SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/
The anti-pet movement has found a sponsor in the California legislature
for a bill that strips pet owners of their traditional rights and, in
the process, sharply reduces both the quantity and quality of
purpose-bred dogs and cats -- including those bred for assistance to the
disabled, and for search & rescue operations.
AB 1634 is backed by the extremist group People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals (PETA) and sponsored by Assembly Member Lloyd
Levine (D-Van Nuys). If it passes, most California pet owners will have
to sterilize their pets.
"This bill comes with a noble-sounding name but AB 1634, the so-called
California Healthy Pets Act, will not improve the health of California
pets," says Patti Strand, National Director of the National Animal
Interests Alliance, one of the nation's most respected animal welfare
groups.
The bill is fraught with unintended consequences. Among them: a
predictable flood of unregulated -- and typically unhealthy -- dogs from
Mexico, already the proven source of up to 10,000 illegal dogs sent to
California each year according to US Customs and Border Protection:
(CBP Today - June/July 2006 - Smuggled puppies a concern to California)
"In a global marketplace," according to Strand, "over-regulating the AKC
and CFA hobby breeders who are the best source of healthy,
well-socialized, home-raised puppies and kittens, creates a vacuum,
effectively 'outsourcing' pet production to other countries that don't
come close to reaching US standards of animal health, care or quality."
The increasing demand for puppies has also led to the importation of
strays rescued from foreign countries that are being marketed through
non-profit organizations like The Animal Place (Animal Place - Home page) and
Compassion Without Borders (Welcome to Compassion Without Borders International Animal Welfare Organization). This influx harms California
consumers and poses a significant public health threat.
Despite the claims of the bill's supporters, many respected California
veterinarians oppose AB 1634, including one the state's most
distinguished vets. Dr. John Hamil is past president of the California
Veterinary Medical Association, founder of the California Council of
Companion Animal Advocates that sponsored biannual Pet Overpopulation
Symposia (now the Animal Care Conference), member of the American
Veterinary Medical Association's Animal Welfare Committee and the
National Council on Pet Population Study and Policy and author of the
CVMA and AVMA positions on early spay/neuter.
Dr. Hamil, a leader in spay/neuter programs, terms AB 1634 "divisive
legislation [that] will not help and may aggravate the situation."
Noting that young puppies and kittens are not biologically mature enough
for spaying and neutering in many cases, Dr. Hamil states: "It is
inappropriate to mandate a controversial and possibly life-threatening
surgical procedure."
Also strongly opposed to AB 1634 is Sharon Vanderlip, DVM, former
shelter animal veterinary clinician and surgeon, a longtime advocate of
voluntary spaying and neutering. "This bill is not a 'healthy' pet act,"
said Dr. Vanderlip. "It will not help animals or improve their health.
It will not reduce the shelter animal population. It will not reduce the
number of animal euthanasias. To the contrary, the number of animals in
shelters and the number of euthanasias will increase as people who
cannot afford to alter their pets, or pay fines associated with
non-compliance, will abandon their animals, relinquish them to shelters,
or have them euthanized. This has already happened in municipalities
that attempted similar legislation."
Christian Osmond, DVM, board-certified veterinary surgeon, opposes the
bill on similar grounds. Dr. Osmond says he cannot reconcile his
professional oath to "above all else ... do no harm" with programs that
place political agendas above sound veterinary practice, a priority that
could put pets at risk.
Canine Companions for Independence, an organization supporting
assistance dogs for the disabled, opposes AB 1634 because even with
exemptions for today's carefully supervised dogs, the bill's long-term
effects would greatly reduce genetic diversity and threaten the
existence of their breeding program.
Law enforcement groups -- representing tens of thousands of uniformed
officers -- oppose AB 1634 because it will drastically reduce the future
supply of dogs suitable for apprehending criminal suspects and
performing vital Homeland Security tasks.
(Letters Opposing AB*1634). The U.S. Congress has recognized the
critical need to breed more dogs for Homeland Security work with pending
legislation HR 659. AB 1634 would send this important bipartisan effort
into a tailspin. "AB 1634 would shrink the pool of dogs that are
suitable for search and rescue, undermining our ability to do this
life-saving work," says Laura Sanborn, California K9 search and rescue
volunteer.
The Mixed Breed Dog Clubs of America supports spay and neuter programs
and in fact requires compliance for all MBDCA registered dogs. But
president Cindy Leung said that AB 1634 will not solve the problem it
claims to address. Instead, she said, the bill "punishes organizations,
animal shelters, businesses and responsible breeders that have been
among the few sources of education in regard to responsible pet
ownership and breeding. Over 87% of animals relinquished to shelters are
there due to behavioral problems; if California truly wants to solve the
pet overpopulation problem it should promote training and behavior
education rather than mandatory spay and neuter."
Animal shelter studies demonstrate that pet owners are well on their way
to solving the pet population problems of yesterday. Today, California's
largest animal problem is feral cats (cats without owners); but AB 1634
establishes no programs for these cats. Worse yet, it imposes penalties
on cat breeders who breed and place their kittens with care.
NAIA director Strand notes that AB 1634's chief advocates claim they
have "no relationship to animal extremists." However, PETA operatives
play key roles in Social Compassion, a sister group to the bill's public
supporter, CA Healthy Pets Coalition.
"Beyond AB 1634 itself, the issue at stake is responsible political
process," NAIA's Strand concludes. "Will the California Assembly rely on
the expertise of the state's animal professionals - including leading
veterinarians, experts in law enforcement and service dog breeding
programs, dedicated breed enthusiasts, animal welfare groups, the
leading organizations for cats and dogs like Cat Fanciers Association
(CFA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC), county Boards of Supervisors,
and other respected individuals and organizations - or will they listen
to groups that oppose all pets, healthy or not?"
"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men
of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis
For more information contact:
National Animal Interest Alliance
Patti Strand, National Director
503-761-8962
naia@naiaonline.org
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