Required spaying and neutering?

[ariastar]

Required spaying and neutering?

Assembly Bill 1634, the California bill that will require any dog or cat over the age of four months to be spayed or neutered will be revised with even more burdensome requirements. The bill still does not make any provision for animals in the state only for a short time or those who are competing in a dog show or event. It is imperative that clubs, fanciers and responsible dog owners work together to oppose this legislation.

AB 1634 will be heard by the Assembly Business and Professions Committee on April 10th. Letters need to be sent to the committee to ensure that your opposition is noted for the official bill analysis. Please click here to be taken directly to the contact information for the committee consultants. If you have already submitted a letter you do NOT need to send an additional letter addressing the amended version.

The NEW REQUIREMENTS would allow an owner to purchase an intact animal permit (for an unspecified amount) only if one of the following conditions is met:

* The breeder is licensed by the local jurisdiction, including proof of a business license, Federal and State tax number or other valid information as determined by the local jurisdiction.
* The owner provides proof of EACH of the following:
o The dog has competed in at least one legitimate dog show or sporting competition in the past two years, as determined by the local jurisdiction.
o That the cat or dog is of a valid breed as recognized by a registry approved by the local jurisdiction.
o The dog has earned or is in the process of earning a conformation, obedience, agility, carting, herding, protection, rally, sporting, working or other title from a purebred registry as recognized by the local jurisdiction.

* The dog is or is being trained for use by law enforcement agencies or meets the definition of a service dog, guide dog or signal dog as defined by the California State Penal Code.
* The dog is trained and used by law enforcement agencies as a search and rescue dog.
* The owner provides a letter for a licensed veterinarian stating that due to age, health, or illness it is unsafe to spay or neuter the animal. The letter must include the veterinarian’s license number and the date by which the animal can by spayed or neutered if at all possible.

This draconian legislation would drastically restrict the rights of responsible dog owners and will lead to conflicting ordinances all across the state. A registry that is accepted in one city may not be accepted by the neighboring county. The requirements for a breeder license may also differ from place to place.

[rabidbadger]

Everything about this is stupid. Stupid, stupid.

[ryudo]

All idiot humans should be spayed or neutered

[comhcinc]

cool with me

[ariastar]

My thoughts

I can understand needing to reduce the number of animals in shelters, but the only way to enforce a law like this will be when animals are registered. Basically it will end up punishing those following the law. If someone won't spay or neuter, that person just won't register. So really, the law-abiding people are the ones who will have to pay.

Purebreeds will be driven to the black market. Animals born will be so inferior because the breeders won't be taking the animals in for regular check-ups and vaccinations. In fact, because it's so easy to tell that a male hasn't been neutered, the rate of vaccinations will drop among males even more than females, and a rabid dog biting someone wouldn't be a good, thing, and is even worse when an easy vaccination would have prevented it.

A better idea would be a tax break for spaying and neutering, or having the cost of having it done be a tax rebate. It's be cheaper than dealing with opening more shelters. This is a far more attractive idea than forcing people and threatening them with heavy fines.

[electricalburn]

everything is all about money

[tokenuser]

As a longtime dog owner (I have had a pure bred dog of one breed or another since 1974), I see NOTHING wrong with the proposed legislation.

Unwanted puppies/kittens are often just dumped. Anything to stop that practice.

Originally Posted by AriaStar

o The dog has earned or is in the process of earning a conformation, obedience, agility, carting, herding, protection, rally, sporting, working or other title from a purebred registry as recognized by the local jurisdiction.

My sister shows dogs (agility training - her dogs aren't exactly pure bred they are cattle dogs and love to play), has worked in vet surgeries, and is a volunteer for a wildlife rescue group (she specialises in bats - kinda creepy). Access to the dog club is pretty easy, requirements are pretty lax - but membership to groups like that (and a lab would LOVE the environment) is pretty easy and would satisfy the obedience/agility criteria.

If you plan on breeding pure bred, then you would need to be registered with the kennel club, so that is another avenue to certify that you are OK.

[rabidbadger]

Originally Posted by Ryudo

All idiot humans should be spayed or neutered

Well then who would I talk to here other than Aria? Jeepers.

[ariastar]

Oh, last night a lady on the news said, "Animals are animals, and what they are supposed to do is grow up and have puppies and kittens." I wanted to smack her. People like her are the ONLY reason that this law doesn't sound strict ENOUGH. I wonder how many kids she has. Humans were also meant to have babies, but we use BIRTH CONTROL.

[ariastar]

Originally Posted by rabidbadger

Well then who would I talk to here other than Aria? Jeepers.

YOU ROCK!!

FWIW, I'm almost the equivalent of spayed anyway, which is part of why animals are so important to me and even dressed up like babies.