linda040899
03-18-2008, 12:48 PM
Cross posted with permission from Bird_Breeder-Hobbyist:
Time to start paying attention!
Legislative Musings
(From Massachusetts.)
Inertia is eroding our rights as dog fanciers!
Animal rights activists have been busy around the country, and not in a good way!
* In Florida's Palm Beach County, mandatory spay and neuter legislation was
passed. In neighboring Volusia County, such legislation is on the agenda, despite
vocal protests by dog fanciers.
* In Virginia, the legislature passed a bill that will equate hobby breeders as
commercial breeders. They will be subject to the same licensing and inspections
as commercial breeders.
* In Los Angeles, the city council just passed mandatory spay and neuter legislation.
What is going on?
HSUS (Humane Society of the Unites States) and PETA have been extremely active in
this legislative off season. These organizations have millions of dollars to spend
on lobbying legislators, and they have made excellent use of their resources. Both
groups have also been effective in placing their people as aides to legislators
at all levels of the government. Legislative aides work directly for individual
legislators. They act in many capacities including scheduling of legislators'
meetings with constituents, assisting in drafting of bills, answering phones, and
other support duties. Aides can also act as "filters" for or against groups
with political axes to grind.
In MassFed, we work to know legislators personally - to become "faces"
behind the letters, faxes and e-mails we send regarding pending legislation. There
are some legislators who will not meet with us at all, because we can't get
past their aides. When we have tried to get other dog fanciers who live in those
legislators' districts, we are rebuffed. And THAT is the problem - inertia.
The law in Virginia was successfully passed because the dog people were not able
to work together. This is a quote from Bob Kane of the Sportsmen's and Animal
Owners' Voting Alliance:
"The Old Dominion dog groups opposed to HB538 failed to cooperate with each
other, coordinate their efforts, or compensate for the adverse actions of VFDCB's
[Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders] dismissed lobbyist. Our lobbying
effort was very frankly embarrassing."
This could easily happen here in Massachusetts or in any state. We dog enthusiasts
need to band together. We must be able to call on other members of the fancy who
are not members of MassFed when critical legislation arises. Some of you may remember
that a bill similar to Virginia's that would have equated hobby breeders with
commercial breeders was filed here in Mass. It actually made it through much of
the legislative process to a committee hearing. When I e-mailed every YGRC member
on our list that expressed an interest in breeding, I got vitriolic emails from
some people who thought I had sent spam, and silence from most of the rest. No one
else from YGRC came to the meeting. I do not know if any one sent written testimony,
but thanks if you did. If you didn't, please consider responding to the next
e-mail, because I can assure you, mandatory spay and neuter legislation WILL be
filed here at some point in the future, and I will need your help. All of
us will need your help if we want to continue having pure bred dogs from responsible
breeders.
How do HSUS and PETA have so much money? It isn't just through donations from
their television and print ads and from their mailings. They also derive income
from the internet by partnering with other groups' websites.
Last week I received an e-mail asking to go to a rescue dog website, The Fund for
Animals, and to "click" on the sponsor's box so that food/money would
be donated to the rescue group. As a Golden Retriever person, I responded the same
way any of us would: I went directly to the website and prepared to click to make
a donation. Then for some reason
(probably my MassFed antenna) I had a look around the website and clicked the "Charitable
Partners" link and then down to the "Fund for Animals" link. This
is what I found:
"The Fund for Animals was founded in 1967 by prominent author and animal advocate
Cleveland Amory, and for 37 years, spearheaded some of the most significant events
in the history of the animal protection movement by employing hard-hitting advocacy
campaigns and operating world-famous animal care facilities, such as the Black Beauty
Ranch. The Fund's historic victories have saved thousands of animals from cruelty
and suffering.
In 2005, The Fund for Animals and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
joined together to form an unprecedentedpartnership for animals. Since then The
Fund has expanded its efforts to protect animals in the courts and provide for their
veterinary, sanctuary, and rehabilitative needs at direct animal care facilities.
The Fund has won landmark lawsuits to protect animals from hunting and trapping,
and the organization is currently fighting for animals with the help of the Animal
Protection Litigation section. This group of full-time attorneys, law clerks, and
pro bono law firms are defending animals in federal and state courts from cruelty
and abuse. The Fund's current cases seek to protect endangered species, stop
the abuse of circus elephants, keep national wildlife refuges safe for animals,
and much more. ."
Basically, if I had clicked on that website's link, I would have been funding
HSUS, the very organization that wants to take away our right to breed dogs. Any
one of us who clicked on the link accidentally helped to end the dog fancy. When
you receive e-mails like this, please do a little digging to see where your money
or support is really going. If you don't want to bother checking, send the link
to me and I'll look, or can just delete the e-mail. It's better than giving
money to the enemy!
If you are willing to send letters, e-mails, and faxes or even to go to Boston to
testify on bills, please let me know. We need all the help we can get to save our
favorite pastime with the best breed of dog!
Judith M. Erlanger
Yankee Golden Retriever Club
Mass Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners
http://www.massfeddogs.org (http://www.massfeddogs.org/)
Permission granted to cross-post and reprint
Time to start paying attention!
