HSUS lobbying in your state

Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA) [saova_south@mailman.montana.com]

Dear SAOVA friends,

HSUS State Director Kim Alboum has now concluded the Lobby 101 Seminars in North Carolina, holding seminars in 9 cities around the state during February and March. Some seminars attracted less than a dozen listeners while a few did better with attendance at approximately 50. The seminars generated poor interest overall considering HSUS claims to have 240,000 members in the Tarheel State.

With little variation, the message was the same to all those who attended: legitimize the cause; go mainstream; get media coverage; talk to legislators and create relationships.

Alboum advised attendees that to initiate change, HSUS supporters need to mobilize, come together, and be viewed as mainstream. She blamed last year’s losses in the General Assembly on HSUS supporters’ inability to organize effectively. Alboum continued to encourage her audience to meet their legislators face to face; find out where they go to church; what outside groups they belong to; befriend their staff; and use HSUS fact sheets as hand outs for each introduced bill.

Alboum emphasized the importance of getting stories to the media to get their message out and spread the word.

HSUS STRATEGIES AND UPCOMING LEGISLATION

FIGHT AGAINST FACTORY FARMING. A strategy HSUS plans to employ is an alliance with the "local foods" people in the HSUS fight against factory farms and their effort to force veganism on the world. Alboum handed out copies of the 15th Annual Piedmont Farm Tour brochure (April 24 and 25), telling the audience to contact these farmers and ask them to help in the fight against animal agriculture. Alboum stated she has been contacting the farmers, already polarizing them with HSUS propaganda.

FIGHT AGAINST TRANSPORTING HORSES, PROCESSING HORSEMEAT.
Alboum briefly explained that horse processing plants for human consumption had been closed because HSUS had been successful in eliminating funding for federal inspection of the plants. Alboum justified the plant closings by stating that horse slaughter was inhumane, and that the meat was “tainted” and was not good for anything anyway. Now HSUS is fighting to stop all transportation of horses for slaughter outside the U.S. Clearly, Alboum is not well versed in the nutritional qualities of horsemeat, and chooses to ignore the fact there is a thriving international market for horsemeat which is high in protein and low in fat.

PUPPY MILL BILL.
SB460, the HSUS “Puppy Mill Bill” unfortunately passed the NC Senate in 2009 by one vote and is currently in House Finance. A call to arms was sent to the audience by Alboum to begin making calls to House legislators and to Julia Howard (Vice Chairman, Finance) in support of SB460 passage in the May legislative session.

Among the many exaggerations presented to justify the bill are claims that the original HSUS estimation of 200 large-scale breeders was wrong and it is likely that figure is double with at least 400 “puppy mills” operating in the state. Noteworthy is the ease with which the terms commercial breeder and “puppy mill” are used interchangeably.

Alboum informed her audience that “puppy mills” should be shut down because they spread Giardia, a “virus” contagious to humans. Again, Alboum is misinforming her listeners. Giardia is not a virus, it is a microscopic parasite found worldwide and is recognized as a common cause of waterborne disease in humans in the United States. The Giardia parasite lives in the intestine of infected humans or animals (e.g., cats, dogs, cattle, deer, and beavers) causing nausea and diarrhea. According to the CDC, anyone can get giardiasis including people who drink from poorly monitored wells, and backpackers, hikers, and campers who drink untreated water.

Alboum continued by stating that puppy millers from neighboring states, such as Virginia and Tennessee, are flooding into North Carolina following passage of regulation there. Did Alboum and HSUS have time to examine real estate records in three states in order to reach this conclusion or is this yet another wild accusation pulled out of thin air to create a crisis looking for a solution? As we have pointed out before, the same sound bites of breeders fleeing from one state to another are distributed by HSUS in every state with a pending breeder bill.

When questioned about why the bill did not include cats, Alboum’s answer was "baby steps, they are next, then birds." Alboum also expressed her disappointment that the original bill had been downgraded to complaint driven inspection rather than annual inspections. Likewise the numbers used to establish a commercial breeder (“puppy mill”) were increased, but Alboum stated that in reality owning 6 females should be the separating line between hobby and commercial breeder. Alboum assured the audience that getting ANY bill on the books was worth the effort as it could be tightened up later on.

HSUS is intent on regulating dog breeders. Alboum did not have specific details, but mentioned that HSUS was working on a plan to assist North Carolina counties with enforcement costs for SB460. Make no mistake - the animal rights agenda has nothing to do with welfare, it is about control. HSUS yearns to become an arm of the government as demonstrated by their previous scheme to be the enforcement agency for USDA kennel inspections and more recent petition to President Obama to appoint a Federal Animal Protection Liaison.

FOX PENNING.
Alboum stated a plan to revive the fox penning bill from 2009 to include coyotes. She stated that the practice of penning originally began to train hunting dogs, but has since evolved into a blood sport that is a cross between a canned hunt and animal fighting. Alboum informed her audience that at fox pens, dogs were turned loose to rip foxes apart. She said there were 150 pens in the state and most people were not aware of this barbaric practice.

