself, are all pet breeders bad? My answer is no.
There are many types of pet breeders, including responsible ones who love their animals. Through this process I have been in contact with breeders who do abide by the law, and understand the suffering and expense of pet overpopulation. These breeders do feel that laws are needed to address the issue. And some of these breeders reported death threats when they started expressing their opinions. Today, these good breeders have learned not to speak out.
Ironically, if breeders license their animals and simply follow current laws, SB 250 will never even affect them.
I included all this information about our opponents because I wanted you to know what we are up against as we work to pass SB 250 and AB 241. Please forward this email to at least three friends who care about animals, and please consider making a donation if you can afford it.
Please do not let a group of extremists from around the United States hold back progress for animal welfare in California. We cannot allow the opposition to drown out our compassionate voices with their misinformation and paranoia.
Sincerely,
Judie Mancuso
President, Social Compassion In Legislation (SCIL)
A 501(c)(4) non-profit organization focused on reducing pet overpopulation through legislation.
www.YESonAB241.comwww.YESonSB250.com
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