Please contact local reps to prevent this from passing!
I just received this on my legislative alert group and thought someone on here
may be interested - hope it's ok to post these :)
Rep. Brad Hill sponsored H 1948, a bill related to Dangerous Dogs in this
session. The bill was excellent and was supported by both The
Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and The National Animal Interest
Alliance. The bill basically defined what a dangerous dog was without
regard to breed and imposed strict penalties on irresponsible owners.
The bill went to the Municipalities Committee and was sent to study.
However, on July 28 part of the bill was recommitted to Municipalities
and that committee produced H. 5092 which is no longer a dangerous dog
bill, it is something of an anti-dog bill. H 5092 seems to have
collected the worst provisions of every bad dog bill filed in the US
this year. It is just awful! It needs to be killed.
H 5092 does not resemble Rep. Hill's
bill in any way. Because of the procedural issues involved, there will
be no public hearing on this totally different and really awful bill
which essentially means that those who will be affected do not have an
opportunity to state their objections to any committee in a hearing
format. That's why we need everyone to contact people on the committees
listed at the end of this email as well as your own Representative. It
is urgent that you do so! The bill we are told either has just come
from the Municipalities committee or is about to come out and go to the
Steering and Policy Committee. Steering is the Committee that assigns
the bill to a sesion of the legislature. Once in Steering, it could be
moved to a vote very quickly. What we need is for Represntatives to
object to the bill both to the committee on Steering or on the House
Floor. We also need to contact the Municipalities Committee and object.
Among the provisions of this bill that are objectionable:
1. Mandatory spay/neuter of all dogs over 12 mos. This will adversely affect
responsible hobby dog breeders who are Massachusetts residents and will force
many of those seeking
purebred pets to go to other states because there will be fewer
well-bred home-raised dogs available in Massachusetts.
We all know MSN does not work where there are problems and
Massachusetts does not have problems. That is why shelters are able to
import tens of thousands of strays to sell here every year!
2.
Intact animal permit at a cost of $500 per dog per year. Only a few
wealthy dog owners will be able to afford this onerous tax. Again,
small Massachusetts breeders will be penalized even though they are the
best local source of healthy puppies.This is a copy cat of what was
originally poposed in Dallas
3.To qualify for intact permit: you have to
a. belong to a purebred dog club with a code of ethics for breeding that
restricts breeding of dogs with genetic defects (which are not defined) and
the club has to be approved by the city
or town. Since no clubs have been approved, again, breeders will be
adversely affected.
b. have to complete a course on responsible pet ownership approved
by the city or town. Cities or towns do not have such classes. In
Massachusetts you do not have to take a responsible parenting class to
have a baby.
4.
You can't breed more than one litter a year from a bitch with minor
exceptions or if you don't follow the law to letter. This means the
state is arbitrarily usurping the husbandry decisions that should be
made by the dog's owner and their veterinarian.
5. Sale of
puppies has to be reported to the town. This means towns will have to
be involved in more record keeping. Dogs are not firearms but are being
treated as though they were in this bill.
6. Dogs cannot be tethered (no allowance for sled dogs or hunting dogs)
for more than 3 hours out of 24 hours. Racing Sled dogs are routinely
tethered and some hunting dogs are also tethered. This provision is one
sponsored by PETA to make dog ownership more difficult.
7:
Any town can ban any breed they wish to ban and can establish a
committee of 3 to name breeds they wish to ban. This anti-dog provision
means that owners of purebred dogs must live in fear that their breed will be
banned. This is a
constitutional issue because people do have the right of enjoyment of
their private property. Rep. Hill's original bill was a very good
generic dangerous dog bill which did not penalize dogs by breed and
this one specifically does.
8. Requires vaccinations for
permits including Leptospirosis. Many veterinarians recommend dogs not
be vaccinated with this vaccine because of side effects and lack of
efficacy. Vaccinations have to be certified by a vet. Owners of
multiple dogs often vaccinate their dogs themselves with the exception
of rabies which under law has to be administered by a vet. Asking for
all vaccinations to be done by a vet will make it financially very
difficult to own multiple dogs. Watch your vet bill go up if you do
your own shots!
9. If a dog is declared a nuisance (including
but not limited to: running at large, barking for a sustained time,
digging, scratching or defecating off its property) it can be ordered
neutered, banished, or destroyed along with a fine. This is draconian
at best.
10. Animal Control personnel or those designated as such can seize or impound
any animal
they believe is dangerous. This is a vague provision which gives
governmental agencies the right to seize property on suspicion.
11.
If your dog is seized and you appeal and then lose, you pay costs of
housing and care of the dog and the town can put a lien on your house
or add it to your car excise tax.
For all these reasons, H 5092 would be extremely bad public policy.
Please
write something in your own words. That is really important. Be sure to
sign your note and give your full contact information.
Here are links to the Committees involved:
http://www.mass. gov/legis/ comm/h52. htm
http://www.mass. gov/legis/ comm/j10. htm
Hollie
www.holliesangelpups.com
**Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a
pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly
used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming, "Wow, what a ride!!!"**