Legislative Musings
(From Massachusetts.)
Inertia is eroding our rights as dog fanciers!
Animal rights activists have been busy around the country, and not in a good way!
* In Florida's Palm Beach County, mandatory spay and neuter legislation was
passed. In neighboring Volusia County, such legislation is on the agenda, despite
vocal protests by dog fanciers.
* In Virginia, the legislature passed a bill that will equate hobby breeders as
commercial breeders. They will be subject to the same licensing and inspections
as commercial breeders.
* In Los Angeles, the city council just passed mandatory spay and neuter legislation.
What is going on?
HSUS (Humane Society of the Unites States) and PETA have been extremely active in
this legislative off season. These organizations have millions of dollars to spend
on lobbying legislators, and they have made excellent use of their resources. Both
groups have also been effective in placing their people as aides to legislators
at all levels of the government. Legislative aides work directly for individual
legislators. They act in many capacities including scheduling of legislators'
meetings with constituents, assisting in drafting of bills, answering phones, and
other support duties. Aides can also act as "filters" for or against groups
with political axes to grind.
In MassFed, we work to know legislators personally - to become "faces"
behind the letters, faxes and e-mails we send regarding pending legislation. There
are some legislators who will not meet with us at all, because we can't get
past their aides. When we have tried to get other dog fanciers who live in those
legislators' districts, we are rebuffed. And THAT is the problem - inertia.
The law in Virginia was successfully passed because the dog people were not able
to work together. This is a quote from Bob Kane of the Sportsmen's and Animal
Owners' Voting Alliance:
"The Old Dominion dog groups opposed to HB538 failed to cooperate with each
other, coordinate their efforts, or compensate for the adverse actions of VFDCB's
[Virginia Federation of Dog Clubs and Breeders] dismissed lobbyist. Our lobbying
effort was very frankly embarrassing."
This could easily happen here in Massachusetts or in any state. We dog enthusiasts
need to band together. We must be able to call on other members of the fancy who
are not members of MassFed when critical legislation arises. Some of you may remember
that a bill similar to Virginia's that would have equated hobby breeders with
commercial breeders was filed here in Mass. It actually made it through much of
the legislative process to a committee hearing. When I e-mailed every YGRC member
on our list that expressed an interest in breeding, I got vitriolic emails from
some people who thought I had sent spam, and silence from most of the rest. No one
else from YGRC came to the meeting. I do not know if any one sent written testimony,
but thanks if you did. If you didn't, please consider responding to the next
e-mail, because I can assure you, mandatory spay and neuter legislation WILL be
filed here at some point in the future, and I will need your help. All of
us will need your help if we want to continue having pure bred dogs from responsible
breeders.
How do HSUS and PETA have so much money? It isn't just through donations from
their television and print ads and from their mailings. They also derive income
from the internet by partnering with other groups' websites.
Last week I received an e-mail asking to go to a rescue dog website, The Fund for
Animals, and to "click" on the sponsor's box so that food/money would
be donated to the rescue group. As a Golden Retriever person, I responded the same
way any of us would: I went directly to the website and prepared to click to make
a donation. Then for some reason
(probably my MassFed antenna) I had a look around the website and clicked the "Charitable
Partners" link and then down to the "Fund for Animals" link. This
is what I found:
"The Fund for Animals was founded in 1967 by prominent author and animal advocate
Cleveland Amory, and for 37 years, spearheaded some of the most significant events
in the history of the animal protection movement by employing hard-hitting advocacy
campaigns and operating world-famous animal care facilities, such as the Black Beauty
Ranch. The Fund's historic victories have saved thousands of animals from cruelty
and suffering.
In 2005, The Fund for Animals and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
joined together to form an unprecedentedpartnership for animals. Since then The
Fund has expanded its efforts to protect animals in the courts and provide for their
veterinary, sanctuary, and rehabilitative needs at direct animal care facilities.
The Fund has won landmark lawsuits to protect animals from hunting and trapping,
and the organization is currently fighting for animals with the help of the Animal
Protection Litigation section. This group of full-time attorneys, law clerks, and
pro bono law firms are defending animals in federal and state courts from cruelty
and abuse. The Fund's current cases seek to protect endangered species, stop
the abuse of circus elephants, keep national wildlife refuges safe for animals,
and much more. ."
Basically, if I had clicked on that website's link, I would have been funding
HSUS, the very organization that wants to take away our right to breed dogs. Any
one of us who clicked on the link accidentally helped to end the dog fancy. When
you receive e-mails like this, please do a little digging to see where your money
or support is really going. If you don't want to bother checking, send the link
to me and I'll look, or can just delete the e-mail. It's better than giving
money to the enemy!
If you are willing to send letters, e-mails, and faxes or even to go to Boston to
testify on bills, please let me know. We need all the help we can get to save our
favorite pastime with the best breed of dog!
Judith M. Erlanger
Yankee Golden Retriever Club
Mass Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners
http://www.massfeddogs.org (http://www.massfeddogs.org/)
Permission granted to cross-post and reprint