AKC Sells Out Dog Owners
Withdraws Opposition to California's AB 1634,
Which Remains Dangerous To All Pet Owners
by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.american sportingdogallia nce.org
asda@csonline. net
SACRAMENTO, CA – The American Kennel Club Board of Directors voted
unanimously this week to withdraw its opposition to legislation that
will wreak havoc on California dog owners and set a dangerous
precedent for many other states to follow.
It is urgent for all California dog owners to fax their state
senator immediately to clearly state your continued opposition to AB
1634, which is now called the "California Responsible Pet Ownership
Act," as a final Senate vote is expected on Monday, August 18.
Please let your senator know that AKC does not speak for you.
It also is urgent for dog owners in all 50 states to contact AKC
officers today and ask them to publicly renounce this legislation
prior to the Senate vote. It also is appropriate for nonresidents to
let elected officials know what this legislation will mean for
tourism, field trials, performance events and field trials.
If passed into law, this legislation will unleash a reign of terror
against California dog owners by animal rights activists. The result
could be the destruction of a lifetime labor of love for any fancier
who is accused of any violation of any law pertaining to animals.
For example, the amended legislation allows for unproven allegations
to result in the forced sterilization of every dog in a kennel after
three complaints for barking or noise.
Animal rights extremists will find it easy to destroy an entire
kennel through noise ordinances alone. It's easy to make dogs bark,
especially when their owners are not at home. All that it would take
is a phone call to complain to authorities for the civil penalties
to kick in. All of the dogs in a kennel would have to be spayed or
neutered after the third time this happens. It is a dream scenario
for animal rights fanatics.
As with previous versions of the legislation, dog owners will be
denied the right to contest civil penalties in court or to appeal
them. No provisions are contained in the legislation to require a
hearing or allow for an appeal. Civil penalties apply when a
citation is filed.
The AKC negotiated in secret with Rep. Lloyd Levine and agreed to
a "compromise" on AB 1634, which continues to be staunchly opposed
by virtually all kennel clubs and dog owners' organizations in the
state. Levine is allied with some of the most radical animal rights
groups in California, and has stated publicly that he wants to see
almost every dog and cat in the state spayed or neutered.
In cutting the deal with Levine, AKC slapped the face of every
member of its affiliated clubs in California and signaled a
willingness to work against the interests and beliefs of dog owners
nationwide.
As justification for the deal, an AKC announcement said the
legislation simply requires dog owners to follow the law and be
responsible. The American Sporting Dog Alliance rejects this
position, because current laws already address animal control
problems and mandate penalties for noncompliance. There is no reason
to make owners of intact animals into second-class citizens by
imposing a double penalty and endangering their dogs.
Perhaps the greatest error committed by AKC was to create division
and disunity in the ranks of dog owners. This is cause for
celebration among the animal rights groups, as their most successful
tactic has been to divide and conquer animal owners. AKC stumbled
into the trap they set.
Animal rights groups have targeted AKC as the weak link in dog
owners' advocacy groups, and are portraying the lumbering and
toothless giant as the voice of all dog owners. AKC has come under
sharp attack for its main function as a registry for purebred dogs,
and has shown an increasing tendency to compromise with the very
groups that want to destroy it. Animal rights groups oppose dog
breeding in any form and regard every compromise as a victory that
carries them one step closer to their long-range goal of eliminating
animals from American life.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance is asking dog owners in every
state to inform the AKC that compromising our rights of pet
ownership is not acceptable to us, and that we expect the
organization to stand with us on the frontlines of the battle
against animal rights legislation.
Contact information for state senators and AKC officers will be
provided at the bottom of this report.
AKC apparently won two concessions in the "compromise. "
The first is that Levine inserted a provision to exempt nonresidents
from the law if they can prove that their dogs are temporarily in
California for shows, events, training and other legal activities.
