July 10, 2008
PA Dog Legislation On Chopping Block

Both Sides Play Political ‘Russian Roulette’ As Clock Runs Out

by JOHN YATES

American Sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

HARRISBURG, PA – Legislation to regulate dog ownership and kennels was stalled off July 5 by a series of political maneuvers in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. These maneuvers might have killed the legislation for this year, but the November election could turn this situation into a high-stakes game of Russian roulette for both sides in 2009.

HB 2525 was bottled up in committee before the Legislature’s summer recess. It can be considered again only during an expected brief fall session, which convenes September 15. The fall session may last only two weeks before the Legislature adjourns again for election-year campaigning. Leaders from both parties have promised not to call a “lame duck” session after the election.

This means that H.B. 2525 must pass both houses of the Legislature during a brief but busy two-week session in September, or it is dead.

Some observers believe that the delaying tactics have effectively killed H.B. 2525, as a two-week session is not enough time to work through more than 100 floor amendments in the House, followed by Senate committee hearings and expected amendments, Senate floor debate and possible amendments, and House concurrence with the results. The Senate, with a Republican majority, is expected to resist some parts of the legislation.

Moreover, legislators and senators may not want to face this inherently divisive and controversial issue only a few weeks before the November election. Elected officials who represent Pennsylvania farm country or areas with a lot of hunters are expected to catch a lot of heat from the voters if they support this legislation. We believe this issue alone has the potential to decide some close political contests in November, and we will be making House and Senate voting records on this legislation known to more than 50,000 Pennsylvanians on our database.

Some representatives of dog owners’ groups are quietly claiming victory, in the belief that the legislation is dead in the water. Gov. Ed Rendell, who strongly supports the legislation, reportedly has expressed outrage over the political maneuvering in the House that derailed it. The Governor is refusing to compromise.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance believes that both views are counterproductive and very risky. We view the next month as an ideal time to forge a fair and honest compromise between both sides that will result in good legislation that protects both the dogs in “puppy mills” and people who own dogs and kennels.

We also see great risks for both sides of this issue if they fail to forge a good compromise before September, because the outcome of the November election could reshuffle all of the political cards in the Legislature. If the Republican Party wins majorities in the state House and Senate, it is likely to end any chance of doing anything to help dogs in large breeding kennels for at least two years. On the other hand, if the Democrats maintain control of the House and win a majority in the Senate, next year’s legislation could impose a far more radical animal rights agenda on dog ownership in Pennsylvania.

We are urging all Pennsylvania dog and kennel owners to play an active role to encourage a workable compromise before the Legislature reconvenes in September. If efforts to seek a fair compromise fail, we have no choice except to urge the House and Senate to completely reject this burdensome and dangerous legislation.

It is vital to contact legislators and senators from both political parties over the coming month. We are urging contacts in person or by phone, followed up by “hard copy” letters. Emails are the least effective form of contact. Links to contact information are provided below.

It is also important to contact legislators who support Rendell’s position, including co-sponsors of H.B. 2525, as their support for fair amendments is critical. In real life politics, “support” sometimes boils down to “non-opposition” to allow the clock to wind down without pushing the legislation to a vote. Thus, please ask supporters of H.B. 2525 to either change it to make it fair, or let it lie dormant until time runs out.

Rendell has only himself to blame for the de facto strategic defeat of HB 2525 in the House.

He caused the defeat through a campaign for the legislation that relied on deceit and did nothing to dispel legitimate concerns of dog owners about the true intentions of several parts of the legislation. Thus far, he has refused to compromise.

Rendell claims that the legislation affects only large commercial kennels (“puppy mills”), but that’s simply not true. Speaking through Secretary of Agriculture Dennis Wolfe and Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement Deputy Director Jessie Smith, Rendell has attempted to conceal the fact that much of HB 2525 applies all kennels and dog owners.

The Governor also erroneously claimed that existing regulations cannot prevent the horrors in Pennsylvania “puppy mills” that were depicted in a recent televised report on the Oprah Winfrey Show. In fact, anyone who has read current state and federal regulations knows that all of the horrible situations shown by Winfrey already are illegal under existing kennel and animal cruelty laws.

