Re: High Drama Faces Texas Dog Owners

On May 20, 6:52 pm, Alex Vitek <alex...@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
At 12:53 PM 5/19/2009, rigger wrote:

Sounds to me like legislation is needed to control out-of-limit
commercial breeders who claim they're not a business.

The call by this poster to ignore all limits on owned breeders
shows us the polarity of this pos`

Co-Moderator mode on:

Exactly what lines in the quoted message are you  referring to???

Please, there is no need to quote the entire contents of the message
that you are replying to. Try to follow some sort of internet
protocol and have your reply be longer than the quoted text in your message.

and now the Co-Moderaotr mode off.

Alex Vitek
----
Newsgroup Co-Moderator - rec.hunting

The rec.hunting archives:  http://listserv.tamu.edu/archives/hunting.html

High Drama Faces Texas Dog Owners

by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
a...@xxxxxxxxxxx


This article is archived at: http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index.cgi?
action=display&board=general&thread=40


AUSTIN, TX – Legislation severely regulating the breeding of dogs in
Texas
is racing through the Senate faster than a Texas twister, with at
least as
much turbulence.


For dog owners facing the threat of animal rights legislation, the
past
week was nothing less than high drama, and this week promises more of
the
same. One way or another, the roller coaster for dog owners will be
over
in 10 days, and the pressure has been turned on high before that
deadline
passes.


It is urgent that Texas dog owners take immediate action on two pieces
of
legislation that are at critical stages tomorrow (Tuesday, May 19,
2009):


· The Senate Criminal Justice Committee has scheduled a hearing
on
House Bill 3180 for tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. in hearing room E1.016.
Sen.
John Whitmire of Houston, who introduced identical legislation in the
Senate, chairs the committee. This repressive bill passed the House by
a
119-30 margin, with one abstention. If it passes a committee vote, it
will
face the full House.


· And animal rights group supporters played a dirty political
trick
by inserting kennel legislation into an unrelated business licensing
bill
for barbers, which was hijacked in the Senate. The rules were
suspended
and the vote came in the middle of the night - with no notice, no
public
hearing and no chance for debate. This measure, HB 2310, already
passed
the house, but the Senate amendments now must receive House
concurrence.
The head of the conference committee, Rep. Ed Kuempel of Sequin, vowed
to
kill the animal rights amendment. However, Kuempel collapsed of an
apparent heart attack this week and remains in critical condition.
Thus,
the current status of the conference committee’s position on the
legislation is not known.


· The third bill appears to be in limbo at present.


The situation in Texas is confusing, even to seasoned observers. In
short,
there are three pieces of legislation that would have a serious
negative
impact on hobby breeders, and the legislative session expires in 10
days.
If the bills are not passed in 10 days, they will die in committee.
If
they do pass, the will be sent to Gov. Rick Perry to sign into law or
veto.


There will be action tomorrow on HB 3180 in the Senate Criminal
Justice
Committee, and action could occur at any moment on HB 2310.


Thus, the American Sporting Dog Alliance is urging all Texas dog
owners to
act immediately to urge the defeat of this onerous legislation in the
Senate. If you fail to act, the future of dog ownership in Texas may
be
doomed.


We work closely with Responsible Pet Owners Alliance of Texas, and
urge
dog owners to also support this fine organization, which has been
fighting
hard to defend your rights against this year’s unprecedented threats.


Here is what HB 3180 calls for:


· The original bill defined everyone who owns 11 or more female
dogs
that are intact a commercial breeder, subject to intense regulation.
Rep.
Kuempel succeeded in expanding this to 11 or more females that produce
20
or more litters per year. However, we continue to oppose any
numerical
limits to dog ownership, as commercial kennels already are heavily
regulated on the federal level, and other kennels already are subject
to
stringent animal cruelty and neglect laws in Texas.


· The possession of more than 50 intact females would be
prohibited.
We oppose numerical limits because the number of dogs has nothing to
do
with the quality of their care, and is an unwarranted intrusion on
personal property rights.


· It allows counties and municipalities to impose more strict
regulations. We oppose this because it would create chaos and is an
unreasonable restriction on business that has no purpose.


· The state would establish a list of qualifications for a
kennel
owner, who also would be subjected to a criminal background check.
Applicants for licenses would have to receive state-approved training
as
well. We oppose this provision because it is an unwarranted intrusion
on
the right to privacy that has nothing to do with the quality of care
given
to dogs. Moreover, state agencies lack the competence, experience and
knowledge to set reasonable standards and qualifications for kennel
ownership, or to conduct training. Kennel owners already are the
experts
in these matters.


· Annual inspections would be required, and more frequent
inspections are allowed. This is an unnecessary intrusion on kennels
that
already are inspected by a team of federal officials at least once a
year.
In addition, inspections could be conducted by state employees,
animal
control officers, law enforcement officers and a new category
called “registered breeder inspectors,” which is ambiguously defined
in
the legislation. Thus, any kennel could be literally harassed by many
inspections every year, and we are deeply concerned that “registered
breeder inspectors” will be contracted Humane Society employees who
may
have close ties to radical animal rights groups whose agenda is to
drive
kennels out of business. License holders and applicants would have to
pay
for the cost of these inspections. Licensees’ homes also would be open
to
inspection.


