Sunday, July 25, 2010

Dog breeder bill dead for another year

The News Reporter. Whiteville.com

SB 460 could have crippled hunting dog kennels. Susie’s Law approved.

By JEFFERSON WEAVER, Staff Writer
Published: Saturday, July 10, 2010 5:26 PM EDT

A proposed state law that sporting dog owners say would have crippled hound hunters has returned to the back burner for another year. Another bill recently signed by Gov. Bev Perdue makes torturing a pet a felony.

Senate Bill 460, proposed by Sen. Don Davis, has been on the drawing boards since March of last year. The bill’s full title is “An act to eliminate abusive practices and provide for the humane care and treatment of dogs and puppies by establishing standards for their care at commercial breeding operations, excluding kennels or establishments operated for the purpose of boarding or training hunting, sporting, herding, show, or working dogs.”

It became better known as “the Dog Breeder Bill” and has been an anathema to many sporting dog enthusiasts.

Kim Alboum of the N.C. Chapter of the Humane Society of the United States (HUSUS), which pushed for the bill, told supporters June 30 that the bill was dead for this year, and would be reintroduced next year. Proponents said the bill was designed to better prevent “puppy mills,” while opponents said the bill was a backdoor attempt to ban the use of sporting dogs in the state.

“Nobody approves of dogs being kept in abusive situations,” said Susan Wolf of SAOVA, the Sportsman’s and Animal Owner’s Voter Alliance. “This entire fiasco of a bill is part of an organized nationwide campaign by HSUS and has basically nothing to do with actual need in our state.”

The law would have required businesses that breed or board dogs to have one employee for every 10 animals, established exercise requirements for animals, and regulate how dogs could be transported. The bill also called for the state to create new Animal Health Division inspectors’ positions for the sole purpose of kennel inspections, as well as registering all dog breeders and keeping track of breeder certification.

Wolf said HSUS members who participated in the closure of a substandard Wayne County breeding operation used the media to sensationalize the tragedy. The owner of the facility had 283 small dogs of various breeds kept in crates and kennels. Court documents available online show the 65-year-old owner was convicted of multiple cases of animal cruelty.

“The closure of the substandard kennel in Wayne County provided the emotional impetus for HSUS to find supportive legislators and introduce SB460,” Wolf said. “It is not even logical to draft legislation for dog breeders starting with 15 females based on what happened at a 300-dog kennel where it is reasonable to assume that 200 (or more) would be female.”

The bill would call for strict housing regulations and inspections for kennels with more than 15 breeding female dogs at a commercial operation, but legislators and breeders complained that the wording was such that the laws could be applied to hunting clubs, hunting preserves, and houndsmen who have different dogs for hunting deer, fox, and coon.

The legislature did pass one animal cruelty law that received support from most animal groups in the state.

Susie’s Law makes it a felony to maliciously abuse or torture animals. The law was passed June 16, and can carry up to 10 years in prison upon conviction. The law was named for a puppy discovered beaten and set afire in Greensboro last year. The puppy, now named Susie, survived. At the time, the suspect in the case could only receive probation for the crime.

http://www.whiteville.com/articles/2010/07/21/news/doc4c35d2273b663680814479.txt

3 comments:

  1. In the Dayton Daily News on July 16, 2010 Paul Leonard, the former lieutenant governor of Ohio and ardent supporter of the HSUS offered several observations on how the recent agreement between the HSUS and the Ohio agricultural industry could be improved. One of his suggestions is to “Support enactment of a law that exists today only in North Carolina that allows private animal-advocacy groups to bring a criminal prosecution against animal abusers and obtain custody of abused or neglected animals. In many counties and cities, police and prosecutors cannot “be bothered” with animal abuse cases.”

    Well, HSUS, answer the question: are NC laws sufficient, or aren't they?

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  2. HSUS and PeTA are one and the same with the intent to eliminate all domesticated animals from this planet. Wayne Pacelle the director of HSUS has publicy stated that he will only be satisfied when the last dog and cat is born. How much clearer can you be than that? I am glad this bill is dead, but don't think for a moment that these zealots won't be back to turn America into the UK where 72 year old ladies are fined 5000 pounds for selling a gold fish to a 16 year old boy who lies and says he is 18. This trap was set by the city council because earlier they had sold a gerbil to an adult who accidently put it in a cup of coffee. So now the nanny state is out to put them out of business. The RSPCA has killed more animals than all of our homeless animals put together since it was taken over by the animal rights cult. Hunting has been banned and the pest are taking over the country. A man was sentenced to jail for drowning a grey squirrel although it is a known pest. The correct way was to smash it on the head with a hammer according to the RSPCA. Do we really want our country to go to the nanny state where if your animal is slightly over weight the vet has to report you to the RSPCA? The RSPCA also wants to call putt a coat on your dog abuse and make it a criminal act. HSUS is run by former PeTA members. Remember Ingrid Newkirk use to come in early to kill before the owners could claim their lost pets. How sick is that. These Animal rights people are clearly crazy and suffering from a lack of B12 which is neccesary for rational thinking. We should treat animals well but they are our property and we should be able to decide what is best for them, not the animal rights cults

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  3. Look, most dog hunters around here care nothing about their animals. These idiots are the ones who will eventually lead to the banning of dog hunting. Put the blame where it will do the most good.

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