SB 250 passes California Assembly Committee

San Francisco Examiner ^ | 6/30/09 | Barbara Kohn

[BigEdLB]

SB 250 the Pet Responsibility Act has passed the California Assembly Committee on Business and Professions today. The vote was six for, three against. The next step for the bill is the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
SB 250 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.

[BigEdLB]

I just sent this EMail to Gov Schwarzenegger :

OPPOSITION TO SB 250

Dear Governor:

In 2003, I proudly worked to remove Gray Davis from office and get you elected. I still do not regret that decision. I know that there are folks out there working to have you recalled now over the state budget shortfall. This is not solely your problem, and in recent days you appear to be standing up to the legislature to try to slow down the nonsense. I have no interest, or had no interest in any recall.

But I am looking at this SB 250, and the myriad of bureaucratic nonsense that this will set up as to pets. I see you haven't taken a position on SB 250. My wife and I are responsible breeders of AKC Standard Poodles, and this piece of bad law will put any one such as us at the hands of local capricious bureaucrats. You need to veto this bill.

If this comes to your desk, and you sign it, my wife and I will reluctantly have to sign the recall position. This is not any protection to animals, because it ignores purebreds, putting responsible breeders such as us through a myriad of extra hoops to jump through. Also the AKC will have many fewer dog shows in California. With fewer purebreds, there will be no reason for them to have the shows. Remember -- Dog shows bring tourist revenue here, as dog exhibitors travel from place to place to show their dogs too. And if you don't veto SB 250, those shows that now occur here will be held in Nevada, or Arizona or elsewhere... I believe this is what will happen if this bill becomes law.

(Signed)
(EMail)
(Phone #)

[coydog]

It’s almost too much trouble to register a dog these days. Unless I was living right in the city, I wouldn’t bother. It just sets you up as a target.

[HiTech RedNeck]

There perhaps needs to be parallel legislation making the issuance of unaltered pet licenses for non roaming pets a “shall issue.”

[DuncanWaring]

SB 250 also requires that roaming cats be spayed and neutered by their owner/guardian.

Preferable to require that roaming cats not roam.

[Dixie Yooper]

I was wondering how the California Assembly was going to solve it’s budget problems...

[Ben Mugged]

I probably shouldn't weigh in on this issue but what the heck.

IMHO this is necessary legislation. I have always owned both dogs and cats. I have always adopted them from shelters and they have always been spayed/neutered. The local animal shelter is overflowing with dogs and cats that folks dumped there for various reasons. Local breeders are irresponsibly and recklessly breeding their dogs producing inferior breeds in favor of quantity to feed the puppy frenzy and for the almighty buck. These folks need to be shut down. The honest responsible breeders will go the extra mile to get the necessary paperwork and the value of their careful husbandry will increase. In this area we get a lot of puppy's illegally imported from Mexico and it is heartbreaking to see the condition they arrive in and the congenital diseases they carry.

Put me in the Governator's court on this one.

[CondorFlight]

All the added expenses to get a pet licensed means that people will just stop getting them—and perhaps stop getting the required vaccinations, too.

This over-regulation is a major step backwards.

[Eva]

Doesn’t California have more pressing issues to work on right now? I can’t believe that the legislature is wasting its time on this puppy mill business right now.

California should start by cutting the salaries at all state colleges and universities by 20%, with a bottom limit of $50,000. Then they should move on to other state empoyees, 20% cut across the board, same as at the colleges and universities. If any of them think that they can make better money in the private sector, let try.

[night reader]

With all of California’s economic woes, I would think the legislature would be working full time on the budget mess. No time to worry about such matters as this,

[pappyone]

If the licenses cost $50,000 each it would go a long way to helping the Cali deficit.

[wac3rd]

Can it be applied to invading foreign nationals?

[Eva]

I guess that Californians just want to drive AKC breeders out of California because they don’t really like dogs. I knew some small breeders when I lived there. My neighbor’s dogs took best of show a few times. It was really a passion for her.

[Stormdog]

“Can it be applied to invading foreign nationals?”

Maybe it should be applied to the California State Assembly first.