This is the scary mandatory spay/neuter legislation we are fighting in Dallas right now. If this passes and goes to surrounding cities as well, it will have a DEVASTATING impact on the German Spitz in the US, as 2 of the 5 active breeders in the US are located here. We do not yet have a breed club at all, let alone one with a COE.
If you live in Dallas, or even if you just love dogs, please write to the Dallas city council and protest this law!
Permission given to cross post.
This article is written by Joyce Miller of Dallas, Texas. Be sure to read
the last line a second time.
Right now, animal rights people have fanned out across the country to make
what got tabled in California happen city by city, town by town, state by
state. The approach is to local animal services organization; the agenda is
new animal laws that will have a startling effect on our ability to enjoy
our dogs. The AR volunteers work within the animal services in city after
city, town after town, to get a proposed law put together that is extreme to
say the least, and they can do all of this within animal services without
worrying about open meeting laws. After all, the AR people are simply
volunteers helping the staff. By the time a community gets any inkling that
these laws are about to hit the stage, it's just about too late to stop
them. At the most, people try to get some of the most severe terms relaxed.
Right now, there is a law proposed in Florida to make collecting animal
semen illegal.
Now that I have your attention, let me share with you what is currently
being recommended in Dallas, what Animal Services and the
City Council are assuming will be law by the end of the month, and to date,
nothing in the local newspapers, the local news programs, or
even a copy of the actual proposed law. Unlike San Antonio, the previous
last city to fall to these tactics, the AKC kennel club registered in
Dallas, the Texas Kennel Club, has hired an animal lawyer to help them fight
this legislation. But to date, without any news coverage, very few residents
know what is about to happen and how it will affect their enjoyment of their
dogs.
1. Pet limits. Dallas has never had limits on the number of pets a
resident may own. As with most communities, there are plenty of laws
on the books that can handle households that have too many pets that
are creating a neighborhood nuisance or constituting cruelty to
animals. Under the proposed new laws, the limit will be either five or
six pets (no one seems able to get a consistent reading on the
number). That is dogs, cats or combination in a single family home.
2. Mandatory spay neuter by four months of age. Owner of unspayed or
unneutered dogs and cats over 4 months of age commits an offense if
the owner does not have a Breeder Permit issued annually for each
individual animal. (Only dog and cat show breeders qualify for this
permit). Owner cannot have a say in their dog being put under
anesthesia, being made a perennial puppy by losing the hormones needed
for balanced growth of body and mind, etc.
3. Breeder permits/licenses (and the only article that has mentioned
anything about this law was a quote by the acting director of animal
services, a man who has won an award of some kind of merit from PeTA:
in that article, this man stated that he would not allow any breeder
permits in residential neighborhoods). So what will a breeder license
look like in Dallas if the law is passed without changes. It appears
that there will be:
A. Breeder permit/license to keep an intact dog or cat. Breeders
can apply to Animal Services for a breeder permit/license. Such
applications must be approved by the director of Animal Services.
B. Each dog or cat approved for a permit must be registered with
a national registry (approved by the animal services director) AND
whose owner is a member of a purebred dog or cat club (also approved
by the animal services director). The club must have a code of ethics
restricting breeding dogs and cats with genetic defects and life
threatening health problems for approval.
C.The breeder permit will be $500 annually for EACH intact
animal; the animal's license will be an additional fee.
D. This permit will not be available to any other pet owner. And
as mentioned above, it is unlikely that the current Animal Services
administration will allow any of these permits/licenses in residential
neighborhoods. This means that sports people, performance people, SAR
people, hunting people will have to have their animals neutered.
E. Anyone who gets a breeder permit agrees that Animal Services
has the right to send in someone to make unannounced inspections of
their premises at any time and the breeders must admit them.
F.. No one else can legally breed animals in Dallas.
4. No tethering of any dogs if the owner is not present.** (This is the primary means of confinement in the areas worst-affected by the stray dog problem- South Dlalas & Oak Cliff- VERY poor, primarily rental neighborhoods. I would rather see a dog tethered than allowed to run loose.)**
5. Confined dogs must have crates or runs or pens that meet
confinement requirements of 150 feet pen size per dog
6. Foster Care Providers must obtain a form from the director to apply
for a permit (notarized by the legal owner and one occupant of the
dwelling unit) to keep up to 10 dogs, cats or any combination which
authorizes unannounced inspections of premises and this permit must be
approved by the director.
When I first read these proposed ideas, I thought that they were
making them so outrageous so they would have wiggle room in order to
reduce things like the permit fee for breeders etc. But given the fact
that hearings are going into their second week (only on Wednesdays),
there has been no media coverage, and proponents are saying that they
expect these to be law by the end of the month, I suspect that the
final law could be quite close to what is outlined above.
The first that I heard about it was in March, and I heard about it
from two people who are very involved with the kennel club and with
getting people to attend hearings. No cost assessments/analyses have
been done. Animal Services is currently underfunded, and the mayor has
made it clear that there will be no increase in their funding for
these laws.
So, here we are discussing different ways of training, recognizing the
work that goes into having an obedience or agility champion, knowing
what the dogs need maturity to participate in any serious sport or
work, and all the while, across the country, more and more of these
laws are becoming law with little or no fanfare.
Here in Dallas, the proponents are saying that this will solve the
problem of loose dogs breeding randomly, but the only people that will
be caught up are the residential breeders whose dogs never run loose
and never breed randomly. With the requirement that a breeder belong
to a breed club approved by animal services, this is also meant to do
away with mixed breeds.
Do, please, check out what may be happening in your city or town, and
be ready to fight for your right to decide when and if your dog will
be neutered, the right of careful breeders to breed to their breed
standards, etc. Dallas breeders and animal lovers are making a valiant
effort, and they are grateful for the help of the Texas Kennel Club,
but this is very, very serious. And it sounds like it will come to a
city or town near you.
For more information, go to http://www.responsiblepetowners.org/Action_Alerts/action_alerts.html