Kern County Scuttles
Spay/Neuter Mandate
Showdown May Happen Soon On Statewide Bill
by JOHN YATES
The American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
asda@csonline.net
BAKERSFIELD, CAL – The Kern County, CA, Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously rejected a proposed ordinance that would mandate spaying or neutering all dogs and cats.
County Supervisors Mike Maggard, Ray Watson, Don Maben and Jon McQuiston said they oppose any kind of mandatory pet sterilization ordinance, but said they would consider some voluntary options to reduce the number of roaming animals and shelter euthanasia deaths. They will discuss these voluntary measures at a meeting set for August 26.
The Supervisors said they were opposed to any ordinance that unfairly penalizes law-abiding dog owners in Kern County.
Their decision came after strong opposition to the ordinance by the local Humane Society. The county’s animal control advisory board split on the issue and did not endorse the ordinance.
Humane Society spokesperson Susan Bennett told the Supervisors that mandatory pet sterilization is doomed to fail in the absence of truly effective low-cost or no-cost voluntary spay and neuter programs.
“We believe that those who can afford it, do,” Bennett said. “Those who can't afford it, don’t.”
Several national animal rights groups with radical agendas threw their full weight behind the proposed ordinance, but failed to convince the county supervisors. Los Angeles Animal Control Commissioner Ed Boks, the Humane Society of the United States’ western states director, and representatives of the Defense of Animals organization spoke in favor of the ordinance.
A reported three local people were among the group of ordinance supporters who attended the meeting. A packed chamber of local people attended the meeting in opposition to the ordinance.
Kern County Animal Control Commissioner Janice Anderson asked the supervisors to vote against mandatory spay neuter.
She said the Supervisors should not punish citizens who are responsible breeders because some people are irresponsible.
“This is really an irresponsible ownership issue that were dealing with,” Anderson said
Anderson has been appointed by the supervisors to a new commission charged with studying ways to increase licensing law compliance and assure more accurate shelter statistics.
All of the people who spoke against the ordinance were Kern County residents, with the exception of Cathie Turner from the Concerned Dog Owners of California (CDOC). CDOC has been at the forefront of efforts to halt spay and neuter mandates in California, and lends its assistance to local people.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance researched animal control issues in Kern County, and made our reports available to thousands of Californians. Our reports showed clearly that a spay/neuter mandate would do nothing to solve the problems, and in fact would make them worse, based on the experience of several other municipalities. We also contacted the supervisors with the facts discovered in our independent investigation.
Statewide Legislation
Thus far, dog ownership advocates have been able to bottle up statewide legislation in the House Local Government Committee. The legislature rejected the bill (AB 1634) last year, but its sponsor, Rep. Lloyd Levine, promised to make some changes in the package and vowed to try again this year.
Levine was defeated by a two-to-one margin in the state Senate primary election last week, following strong opposition from dog owners’ organizations, including CDOC and the American Sporting Dog Alliance.
AB 1634 is not on the committee’s agenda for its next meeting, June 18, and the agenda is closed, committee sources said.
The last chance for this legislation to be discussed by the committee in on June 25. It also is Levine’s last chance to offer amendments to make changes in the bill.
The legislative session expires at the end of the month, which will effectively kill the bill if the committee does not advance it on June 25.
Defeating AB 1634 has been a top priority for CDOC, ASDA and several other organizations.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, hobby breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life. Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. Our email is ASDA@csonline.net. The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.
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