Animal advocates are attempting to pass groundbreaking legislation in California, to ensure the majority of dogs and cats are spayed and neutered. The California Healthy Pets Act (AB 1634) will be heard on Tuesday April 10 in the Business and Professions Committee. If it passes out of the committee it will go to the house floor for a vote, then to a senate committee, then the senate floor, and finally to the governor to sign.
Please forward this alert to anybody in California who is distressed by the killing of hundreds of thousands of companion animals per year in this state.
Please visit the website for the bill, http://www.cahealthypets.com/ , to learn more about it. You'll find the full text of the bill there.
General information on the website tells us:
"Every year, over 800,000 pets are abandoned in California. Aggressive stray dogs roam through many neighborhoods, increasing the danger of dog bites and the transmission of rabies. And taxpayers spend $250 million to house abandoned cats and dogs in shelters and then sadly, euthanize (kill) the majority of these pets.
"There is a proven approach to solve this problem: mandatory spay/neuter laws. With the wide availability of free and low-cost spay/neuter services, mandatory spay/neuter laws do not pose a financial burden for pet owners. It’s a common sense solution to the growing problem of pet overpopulation.
"What the California Healthy Pets Act Would Do
"The California Healthy Pets Act (AB 1634) would require the spaying and neutering of most cats and dogs by the time the pet is four months old. It is authored and was introduced by Assemblymember Lloyd Levine.
"Pet owners who have not spayed or neutered their pet would be cited and given time to spay or neuter their pets before a fine would be assessed.
"Local animal control agencies would be responsible for enforcing the California Healthy Pets Act. A portion of the fines collected would be used to expand the availability of free or low-cost spay or neuter programs and other outreach efforts.
"The California Healthy Pets Act exempts:
Purebred dogs and cats whose owners obtain a permit
Dogs who work as guide dogs, service dogs, or signal dogs
Dogs who are used by law enforcement agencies for law enforcement or rescue activities
Dogs and cats whose veterinarian determines that due to age, poor health, or illness it is unsafe to spay or neuter them."
There is also a superb write-up on the bill from The Deseret Sun, on line at http://tinyurl.com/yukdme
It looks at various criticisms of the bill and then sums up with a reference to the number of animals killed in California and the amount it costs taxpayers every year:
"Some problems are so big that they can't all be solved at once....Depending on your perspective, there are either 400,000 or 250 million reasons to do something constructive about the pet overpopulation problem. AB1634 may not be perfect, but it is the most reasonable approach we've seen in a long time."
The California Healthy Pets Act website lets us know how we can help. It instructs:
"The California Healthy Pets Act is being carried by Assembly Member Lloyd Levine of Van Nuys. Please send him your letters of support and his office will distribute to the appropriate legislators as needed. It's requested that your letters fit on a single page and have a positive, friendly tone.
"Please send your letters to:
Assembly Member Lloyd Levine
Capitol Office:
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0040
Tel: (916) 319-2040
Fax: (916) 319-2140 District Office:
"We do not recommend emailing your comments to legislators. The Assembly Member's staff has recommended fax/letter as the best way to voice your support, with a phone call as the next best way.
Judie Mancuso, how is heading up this campaign, has also sent the following. If you have questions about it, and how you can help, contact judie@cahealthypets.com
Here's info from her flyer:
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How can I help this important bill pass?
1) Attend the Business and Professions Committee Hearing Tuesday, April 10, 2007
AB 1634 California Healthy Pets Act is scheduled to be heard in the Business and Professions
Committee Hearing on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at the State Capitol, Room 447.
Please help by attending the hearing. The hearing starts at 9 am and lasts until approximately 1:30 pm. If possible be at the
room by 8am to get a seat. We won’t know what time our bill will be heard, we simply show up and wait. We should be done by 1:30, but it
could go later. So get to Sacramento early, and leave sometime early evening, just to be safe.
Everyone that attends will be able to stand at the microphone, state their name (& group if applicable), where they are from and that they support the bill.
It’s very important that we fill the hearing room! So please invite everyone who will come and support our bill.
2) Contact, write, call or visit Business and Professions Committee Members
No matter what your district, please write (best) or call Mike Eng:
Assemblyman Mike Eng, Chair,
Business and Professions Committee
State Capitol,
P.O. Box 942849,
Sacramento, CA 94249-0049
(916) 319-2049,
Fax (916) 319-2149
When writing to Assemblyman Eng, please forward a copy to:
Assembly Business and Professions Committee
ATTN: Tracy Rhine,
Committee Consultant,
1020 N Street, Room 124,
Sacramento, CA 94249.
FAX: (916) 319-3306.
This will ensure that your support is included in the official bill analysis.
Also, please contact your representative, who is on the Business and Professions Committee if you live in one of the following districts:
Thank you for your help in passing this important legislation!
Assemblyman Bill Emmerson -- Vice Chair
Phone: (916)319-2063
Fax: (916)319-2163
Rep-District 63
Rancho Cucamonga, Upland, San Bernardino, Highland, Loma Linda, Fontana, Grand Terrace, Yucaipa, Moreno Valley, Riverside, Redlands
Assemblywoman Karen Bass
Phone: (916) 319-2047
(916) 319-2147 fax
Dem-District 47
Baldwin Hills Village, Carthay Circle, Crenshaw, Culver City, Ladera Heights
Hyde Park, Mar Vista, Palms, South Los Angeles, West Los Angeles
Country Club Park, Koreatown, Leimert Park, Rancho Park, South Carthay
Van Ness, View Park, Westwood Village, Windsor Hills, Cienga, Culver Junction, Home Junction
Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter
Phone: (916) 319-2062
Fax: (916) 319-2162
Dem-District 62
Fontana, Rialto, Muscoy, San Bernadino, Colton, Bloomington
Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi
Phone: (916) 319-2018
Fax: (916) 319-2118
Dem-District 18
Hayward, San Leandro, Dublin, Castro Valley, Pleasanton, San Lorenzo Sunol, Cherryland, Ashland, Oakland (small portion)
Assemblyman Edward P. Hernandez
Phone: (916) 319-2057
Fax: (916) 319-2157
Dem-District 57
Azusa, Baldwin Park, Covina, La Puente, West Covina
Assemblywoman Shirley Horton
Phone: (916) 319-2078
Fax: (916) 319-2178
Rep-District 78
Chula Vista, San Diego, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley, Bonita
Assemblyman Bill Maze
Phone: (916) 319-2034
Fax: (916) 319-2134
Rep-District 34
Visalia, Tulare, Porterville, Barston, Lindsay, Exeter, Farmersville, California City, Independence, Lone Pine, Woodlake, Needles, Bishop
Assemblyman Curren D. Price., Jr.
Phone: (916) 319-2051
Fax: (916) 319-2151
Dem-District 51
Inglewood, Hawthorne, Gardena, West Compton, LA Intl Airport, Playa Vista Lennox
Assemblyman Alberto Torrico
Phone: (916) 319-2020
Fax: (916) 319-2120
Dem-District 20
Newark, Fremont, Union City, Milipitas, Hayward, San Jose, Castro Valley Livermore, Pleasanton, Sunol
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Please take just a few minutes to put a quick call in, and send a quick fax in support of the bill. Those few minutes could help save hundreds of thousands of lives every year. Please get in touch with judie@cahealthypets.com if you want to help more.
And please forward this alert to everybody in California who cares.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
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Date: Sat Mar 31 16:55:33 2007
