Posted on 06/07/2007 7:45:09 AM PDT by SmithL
Sacramento -- The state Assembly narrowly approved legislation Wednesday night that would fine Californians who don't spay or neuter their pets, sending to the state Senate one of the most talked-about bills on one of the most emotional issues of the year.
AB1634, by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys, is intended to reduce the state's large number of stray dogs and cats, and like virtually every legislative action centering around animals, it has stoked emotional debate. As lawmakers this year consider hot topics like health care reform and redistricting, one Republican assemblyman said Levine's bill had sparked more letters and phone calls from his constituents than any other issue.
The legislation would require pet owners to have their dogs and cats spayed or neutered or face a $500 fine for each animal. Owners of kittens and puppies would be required to get them spayed or neutered by the time they are 4 months old. Owners of guide dogs or animals registered as purebred could pay a fee to get an exemption, as could breeders.
It was approved on a 41-38 vote.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
Seems to me like they want to stamp out the under-the-table money that private citizens get from breeding and selling dogs.
So, no more mutts for us poor people. Only purebreds. Have you looked at the cost of one lately ? This is basically a no pet law, except for rich people.
I live in a very rural area, and my home is situated in a perfect ‘dumping ground’ for unwanted dogs. A bout once every six weeks we discover a dog, half starved, eating the bird seed. Its so ‘regular’ we maintain a dog crate and water out in our pole barn for the next time it happens.
And invariably, the dogs haven’t been ‘fixed’.
Bad law, but worthy of a totalitarian nanny state.
I’d encourage mass civil disobedience against these autocrats.
We'll just have to get low cost Chihuahuas coming across the unguarded southern bor....[bang].
Shot by the thread marshal during an attempted thread hijacking. :-)
‘Bad law, but worthy of a totalitarian nanny state.’
‘I’d encourage mass civil disobedience against these autocrats.’
Sounds so good in a forum, but the reality is you condem tens of thousands of dogs to an ugly fate. They end up in ‘kill county’ pounds, and if not put down within three days (here where I live) they are likely to be ‘picked up’ and then used as ‘bait dogs’ for the Michael Vicks of the world.
Didn’t San Fran already pass a law saying that people didn’t own the pets, but were “Pet Guardians”?
So, now, if anyone wants a new pup, and wants a specific breed, they must either (1) purchase an animal that is from out of state or (2) purchase an animal born in MEXICO.
Viva la dumb butt politicians!
they just want MORE money.
Good-Gosh I’d be against this, but if this is the most “important”,talked about,emotional issue that California has faced in quite a while: Then the have their priorities seriously mixed up!
Fine. Then with my apologies, read Post 6.
I figured out which post you were referencing, and I did read it.
Do you have anything to support what you stated in Reply 6? Or is it just an educated ‘guess’?
btw, we’re on the same side when it comes to the welfare of dogs. My home is literally a ‘dumping ground’ for unwanted dogs of all types. Two weeks ago this coming Saturday we added a ‘rescued’ retriever (13 weeks old, unbelievably cute ‘aint no bugs on me’ pup).
I don’t see how this legislation will have the effect of promoting puppy mills, which I and my wife absolutely abhor.
fyi, a website you might find of interest;
http//www.roadhomerescue.org
Wouldn’t surprise me with anything coming from San Francisco. I’m in Ohio, so I’m not following them closely.
I am thankful I have 3/4ths of the nation, and a major set of mountain range not to mention the Mississippi between me and them....(chuckle)
I think that’s it !!! What disgusts me, is I have always gotten our cats at shelters. Never in my life had a purebred of any kind. I like average, normal regular pets. They do tend to be healthier. The two cats I have now are great. The average schmo will have to pay too much for a pet, and pay more vet bills too.
We live in USSRW (Washington State). In our county you are required by law to license your pets. So one day someone knocks on the door. I answer. The dialogue went something like this:
“How many pets do you have?”
“Two,” I say.
“They are not licensed, otherwise they would be on my computer printout.” (Shows me the neighbors’ pets on the list; ours are not there.)
I protest - we always keep our dogs in the house or the back yard. So they do not need a license ($20 per year per pet, I believe - the money is supposedly used to return lost pets to their owners - yeah, right). The pet Nazi responds that she has a shelter full of dogs whose owners said the same thing.
