Oppose Washington SB 5651

From the NAIA Trust:

Please crosspost the following link far and wide, especially to
Washington:

NAIA Trust | For the protection of animals, animal owners, and animal enterprises

Oppose Washington SB 5651
An unnecessary, unreasonable and overreaching anti-breeder bill

February 2, 2009

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is on the march again,
this time in Washington State. Emboldened by their victories in
winning constitutional rights for pigs in Florida and trashing the egg
industry in California, HSUS is now going state to state with
legislation that attempts to regulate dog breeding with number limits
and draconian engineering standards for kennel facilities. The
Washington version is one of the worst of this year̢۪s crop.

If passed,ed, SB 5651 would empower an animal control officer “upon
receiving a complaint t or upon his own motionâ€ï¿½ to enter premises where
aanimals may be bred or maintainedâ€Â¦Ã¢€ï¿¬ï¿½ to investigate violations.

SB 5651 is sponsored by Senators Kohl-Welles, Delvin, Kline and Tom.
It was read for the first time on January 28, 2009 and referred to the
Judiciary Committee. SB 5651 contains ineffective, unreasonable and
unenforceable new regulations that threaten to seriously undermine the
ability to keep and breed dogs in Washington. Not surprisingly, it
resembles HSUS anti-breeder legislation that has shown up in several
other states, including neighboring Oregon.

NAIA supports animal welfare laws that are thoughtfully designed to
solve real animal well welfare proble
ms, but SB 5651 offers nothing
more than a rebuke of breeders and pet owners who keep more than an
arbitrary number of intact dogs.

A summary of Washington SB 5651:

* Imposes a 25 dog numbers limit on the possession of intact dogs
over 4 months of age;

* Treats anyone with 10 or more unaltered adult dogs as a
commercial breeder;

* Uses the terms puppy mill and commercial breeding
interchangeably implying that the number of dogs one possesses
determines the status of a breeder;

* Requires that breeders with 10 or more intact dogs meet new
space, housing and exercise requirements, and mandates new veterinary
exams;
* Mandates certain breeding practices;
* Requires veterinarians to perform tail docking under anesthetic,
something that could harm puppies of the age that is appropriate for
this procedure;

* Empowers animal control officers to enter premises “upon
receiving a complaintnt or upon his own motionâ€ï¿½ to investigate
violationns and inspect breeders books; and

* Exempts public shelters, private adoption agencies, veterinarian
offices, pet stores, research facilities, boarders and groomers.

Click Here to read the full text of this bill.

NAIA strongly opposes Washington SB 5651. Not only is its overall
approach misdirected and punitive, its enforcement provisions violate
basic privacy rights. SB 5651 blurs the distinction between pet
owners, hobby breeders and commercial breeders and claims that
possession of an arbitrary number of intact dogs alone makes someone a
puppy mill a
nd therefore subject to this bill̢۪s provisions. This bill
is a glaglaring example of some of the worst animal legislation currently
proposed in the country.

Now is the time for all responsible animal owners in Washington to
contact your State Senators with the message that SB 5651 is
overzealous and misdirected and must not be allowed to move forward.

While we believe that steps should be taken to identify and eliminate
substandard kennels, this bill stretches way beyond that goal and
targets all breeders and sportsmen, commercial and hobby, good and
bad, on the basis of numbers alone.

Washington has recently proved that its current anti-cruelty laws are
capable of closing substandard kennels when they are enforced. At a
time of economic hardship mandating new kennel standards that are
virtually unenforceable is misdirected and wasteful. There are more
effective solutions available to help eliminate substandard kennels,
ranging from stronger enforcement of existing cruelty and nuisance
laws to educating consumers about how to seek out responsible and
humane sources of healthy pets.

Unreasonable laws like SB 5651 simply push bad operators underground
while wrapping good pet owners and breeders in red tape â€" all without
raising annimal welfare standards.

Please use the talking points below to write an email to your State
Senator today, educating them about this bill early in the process,
before it receives formal consideration.

Politely let them know that responsible Washington breeders --
dedicated20dog lovers with great subject matter expertise and
experience raising, breeding, placing, rescuing and training dogs --
are ready to share their knowledge and offer NAIA's alternative
solutions to more effectively and reasonably address concerns about
animal welfare.

Thank you for TAKING ACTION on behalf of pets and pet owners!

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TALKING POINTS:

SB 5651 is misdirected, unenforceable and extreme.

I support taking steps to identify and eliminate substandard kennels,
but this bill stretches way beyond this goal, defining anyone who
keeps more that 10 intact dogs as a commercial breeder, which it
pejoratively refers to as a puppy mill.

To be effective, laws need to identify and target problems directly,
something current Washington animal protection laws do.

SB 5651 would greatly expand the police powers granted to animal
control officers in RCW 16.52.015.

Laws that brand innocent activities such as keeping more than 10
intact dogs as a problem regardless of the actual care and condition
of the dogs, while simultaneously expanding police powers have
resulted in harassment and abusive police actions in other states.

Instituting the facility engineering requirements in SB 5651 would
downgrade the quality of care and conditions for the dogs of many
hobby breeders and enthusiasts.

Most=2
0breeders do what they do out of a genuine love of dogs and a
desire to improve the breed, often going above and beyond to provide
the best care and treatment available.

Instead of branding anyone with 10 or more intact dogs as a problem,
utilize the knowledge of good breeders and dog owners to help identify
and eliminate substandard operators.

Be aware that there are great differences of opinion among animal
organizations about the best source of pets, whether breeder, shelter,
pet store, rescue or even foreign country. It is important to
recognize these biases and not to mistake ideology and marketing for
facts.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) the national
fundraising and lobbying organization promoting this bill is pushing
similar legislation all over the U.S. Despite its name, the Humane
Society of the United States, which generally opposes the breeding of
dogs, is not affiliated with local humane societies. When seeking
advice on how to regulate an activity or industry, it is dangerous to
rely on a group that would prefer that it be abolished rather than
improved.

If the bill's aim is to create minimum standards of animal care, why
shouldn't they also apply to shelters, pet stores and any other
facility that house and place dogs with the public?

When it comes to proper care, it is the quality of care that matters,
not the number.

Requiring veterinarians to perform tail docking under anesthetic is
unreasonable and dangerous.

Number limit laws have never been successful in a
ddressing
irresponsible breeding or negligent rescue operations.

People who maintain dogs responsibly and humanely, and do not present
a nuisance to their neighbors should not be prevented from keeping
them because other animal owners might not be as conscientious.

Limit laws like the 25 intact dog limit contained in SB 5651 are
usually based on an arbitrary number and they have been found to be
unenforceable and vulnerable to court challenges.

What is needed is greater enforcement of existing animal protection
laws, not more regulation of law abiding citizens whose dogs are part
of a positive lifestyle.

A proactive approach would be to educate consumers about how to
research the source of their pets and distinguish the good breeders
from the bad. In that way we shut down substandard kennels.

Please be fair and thoughtful as you consider this bill.

[Romy]

Aww crap, I'm gonna have to visit the legislature again. That's the benefit to living in the state capital though, you can show up in person.