Prior versions of the bill would have made it unsafe to bring dogs
into the state for AKC-sanctioned events, which would have hit AKC
in the pocketbook. However, Levine also gained the assurance that
his draconian law would not hurt tourism in California, thus making
it more politically palatable to elected officials.
The "compromise" also eliminated a provision to allow anyone to make
an anonymous complaint about dog owners, which could have led to
citations and forced sterilization.
However, Levine gave up almost nothing in real terms.
Here is a summary of the key points in the current version of AB
1634:
· Any law enforcement official (police, animal control
officers, sheriffs, humane police officers, etc.) is authorized to
file citations for any offense of any existing law or municipal
ordinance pertaining to animals. These include violations of
licensing, leash, animal cruelty and excessive barking laws.
· Citations have two components. The first component is the
alleged violation of existing law, which requires proof and a guilty
plea or verdict to kick in fines or jail terms provided by existing
laws. The second component is for a civil penalty, which kicks in by
the citation itself. No proof or conviction is required for the
civil penalty to apply, and the legislation provides for no way to
challenge or appeal it.
· For dogs, the civil penalty for any citation alleging a
violation of a law is set at $50 for the first offense, $100 plus
mandatory microchipping for the second offense, and mandatory forced
sterilization for a third offense. There is no way to contest or
appeal these civil penalties. For cats, microchipping and
sterilization are mandated for the second offense.
· The legislation also is rife with ambiguity, which would
allow each law enforcement officer, magistrate and judge wide
latitude to interpret the law. One ambiguous part of the legislation
could be interpreted to make the ownership of an intact dog that is
found to be roaming at large a violation of the law. It says: "A
person who owns or possesses within the state any intact dog that is
properly licensed, as required by law, but whose dog is at large may
be cited, and, if cited, shall pay a civil penalty as provided in
this section." A literal reading of that sentence allows people to
be cited for the ownership of an intact dog regardless of the
circumstances. A dog may escape confinement for purely accidental
reasons such as a mail carrier forgetting to close a gate, or a
young child opening a door.
· We expect hunting and field trial dogs to be at the greatest
risk. In theory, it is possible to a hunting or field trial dog that
gets lost to be cited three times for a single occurrence. It could
be cited for roaming at large, not wearing a collar and license tag
(animal rights extremist will stalk field trials and public hunting
areas to remove tags and collars), and for animal cruelty if the dog
is overheated, appears tired or appears thin because of athletic
conditioning.
· The civil penalties would apply to any intact dog that is
not licensed or improperly licensed, which could mean a licensed dog
that slips a collar, or is not wearing a collar and tag at home or
at a dog show or field trial.
· Those two provisions make dog owners especially vulnerable
to tactics used by some animal rights extremists, who often kidnap
dogs and take them to shelters, turn dogs loose and call animal
control officers, or remove the collars and license tags from dogs.
Hunting dogs have been targeted most often by these tactics.
· And the only exemptions for waiving microchipping or
sterilization mandates are a signed statement from a veterinarian
saying that it would endanger the dog's health.
Here is a link to the revised legislation:
http://www.leginfo. ca.gov/pub/ 07-08/bill/ asm/ab_1601-
1650/ab_1634_ bill_20080812_ amended_sen_ v88.html. Please read it for
yourself.
What You Can Do
Please telephone or FAX your California state senator. Let your
senator know that you oppose AB 1634 in its current form, and that
AKC does not represent you on this legislation. Here is a list of
each senator's fax number (courtesy of Cat Fanciers of America).
Because the vote could come early Monday, Faxes are the most
reliable means of communication. Phone calls are a second choice.