Bottom line: I said I would look on their website. The pet Nazi says she will come back next week to confirm I have purchased the licenses. She comes back next week, I do not answer the door. She comes the week after, I still do not answer the door. Our two mini-Dachshunds still do not have licenses. Let them throw me in jail. I assume they will be back next year. They will receive the same treatment. Let them throw me in jail. Or maybe the wife - they are really her dogs. Just kidding! :)
We live in USSRW (Washington State). In our county you are required by law to license your pets. So one day someone knocks on the door. I answer. The dialog went something like this:
“How many pets do you have?”
“Two,” I say.
“They are not licensed, otherwise they would be on my computer printout.” (Shows me the neighbors’ pets on the list; ours are not there.)
I protest - we always keep our dogs in the house or the back yard. So they do not need a license ($20 per year per pet, I believe - the money is supposedly used to return lost pets to their owners - yeah, right). The pet Nazi responds that she has a shelter full of dogs whose owners said the same thing.
Bottom line: I said I would look on their website. The pet Nazi says she will come back next week to confirm I have purchased the licenses. She comes back next week, I do not answer the door. She comes the week after, I still do not answer the door. Our two mini-Dachshunds still do not have licenses. Let them throw me in jail. I assume they will be back next year. They will receive the same treatment. Let them throw me in jail. Or maybe the wife - they are really her dogs. Just kidding! :)
Yeah, spay and neuter all cats and dogs. Then after a few year, no more cats or dogs. Great minds! And when the time comes that they are so few, shall we put them on the endangered species and try to repopulate. With what is left what will variety be. Oh, hell, typical politicians that have nothing else to do but fine, tax, and kill what is left to decisions we should be making.
‘Yeah, spay and neuter all cats and dogs. Then after a few year, no more cats or dogs. Great minds! And when the time comes that they are so few, shall we put them on the endangered species and try to repopulate. With what is left what will variety be. Oh, hell, typical politicians that have nothing else to do but fine, tax, and kill what is left to decisions we should be making.’
All I know is we have a big problem here with dumped dogs and cats. Its a concern because I own three ‘house dogs’ a Rott/shepard mix 12 years old, a black lab 5 years old, and now a 13 week old retriever pup.
My biggest concern is my wife taking them down the country roads adjacent to our home, and running into a half crazed dumped large dog that attacks. Hasn’t happened yet, probably won’t, usually the dogs we find on our property are in pitiful shape, starving to death, or injured in some way or another...or dead.
Maybe if you live in a large urban area its not a problem you see?
I've been peripherally involved in the service dog business for fifteen years. Most of the historcial info and PETA stuff comes from what I read in what was then a paper publication: Dog Sports. The stuff about the NAZIs and dogs is a matter of record; both the Malinois and the DSD were nearly destroyed as breeds. PETA is dead set against working dogs in general, whether for police work, sled dogs, or hunting.
btw, we’re on the same side when it comes to the welfare of dogs. My home is literally a ‘dumping ground’ for unwanted dogs of all types.
I read that. I don't think this law is a good solution.
I don’t see how this legislation will have the effect of promoting puppy mills, which I and my wife absolutely abhor.
The red tape and fees involved in becoming a breeder will drive people out of the business. I'm a good example. I have a Dutch Shepherd bitch from KNPV lines. There may be only 2-300 DSDs in the entire country, so the candidate pool is very small. I plan to breed her once, both for her good and for the good of the "breed" and then get her fixed. I promise you, before I would do that the puppies would be spoken for. Unfortunately, because the DSD is not a pure bred dog, and is not recognized by AKC, it would be illegal under this law.
Outcrossing is a standard process in breeding programs, usually to introduce a desirable attribute into a breed. Such would not be allowed under this law.
Another feature of this law is that it mandates spaying or neutering at FOUR MONTHS. That is way too early for slow-developing breeds (of which a Dutch Shep is one). They will not develop their skeleton's properly. Males in particular will have their temperament seriously impaired for protection work if neutered too soon. The decision re when to spay or neuter should be made by a vet.
I think a bounty system for taking strays to the pound would be far cheaper than hiring a bureaucracy. It would be better for the animals and would call irresponsible owners to account.
Neuter Liberals..
Save the Republic.
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