Rendell’s credibility also was hurt when it became clear that state officials worked in collusion with Winfrey and animal rights activists to exploit the inhumane conditions shown in the report as a political tool to paint all kennel owners in the worst possible light. A reading of current laws makes it clear that those “puppy mills” have been deliberately protected by the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement and animal rights groups. These bad kennels have been allowed to continue to operate for cynical public relations purposes to gain leverage for the legislation. Innocent dogs have paid a horrible price for this underhanded politicking by Rendell and the animal rights groups.

Those few bad kennels could be shut down immediately, but instead are being protected in order to stir up public sympathy for animal rights legislation.

Several animal rights groups in Pennsylvania jumped on the bandwagon by releasing numerous reports of animal cruelty arrests in order to depict dog and kennel owners as greedy, irresponsible and cruel. These groups deliberately launched a fabricated smear campaign against all kennel and dog owners to create political support for new laws, when in reality their reports proved that existing laws work: the defendants were found guilty and the animals were protected.

Actual court cases for animal abuse and kennel law citations show that existing laws can be very effective if they are enforced. Further proof lies in the fact that there was a 600-percent increase in kennel law citations in 2007, and more than 20 noncompliant kennels were shut down.

In a state with a million dog owners, it is easy to find a dozen bad apples. That is just what the animal rights groups did, in order to lever political pressure to pass unfair new laws that really are aimed at putting good kennels out of business.

These unethical tactics of political deception and dishonesty have created a climate of mistrust that has caused dog owners to fight for their lives against any new legislation that is supported by Rendell. He has violated our trust, and those kinds of wounds are not easy to heal.

As a result, needed improvements in the law probably have been delayed at least until next year.

Some dog owners’ groups see this as a victory, because of the many bad things in H.B. 2525.

We don’t.

We think good legislation should be passed this year.

Pennsylvania has been in turmoil over this issue for two years, and it’s time for trust to be restored and healing to begin. It’s time to do something constructive to help the dogs in large commercial kennels to live better lives. Those dogs deserve better than to wait another year for Rendell to get the message that the vast majority of Pennsylvanians do not want laws that treat conscientious and caring dog owners like criminals.

Both sides on this issue also face substantial risk by waiting until next year. The November election has the potential to alter the balance of political power in the Legislature, as many state political candidates may live or die on the coattails of the two candidates for president.

We also believe that the majority of Pennsylvania’s senators and legislators want to do something now to help dogs in large commercial kennels, as long as it is fair and just to dog and kennel owners.

The Rendell legislation is not the answer, and this fact is becoming increasingly apparent to many senators and representatives.

In the current political climate, we expect H.B. 2525 to pass the House in close to its present form, after substantial and time-consuming debate on the 100-plus amendments. We then expect it to stall in the Senate as time runs out on the 2008 legislative session.

There is a better way.

That way is to make the needed changes now. It would take leaders from both sides of the aisle to introduce an amendment gutting the entire bill, and then replacing it with compromise legislation. An ideal scenario would be for Rep. James Casorio (D-Westmoreland) to join with Rep. Robert Bastian (R-Somerset) to co-sponsor the required amendments. Casorio introduced the legislation for Rendell, and Bastian (a licensed veterinarian) has played a major role in attempting to amend it to protect dog and kennel owners. The American Sporting Dog Alliance will be approaching both of these legislators about the potential for a compromise.

Several changes are needed to assure that H.B. 2525 is fair to dog and kennel owners. These include:

Following the recommendations of the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association in regard to housing requirements for dogs in large commercial breeding kennels. We believe that veterinarians are best qualified to determine humane housing requirements. Please keep in mind that the purpose of a law is to set a minimum acceptable standard. It is not to set an ideal standard.
Protecting the ability of all kennel owners to continue to give their own rabies vaccinations. Eliminating this practice is seen as purely punitive, in that it would multiply kennel owners’ costs and demands on time tenfold, while accomplishing no valid purpose. It has been 12 years since rabies was found in any kennel in Pennsylvania. The current law is working.
Requiring all dog and kennel license fees to be stated in the legislation, as has been the practice for many years. This will protect dog and kennel owners by requiring the full legislature to vote on any increases. It also will reduce the possibility of a de facto spay and neuter policy through exorbitant license fees for unsterilized dogs. In other states, some municipalities impose license fees of up to $300 for each dog that is not spayed or neutered, and we believe this is a hidden agenda of the Rendell Administration through the current version of H.B. 2525.
Protecting pet “day care” providers, which are defined as boarding kennels. H.B. 2525 counts every day that a dog is in day care as a separate dog. If a single dog is in day care for five days, it becomes five different dogs on paper. If one dog is in day care five days a week when its owner is at work, it becomes 260 different dogs on paper over the course of a year! This means that anyone who provides day care or dog sitting services will have to pay very high license fees, as if they own a very large kennel. A teen-ager who gets paid $5 a day to watch a dog when its owner is at work, suddenly could face a $1,000 kennel license fee! A small commercial business that provides day care to 10 dogs a day, would be licensed as a 3,000-dog kennel when the year’s total of “paper” dogs are tallied! Dog sitting and day care are rapidly growing home businesses in modern America that greatly enhance the welfare of companion animals. People who do this valuable work would be driven out of business, and dog owners who need these services would be harmed.
Maintaining the current fine for failing to license a dog at $25. The Rendell legislation would increase this to a fine ranging from $50 to $300. These fines also would be imposed for people who fail to report a change of address, or who put down incorrect information on a dog license application. This is unnecessarily punitive for an offense that most often is the result of a simple oversight, and the money is not needed by the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, which has a budget surplus approaching $15 million. In addition, any increase in license fees should be closely tied to actual budget requirements to operate the Bureau.
Modifying a complex and overlapping combination of fines and penalties for kennel owners, which could amount to thousands of dollars a day for even minor or technical infractions. Fines should remain at current levels for a summary offense citation, except when dogs are actually endangered by a violation, when higher fines for a misdemeanor are appropriate. Substantial civil penalties are added to fines in H.B. 2525, but these are appropriate only for willful and deliberate noncompliance with the law. There is no need to impose extreme penalties on kennel owners who are taking significant steps to come into compliance. Bringing kennels into compliance is the important issue, not punishment.
Removing a requirement for kennel owners to be available for inspection within 36 hours notice (this was changed from 24 hours in the original legislation). Not being available would result in license revocation. While this may be fair for many full-time commercial breeding kennels, it is grossly unfair to the vast majority of Pennsylvania’s 2,700 licensed kennels. Almost all kennels are part-time or purely personal ventures, and the owner holds an outside job. These working people often cannot be available at a dog warden’s convenience. Some people may lose their jobs if they miss work on short notice. Others may have important meetings that cannot be canceled. Still other people may not even be in Pennsylvania when a dog warden arrives, because of business travel or vacations. Professional trainers and handlers may be traveling away from home for field trials, shows or training. The solution is to require dog wardens to work occasional evenings or weekends to inspect these kennels, or for kennel owners simply to provide a schedule of days and times when they are available for an inspection. This schedule would not interfere with the concept of unannounced inspections. If, for example, a kennel owner is home from work at 4 p.m., that allows 365 days a year for unannounced inspections after 4 p.m.
Requiring the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement to follow constitutionally required procedures for searching private property and seizing dogs. H.B. 2525 trashes constitutional protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. A search warrant could be obtained as part of a general administrative plan, rather than requiring a dog warden to convince a judge that there is probable cause to believe a violation of the law has occurred. The legislation gives dog wardens 24/7 access to search private property, even though there is no proof of a violation of any law. Dogs also could be seized before their owner is found guilty of any offense, and the owner would have to pay high costs to have dogs returned even if he or she is found to be completely innocent of the charges by a court of law.
And assuring that any future regulations are subject to complete legislative oversight. A lack of trust of Rendell’s intentions has become the single most significant issue in this legislation for dog owners. Legislation introduced a year ago was so severe that not one kennel in Pennsylvania could have complied, and most would have been driven out of business. Subsequent regulatory proposals issued this past December and January were somewhat improved, but still would have forced most kennels to spend several thousands of dollars for unnecessary work to comply, and forced many of them to close. Those two sets of terrible regulatory proposals have caused dog owners to have good reason to believe that Rendell’s true intentions are to close most of Pennsylvania’s kennels. The only way to restore trust while Rendell remains in office is to assure that the entire Legislature is required to approve any regulations in the future.

