California Healthy Pets Act: Why it Isn't Necessary for California

AB 1634 is a pending California legislation concerning dog and cat breeders California wide. It doesn't take much digging on this particular piece of legislation to realize that it will spell certain disaster for responsible breeders in California of rare breeds, working breeds and specialized (what one might call "designer") breeds. The more you come to know about this bill, the worse it sounds.

What AB 1634 says: "This bill would prohibit any person from owning or possessing any unaltered cat or dog over the age of 4 months, unless that person possesses an intact permit, as specified." The permit, however, is not easy to obtain and one must meet every requirement, or face the penalty (which, according to the bill is whatever fine your local animal control center decides to place on you as well as a $500 fine for every prescribed period in which your animal goes without being spayed or neutered). Among several other requirements, one of the main rules set to obtain such a permit to keep your animal intact require that your breed be registered with AKC or equivalent breed registry. That means no more rare breeds that are only recognized in Europe or other countries. That means no more designer breeds like Labradoodles or Cockapoos (which many of us here in California have known about and loved for years). That means no more mixed breed working dogs who have proven themselves on the field despite their lack of being purely bred to meet show dog requirements. This also means that hobby breeders (those who breed purebred dogs in their spare time to further the quality of the breed, rather than to further the quantity available) will be taxed heavily and often for their love of the breed and for not over-breeding and abusing their animals. You heard that right. They will be taxed for NOT abusing their animals. As "commercial" breeders are exempted from this program and from all taxes and fines associated with it, that means that AB1634 is promoting puppy mills and over breeding. If your favorite breeder is not one that breeds show dogs or cats (but rather, loving family pets) then you need to stand up and allow your voice to be heard. Do not allow this bill to be passed.

What AB 1634 proclaims to do is keep unwanted and unadopted kittens and puppies out of the Humane Societies, Shelters and Pounds of California, and to lower general taxes related to which seems at first glance to be a worthy cause. The problem is, purebred dogs don't end up in these tax funded shelters. Between responsible, self inflicted rules that good breeders have established to keep tabs on every puppy or kitten that leaves their home and dedicated private organizations (not funded by tax money) who rescue abandoned or abused purebreds, our responsible breeders in California have already done their part to be sure that their dogs and cats don't end up in tax funded shelters of any kind. It seems that the real reason behind this piece of legislation has nothing at all to do with the mask they've put on it. Because our dedicated California breeders have done such a good job keeping tabs on their own animals and on other animals related to their breed, they end up paying less taxes (while doing more charity work involving animals) than those "puppy mills" we talked about earlier. The California government has noticed this and is using the public ignorance and lack of interest in laws in order to impose impossible restrictions and taxes on those who have done so much for animals in the past.

If AB 1634 passes as legislation, according to Kennel Flora (as well as many other breeders in California who I spoke with both over the phone and via email), "If AB 1634 passes, small breeders will vanish from the open market immediately to save their breeds from extinction in California (and) commercial breeding, (as well as) puppy smuggling from abroad will increase resulting in unhealthy, poor quality pet populations". It is clear, as well, that in places where this type of legislation has been passed on a city level that the program simply does not work. According to Angie Niles (a mathematician who has done a report on the subject at hand), "it became clear that the dog and cat impound data used by supporters to promote this bill do not match Santa Cruz County shelter data reported, by law, to the California Department of Health Services - Veterinary Public Health Section". This pending law is not about helping your local animal shelters. This is about tax increases in order to fund more beurocracy in Sacramento.

It's a heck of a way to say thank you to those wonderful souls who are giving so much to a community of animals that nobody else seems to care about. I hope for their sake that this can be stopped in time.

Sources:

Angie Niles, "California Healthy Pets Act - AB 1634" National Animal Interest Alliance URL: (http://www.naiaonline.org/pdfs/Big%20Lie%20Graphs2.pdf)

Save Our Dogs Contributors, "Save Our Dogs!" Save Our Dogs URL: (http://saveourdogs.net/)

Kennel Flora, "Opposition to AB 1634" AB1634 URL: (http://www.ab1634.com/)

Assembly Member Levine, "AB 1634 (Levine): California Healthy Pets Act" Around The Capital URL: (http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/billview.html?bill=AB_1634#tab1)