HSUS has a history of opposing hunting with dogs, and Alboum’s false statements are in line with the organization’s misrepresentation of training and penning operations and hound hunting in general. Fox pens are regulated and permitted by NC Wildlife Resources, cannot be less than 500 acres; cannot use foxes transported across state lines; must have one approved, inspected, dog-proof escape den for every 35 acres. Although HSUS claims foxes are “live bait” for packs of dogs tear apart, in reality it is considered to be very undesirable to have one of the dogs even harm one of the foxes. The contest is actually between dog owners, trainers and their dogs to see whose dogs were best bred and trained for the specific job of chasing foxes.

Although decline of their natural predator, wolves, has allowed coyotes to expand their natural range from Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, Alboum told her audience that the coyotes populating our state were the result of the breeding of coyotes that had escaped from these pens.

NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATORS.
State Senator Neal Hunt (R-Wake) is perhaps number one on the HSUS's most appreciated legislators list for his efforts in introducing the anti-penning bill and his general support of the HSUS anti-breeder initiative.

Alboum expressed appreciation to the wife of Congressman David Price (D, 4) who personally lobbied the NC General Assembly in support of the breeder bill, SB460.

Alboum reported that HSUS lobbyists have met with Senator Kay Hagan to discuss federal legislation. Hagan is a supporter of HR503 which would end transportation of horses outside the U.S. for slaughter, but is not supportive of other HSUS efforts against animal agriculture since this is a major North Carolina industry.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Know thy enemy. Attend the HSUS Lobby Seminar in your own state, learn the upcoming agenda, and prepare for the battle. We cannot afford to have HSUS and animal rightists frame the issues, labeling us as exploiters and legislating away our rights.

The “word” that HSUS sends to the media is generally a mix of misinformation and outright lies. The false, detrimental HSUS accusations cannot go unchallenged. If local media airs biased reports, assist in contacting the writers with facts. Write your own letter to the editor correcting the HSUS propaganda piece.

Coalition Building. Find allies to assist on a given piece of legislation, even if these allies have a slightly different perspective due to their specific area. Stop infighting! Compromise with radical animal rightists on anti-breeder, anti-agriculture animal rights legislation only serves to give them a platform for increased, restrictive regulation of our hobbies, sports, and livelihoods.

Use the ballot box to vote controlling, animal rightist supporting legislators out of office.

Join the campaign asking for an IRS audit of the HSUS excessive lobbying practices and revocation of their nonprofit status. http://www.saova.org/SpayNeuterHSUS.html
Send examples of HSUS excessive lobbying to the IRS with a short cover letter for inclusion in the audit.

The world not only belongs to those who show up, it's controlled by the best informed and most motivated.

Cross posting is encouraged.

Susan Wolf
Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance - http://saova.org
Issue lobbying and working to identify and elect supportive legislators

Civitas Crowns “Bad Bill of the Year”

It is now official and SB 848 Sponsored by Sen. Charlie Albertson (D-Duplin), has been crowned this year's worst bill.

According to the Civitas press release more than 10,000 votes were cast throughout the tournament.

"The voters have spoken and declared SB 848 as this year’s worst bill of the year," said Civitas Institute Executive Director Francis De Luca. “SB 848 was able to defeat some really bad pieces of legislation on its way to the title, so it truly earned its victory.”

"SB 848 defeated two bills that would license pedorthists (SB 619) and dog breeders (SB 460), a bill that allows students to earn money for good grades (SB 100) and a bill that repeals the ban on collective bargaining (HB 750) on its way to the championship."

The weekly “Bad Bill of the Week” series will resume during the General Assembly short session beginning in May 2010 with next year’s tournament commencing after the legislative session comes to a close.

Bad Bill of the Year Tournament

Out of nearly 3,000 bills introduced in the legislature this year, Civitas nominated SB460 among its 32 Bad Bills of the Year. Civitas described SB460 as follows:

"With the introduction of SB 460 by Sen. Don Davis (D-Greene), (Identical Bill HB 460 by Representatives Jeffus(D- Guilford); Dickson (D- Cumberland); Harrison (D- Guilford) yet another branch of the extremist animal rights movement has surfaced in North Carolina.

While current statute already outlaws animal cruelty, SB 460 would have a huge impact on anyone who owns pets, hunts or breeds dogs by inserting the state into the breeding of dogs. The bill would add a new licensure regime and impose fees on breeders while also threatening them with a $1,000 fine.

While adding to the regulatory power of the state this bill will also increase the size of the state bureaucracy by adding more taxpayer funded positions. According to Fiscal Research, those positions and other estimated expenses will cost taxpayers almost $250,000 the first year and more than $400,000 a year after the first year."

SB460 fought its way thru to the Elite Eight Tournament Round where it was felled by SB848, a bill to allow admission of illegal immigrants to public institutions of higher education - which as of this posting appears to be the Tournament Winner.