We encourage all dog owners to read the actual legislation for themselves. Here is a link to H.B. 2525: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2007&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=2525&pn=4068 .

The names of the House cosponsors are listed at the top of the legislation. We ask every dog owner to contact at least one of the cosponsors and ask him or her to support needed amendments to the legislation, or to vote against it. Here is a link to each member of the House of Representatives: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/representatives_alpha.cfm .

Please use that link both to contact cosponsors and also your own legislator.

Also, please contact your state senator now, as things will move quickly when the Legislature reconvenes in September. Here is a link for every senator’s contact information: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/senators_alpha.cfm .

Most senators and legislators will be working out of their district offices during the summer recess.

Later this week, we will issue a report on another crucial piece of legislation, H.B. 2532. This bill affects tail docking, dewclaw removal, ear cropping and other procedures under animal cruelty laws.

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. Complete directions to join by mail or online are found at the bottom left of each page. 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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July 11, 2008
House Committee Holds Firm On Pennsylvania Tail Docking Ban

Dewclaw Removal Added To Animal Cruelty Bill

by JOHN YATES

The American Sporting Dog Alliance

http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

asda@csonline.net

HARRISBURG, PA – The state House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday postponed a vote on a measure that would essentially ban tail docking by a puppy’s breeder, but also added removal of dewclaws in puppies to a list of acts that would be called animal cruelty. The committee delayed the vote until June 24, in order to resolve differences of opinion about a measure to allow state dog wardens to enforce cruelty statutes in some counties.

House Bill 2532, sponsored by powerful Judiciary Committee Chairman Thomas Caltagirone (D – Berks County), would prohibit breeders from docking the tails of puppies that are more than three days old. Only veterinarians would be permitted to dock the tails of puppies once they reach four days old.

However, there would be no way for a breeder to prove the age of a puppy when its tail was docked, even if it was docked legally before four days of age. This would be impossible to prove even a few days after the tail was docked, and this impossibility would continue for the dog’s entire life. Since the burden of proof rests solely on a dog’s owner in H.B. 2532, this legislation represents a de facto ban on tail docking by owners at any age.

This legislation was drafted under the guidance of Gov. Ed Rendell and has the strong support on animal rights groups in Pennsylvania. It is part of Rendell’s package of legislation that purports to crack down on “puppy mills.” The centerpiece of the Rendell initiative, H.B. 2525, faces a hearing tomorrow before the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee.

Animal rights groups are touting the H.B. 2532’s ban on anyone except a veterinarian from performing Caesarian sections and debarking procedures, which they allege is sometimes done by “puppy mills.” The American Sporting Dog Alliance has never known of these procedures being done by anyone except a veterinarian, but Rendell and his allies are getting a lot of support by animal lovers and biased press coverage based on this emotionally charged allegation.

However, the legislation also tacks on prohibitions against tail docking and maintains current prohibitions against ear cropping. The committee also voted 29-0 on Tuesday to add the removal of dewclaws to the list of acts that constitute animal cruelty. These three provisions alone directly affect tens of thousands of dogs in Pennsylvania, including several of the most popular breeds.

Breeders have traditionally had the right to perform tail docking and dewclaw removal procedures, which are considered safe and painless, and many people say that they were taught how to do the work by their veterinarians. These procedures are sometimes described as akin to clipping toenails.

An amendment offered by Rep. Ron Marsico (R- Dauphin County) would have extended permission to owners of litters of puppies to do their own tail docking until the puppies are five days old. This amendment was defeated by an almost party-line 13-16 vote, with only one Republican and one Democrat switching sides.

Democrats are the majority party in the House, and Rendell, also a Democrat, has lined up strong support for these measures in his own party. The legislation may have a more difficult time in the Senate, which has a slim Republican majority.

Several amendments were offered during yesterday’s Committee meeting, but their text is not available. At this writing, the amendments had not been posted on the House website or incorporated into the text of the legislation.

Approved amendments include penalties for cutting off a dog’s dewclaws (29-0 vote), adding stealing dogs for use in animal fighting to the cruelty law (29-0 vote), requiring owners to keep records of dogs that have had Caesarian sections of have been debarked (29-0 vote) and repealing record-keeping requirements for ear cropping (29-0 vote).