California State Senators
Capitol
Capitol
Senator Telephone Fax
------------ --------- ------- ------------ ------------
DEMOCRATS:
Elaine Alquist 916-651-4013 916-324-0283
Ron Calderon 916-651-4030 916-327-8755
Gilbert Cedillo 916-651-4022 916-327-8817
Ellen Corbett 916-651-4010 916-327-2433
Louis Correa 916-651-4034 916-323-2323
Bob Dutton 916-651-4031 916-327-2272
Tom Harman 916-651-4035 916-445-9263
Shiela Kuehl 916-651-4023 916-324-4823
Alan Lowenthal 916-651-4027 916-327-9113
Mike Machado 916-651-4005 916-323-2304
Abel Maldonado 916-651-4015 916-445-8081
Denise Moreno Ducheny 916-651-4040 916-327-3522
Gloria Negrete McLeod 916-651-4032 916-445-0128
Jenny Oropeza 916-651-4028 916-323-6056
Alex Padilla 916-651-4020 916-324-6645
Don Perata 916-651-4009 916-327-1997
Mark Ridley-Thomas 916-651-4026 916-445-8899
Gloria Romero 916-651-4024 916-445-0485
Jack Scott 916-651-4021 916-324-7543
Joseph Simitian 916-651-4011 916-323-4529
Darrell Steinberg 916-651-4006 916-323-2263
Tom Torlakson 916-651-4007 916-445-2527
Edward Vincent 916-651-4025 916-445-3712
Patricia Wiggins 916-651-4002 916-323-6958
Leland Yee 916-651-4008 916-327-2186
REPUBLICANS:
Sam Aanestad 916-651-4004 916-445-7750
Dick Ackerman 916-651-4033 916-445-9754
Roy Ashburn 916-651-4018 916-322-3304
James Battin 916-651-4037 916-327-2187
Dave Cogdill 916-651-4014 916-327-3523
Dave Cox 916-651-4001 916-324-2680
Jeff Denham 916-651-4012 916-445-0773
Dean Florez 916-651-4016 916-327-5989
Dennis Hollingsworth 916-651-4036 916-447-9008
Christine Kehoe 916-651-4039 916-327-2188
Bob Margett 916-651-4029 916-324-0922
Tom McClintock 916-651-4019 916-324-7544
Carole Migden 916-651-4003 916-445-4722
George Runner 916-651-4017 916-445-4662
Mark Wyland 916-651-4038 916-446-7382
Here is the Governor's phone and fax numbers. Please let him know
how you feel.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Phone 916-445-2841 Fax: 916-558-3160
In addition, we are urging dog owners in every state to contact AKC
board members and officers and express your strong disagreement with
the board's decision to withdraw its opposition to AB 1634. Please
ask them to oppose this legislation and make sure that every senator
knows about it before they can vote on Monday.
Here is AKC contact information:
Name Email Alternate Email Telephone
Dennis B. Sprung, President dbs@akc.org 516-637-6567
Ronald H. Menaker, Chairman rhm@akc.org rmenrmen@aol. com
201-848-7042
David C. Merriam, Vice Chairman dcm@akc.org
dmerriam@mindspring .com 760-639-5253
Dr. William R. Newman dansdad@pennswoods. net
Dr. Carmen L. Battaglia clb@akc.org cbattaglia@mindspri ng.com
770-998-3679
Dr. Thomas M. Davies dunwich@samnet. net
Steven D. Gladstone sdg@cwcorgi. com 570-839-2552
Patricia C. Scully pcs@akc.org pat_scully@bd. com 845-
357-1812
Dr. J. Charles Garvin jcg@akc.org jcgarvin@adelphia. net 740-
383-8050
Dr. Patricia H. Haines phh@akc.org ofkpointer@aol. com
Nina Schaefer osakanuc@aol. com pennafeddogclubs@ aol.com
215- 402 9989
Patti L. Strand naia@involved. com NAIA@naiaonline. org 503-
761-1139
Walter F. Goodman wfg@akc.org wfgoodman@mindsprin g.com
305-758-5766
Ken Marden kam@akc.org kmarden@earthlink. net 207-549-4783
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.american sportingdogallia nce.org. Our email is
ASDA@csonline. net. Complete directions to join by mail or online are
found at the bottom left of each page.
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.
PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS
Previous Topic
Index