Dog owners stop SB460 in Finance

SB#460 Commercial Dog Breeders stalled in House Finance on Monday, 8/10/09. The House is now adjourned and the bill cannot be heard until May 2010. The bill is stopped, although it is not dead. Committee Chair and bill supporter, Rep. Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake), called another bill to be heard out of order stalling in order to give proponents time to arrive. Although Sen. Davis stated to the press that “procedural problems” caused him to pull the bill from the committee calendar, the truth is that he, HSUS and bill supporters did not have the necessary votes to pass SB460.

The bill had been rapidly amended between Senate passage and committee hearing and a new Fiscal Note added. A major change was to relieve the state of responsibility and pass enforcement to county authorities. SB460 will not require AWS (Animal Welfare Services) to inspect commercial dog breeders; counties will have the sole responsibility to investigate violations related to commercial breeding operations and to take the appropriate enforcement actions authorized by law. It is expected that most investigations would come due to complaints about specific facilities.

Without including extreme budgets, such as Charlotte Mecklenburg Animal Services with a budget of $4.7 million, the average county animal control functions on a budget of approximately $550,000 annually. To pass along an unfunded mandate to local animal control and counties who are already struggling with budgets is completely unreasonable.

SB460 can still return for consideration in May 2010. It is your responsibility to speak with your Representative and explain the many problems with this HSUS inspired legislation. This is the tip of the iceberg. The number of bills HSUS and animal rightist friends were able to introduce in this NCGA legislative session was nothing short of breathtaking. That is only a small part of the HSUS arsenal against dog owners and the animal agriculture industry.

Senate passes SB460 - who voted to restrict your rights?

NC SB460 Commercial Breeder Regulation passed the Senate by *one vote*. Next election, remember those Senators who supported this bill and voted to restrict your rights. Senators voting in favor of this bill did the bidding of out-of-state activists, not NC constituents. The majority of phone calls supporting SB460 are not from NC area codes.

3rd Reading vote on SB#460 on Wednesday, 08/05/09

IN FAVOR of SB#460 (23 votes)
Basnight, Blue, Boseman, Clodfelter, Dannelly, Davis, Dorsett, Foriest, Garrou, Graham, Hoyle, Hunt, Jenkins, Jones, Kinnaird, McKissick, Nesbitt, Purcell, Rand, Shaw, Soles, Stein, Vaughan.

AGAINST SB#460 (22 votes)
Albertson, Allran, Apodaca, Doug Berger, Phil Berger, Blake, Brown, Brunstetter, Clary, East, Forrester, Goodall, Goss, Hartsell, Jacumin, Preston, Rouzer, Rucho, Snow, Swindell, Tillman, Weinstein.

ABSENT: Atwater, Bingham

Not voting (but not excused) Queen

Paired Brock [N] & Stevens [Y] (so neither vote was counted)

Breeder Bill SB 460 passes 2nd reading

Version 3 of NC SB460 was pushed to the floor today by Rules Committee Chairman, Sen. Tony Rand (D-Bladen, Cumberland), for second reading. SB460 Revision 3 passed by a narrow vote of 24 - 22 and 3rd reading is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. The state's economic distress and pending tax increases apparently were not enough to dissuade those who voted in favor of regulating dog breeders based on an HSUS exploited dog kennel crisis.

A fourth version was posted to the bill's website after today's vote. This latest version calls for commercial kennels to use current animal shelter facility standards; provides for a publicly posted internet registry of licensed facilities; authorizes county animal control as enforcers; protocols for daily exercise and veterinary care are yet to be written.

Today's vote:

IN FAVOR OF SB#460 (24 votes)

Basnight, Blue, Boseman, Clodfelter, Dannelly, Davis, Dorsett, Foriest, Garrou, Graham, Hoyle, Hunt, Jenkins, Jones, Kinnaird, McKissick, Nesbitt, Purcell, Rand, Shaw, Soles, Stein, Vaughan, Weinstein

AGAINST SB#460 (22 votes)

Albertson, Apodaca, Doug Berger, Phil Berger, Blake, Brock, Brown, Brunstetter, Clary, East, Forrester, Goodall, Goss, Hartsell, Jacumin, Preston, Queen, Rouzer, Rucho, Show, Swindell, and Tillman.

ABSENT: Allran, Atwater, Bingham, Stevens

FACT OF THE DAY: Fictitious Sales Tax Revenue

The fanatic supporters of SB460 are espousing a new claim that the licensing of commercial breeders will bring a sales tax revenue boon to North Carolina and offset the cost of enforcement by NCDA. This windfall of $720,000 in sales tax is based on the assumption that every one of the 15 females will be bred twice in one year and produce 5 puppies each litter. The estimate continues by using a multiplier of 200 licensed facilities.

This fuzzy math is problematic on several levels but the most glaring is that the Fiscal Note attached to SB460 plainly states that while there are at least 200 commercial breeders operating in North Carolina; of these, only 79 are known to have more than 15 female dogs.

200 high volume breeders do not equate to a state-wide crisis despite the hysterical opinions of HSUS and anti-breeder forces. Most certainly 79 kennels do not justify an expenditure in excess of $400,000 over the next few years during a budget crisis. This expense cannot be absorbed by NCDA and cannot be passed off to county animal control departments that are already understaffed and underfunded.