from: Stephanie Hart [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dee Unrau's email is not working and she wanted me to post this new legislation. Steph ****** In a federal decision just handed down days ago, the USDA, having been sued by the Doris Day Foundation, is now being required by law to require hobby/show breeders to be regulated the same way that puppy mills and brokers are. In effect, we will now be required to be licensed with the USDA and be subjected to the same inspections as the puppy mills. Many of you may say that this is good, it's about time. But think about this: The new regulations require that anyone with more than 3 intact females or sell puppies which GROSS more than $500 in one year (not NET) will be required to be a USDA licensed breeder. Since most puppies sold by reputable breeders cost at least $500 EACH, this will affect us all, even if we only have one intact bitch. You still don't see the problem? Breeding stock is not allowed to be in the house. They are required to be housed as "livestock". Also, the males must be separated from the females at all times. The USDA has certain requirements for housing including cage and pen sizes, as well as flooring. Carpet is not an approved flooring. Dogs are not allowed free access to dog yards. There must be regular "exercise periods" and then confinement. How will this affect breeders like me? Number one: Rose, if she is not spayed for whatever reason, will have to be separated from Dani physically and permanently. They will have to be crated at certain times during the day, and can not have their carpets. I will never be able to raise puppies in the house like I've always done, and the government can come in and pull my license for such an infraction as letting Rose and Dani run together in the yard, or sleep on their carpets. Supposedly, the USDA's information will come from AKC registration so, what do you think will happen? Most of the commercial breeders/puppy mills and now, backyard breeders, use the farce registries such as the APRI, Continental Kennel Club, and a couple of others to register dogs. The AKC requires DNA testing now for registrations and these scum don't want to have anything to do with the expense of DNA testing since they mass produce (and mass falsify records) so they use sham registries that take their word for it that they are who they say they are. If the USDA bases their regulations on AKC records, only the reputable, smaller breeders, will be affected as they only use the AKC registry. So, it draws all of us into the same cesspool as the commercial breeders. The AKC is planning an appeal of this decision. With enough public outcry, there is a chance that this legislation can be overturned, which it should be. If the reputable, small time breeders are forced out by the new regulations, who do you think will be the suppliers of pet dogs? Do we really want this to happen? Folks, this is not the answer. Here are some links to the legislation, AKC's position, and USDA requirements for breeding kennels. I know I certainly do not want to be included in the same sewer as the puppy mills. This will not solve the shelter problems nationwide. The people who are producing the animals that end up in shelters are the only ones who will be supplying the pet market in the future. A reputable breeder takes all the necessary steps to assure that the puppies they produce never end up in shelters, and they get good, loving forever homes. That may someday be a thing of the past if this legislation is not overturned. http://www.naiatrust.org/DDALvsUSDA/dalvsusda.htm http://www.akc.org/love/dip/legislat/usda_ddal_case.cfm http://www.aphis.usda.gov/oa/pubs/inspect.html Dee Unrau ========================================================= "Magic Commands": to stop receiving mail for awhile, click here and send the email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20NOMAIL to start it up gain click here: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]?body=SET%20CKCS-L%20MAIL E-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] for assistance. Search the Archives... http://apple.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ckcs-l.html All e-mail sent through CKCS-L is Copyright 1999 by its original author.