· The state would be empowered to require insurance, and there is
no
legislative oversight for the amount and kind of insurance required.
Thus,
the state could impose impossible or prohibitive requirements.


· An advisory committee would be established to create
additional
regulations and enforcement standards. Membership in this committee
would
allow or encourage dominance by animal rights radicals who despise
dog
owners and lack competence and expertise. There would be no
legislative
oversight of this powerful regulatory authority, which literally would
be
given a blank check.


· Each kennel owner would be required to keep extensive paperwork
on
the kennel and each animal. Also, many regulations about standards of
care
and housing are very ambiguous and open to subjective interpretation
by
enforcement officers, judges and animal rights extremists.


· License holders and applicants would be denied the
constitutional
right of appeal to the courts for any license denial, revocation or
suspension, or for possibly severe financial penalties imposed for
even
minor or purely technical violations. High civil penalties (these are
not
fines, but require a licensee to pay a high financial penalty that
would
be cumulative and have the strong potential to destroy a family
financially) also are imposed. For example, if a kennel has 30 dogs,
the
lack of one piece of required paperwork would call for 30 different
financial civil penalties for every day of violation – up to 900
penalties
a month for one missing form!


· A “lemon law” is included to make the breeder reimburse a
dissatisfied buyer for the cost of a puppy and costs of medical care.
The
original bill set no limits on reimbursement, but an approved House
amendment by Rep. Kuempel limits this to three times the price of the
puppy. However, the bill still contains no protection for the breeder
against unreasonable allegations and fraud by the purchaser or a
veterinarian.


· And Humane Societies and animal shelters are exempted from any
provision of the bill, even though they transfer ownership of
thousands of
dogs a year. However, rescue groups are included and may be regulated
as
commercial kennels.


Here is a link to the actual text of the legislation:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/tlodocs/81R/billtext/pdf/HB03180E.pdf


The American Sporting Dog Alliance urges all Texas dog owners to
immediately contact members of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee
prior
to tomorrow’s meeting, and express strong opposition and a summary of
your
reasons for opposing HB 3180.


Here is a link to the members of the committee:
http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Committees/Membership.aspx .


Position Member
Chair: Sen. John Whitmire (companion bill sponsor)
Vice Chair: Sen. Kel Seliger
Members: Sen. John Carona
Sen. Rodney Ellis
Sen. Glenn Hegar
Sen. Juan Hinojosa
Sen. Dan Patrick


To get full contact information, click on each name, then click to get
to
their home pages. There will be an email form on each home page, but
we
strongly suggest phone calls and faxes before the hearing.


Also, please contact your own senator and ask her or him to oppose HB
3180
if it passes the committee and is sent to the full Senate. Here is a
list
of all senators: http://www.legis.state.tx.us/Members/Members.aspx?
Chamber=S . Click on the name of your senator, and then click again on
his
or her homepage to get contact information.


The “Other” Breeding Bill


Sen. Whitmire, the chairman of the above Criminal Justice Committee
and
sponsor of an identical breeding bill, took his campaign to place
severe
restrictions on kennels a step farther last week.


Whitmire essentially hijacked an unrelated House bill about licensing
barbers (HB 2310, sponsored by Rep. Kuempel) and attached about two-
thirds
of his kennel bill to it as an amendment.


Then, Whitmire convinced the Senate leadership to suspend the rules,
brought the bill up for a vote in the middle of the night, got it
passed
by the Senate and sent it back to the House for concurrence. The
House
already had passed the part about barbers.


Whitmire’s amendment restores the 11-dog definition of a commercial
kennel, and does not include the amendment limiting the amount of
compensation to a dissatisfied puppy buyer.


HB 2310 was sent back to the House for concurrence. However, the
House
Conference Committee, chaired by Rep. Kuempel, refused to accept the
amendment. Then, Kuempel collapsed and was rushed to the hospital.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Paws and hunting
    ... Many of you have probably already heard about the bill, ... "Senator Santorum Introduces Legislation to Protect Pets ... injunctions against unlicensed dog and cat dealers. ... You can also go to the senate web site for the committee on ...
    (rec.hunting)
  • PA Zoning Embraces Animal Rights
    ... PA Animal Rights Activists Manipulate ... Zoning Ordinances To Stop Kennels ... an American Sporting Dog Alliance investigation shows. ... to customers who come to his kennel, and does not want to sell to dealers ...
    (rec.hunting)
  • Re: Dog & Bike Stories Wanted
    ... Unless the animal is a well worked dog or has had the chase trained ... There were children out yet the dog hit me so hard he knocked me off the ... You are so hard Bill. ... make sure he got there and was marked as a biting 'put down'. ...
    (rec.bicycles.misc)
  • Re: Why all this piano clique posting here?
    ...  The result:  Fewer and fewer posts. ... No, that wasn't Fred's dog. ... the UPS man" and Bill and Sonia had to settle the UPS complaint. ... Bill and Sonia took in feral cats. ...
    (rec.music.classical.recordings)
  • Re: Resource aggression
    ... That's not unusual in a kennel setting. ... The dog had been moved from the public viewing area, ... However, the shelter does let ... I assume he displays some pretty good bite inhibition, ...
    (rec.pets.dogs.behavior)