The delay in the final vote was caused by a difference of opinion about a provision that would have allowed state dog wardens to enforce animal cruelty laws in counties that do not have an assigned Humane Society police officer. Under current law, dog wardens cannot enforce animal cruelty laws.

Based on Tuesday’s voting pattern, the American Sporting Dog Alliance expects the Caltagirone legislation to be approved by the committee and sent to the floor of the House for a vote by all of the legislators, unless large numbers of dog owners express clear opposition well before June 24.

While we support some provisions of this legislation, we oppose H.B. 2532 as a whole for several reasons, and urge dog owners to contact members of the Judiciary Committee to clearly ask them to either make major changes in the legislation or reject it outright.

Our reasons for opposition are:

Tail docking and dewclaw removal in young puppies is safe and painless. Breeders have done it for centuries, and there have been no problems reported from this practice. Ear cropping requires the use of a local anesthetic but is considered to be a minor procedure, and in show dogs this work often is done by out-of-state specialists who are not licensed veterinarians in Pennsylvania. Animal rights groups see these procedures as acts of mutilation.
The legislation places the burden of proof on a dog’s owner, who would be required to produce proof that a tail was docked or dewclaws were clipped by a licensed veterinarian in order to avoid serious animal cruelty charges. This simply isn’t workable, because many people buy a dog or move here with a dog from states where this is not a requirement. People who now own a dog with a docked tail, cropped ears or removed dewclaws often have no idea who did the work, as it already had been done when they obtained the dog. The issue of burden of proof also means that people who legally docked the tails of puppies would have almost no way of proving the work was done before four days of age (barring affidavits of witnesses).
Anyone who brings a dog into Pennsylvania for hunting or competition in field trials, dog shows and other events, or simply comes here for a vacation or passes through the state, would be subject to being cited for animal cruelty. This essentially would destroy many dog shows, field trials, and obedience and herding events in Pennsylvania, and have a very detrimental economic impact on tourism here. Dozens of breeds of dogs traditionally have docked tails or cropped ears, including breeds as diverse as Brittanys, German shorthaired and wirehaired pointers, Rottweilers, Australian shepherds, fox terriers, springer spaniels, miniature schnauzers, doberman pinchers and Airedales. Dewclaw removal is a standard practice in all breeds of dogs.
Many dog owners would be placed in a pointless “catch 22” situation, and could not avoid being charged with animal cruelty through no fault of their own. Some breeds of dogs are born with naturally short tails that resemble docked tails, but this could not be proven. Some dogs have dewclaws torn off while hunting, which is a common hazard and the reason why many breeders remove them (the danger of a torn off dewclaw is serious in an older dog). Other puppies are born with a broken tail from prenatal injuries, or have their tail broken by their mothers in the whelping box; the tails of these puppies often atrophy and fall off naturally, and the owner of one of these dogs could not prove that it was not done surgically. Other dogs have their tails broken accidentally, such as by banging them on hard objects or getting them caught in a door.
And this legislation would destroy the work of many shelters and rescue groups, make it impossible for good Samaritans to help a lost or abandoned dog, and result in the needless and cruel euthanization of thousands of dogs every year because required proofs could not be obtained. People who help lost or abandoned dogs have no idea who docked their tails, cut off their dewclaws, cropped their ears, or even who performed dangerous procedures like Caesarian sections or debarking. Thus, the simple possession of one of these dogs would constitute animal cruelty. Euthanasia would be the only way to avoid prosecution for animal cruelty. The legislation provides no alternatives.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance urges all Pennsylvania dog owners and people who bring dogs here from other states to immediately contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee well before June 24 to voice opposition to H.B. 2532.

Here is a link that will list every member of the Judiciary Committee: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/cteeInfo/cteeInfo.cfm?cde=24&body=H . Simply click on each committee member’s name and his or her web page will open, giving complete contact information. Handwritten and mailed letters are the most effective form of communication, followed by faxes, phone calls and emails.

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July 10, 2008 PA Dog Legislation On Chopping Block

Both Sides Play Political ‘Russian Roulette’ As Clock Runs Out

July 11, 2008 House Committee Holds Firm On Pennsylvania Tail Docking Ban

July 10, 2008
PA Dog Legislation On Chopping Block

July 11, 2008
House Committee Holds Firm On Pennsylvania Tail Docking Ban