REGISTRY, Breed & kennel Club NEWS

RALEEF - the Responsible Animal Legislative Educational Effort Federation

The German Shepherd Dog Club of America has decided it is time to stop being reactive to bad, anti-dog, anti-breeder legislation. Our legislative committee has been renamed, and is now known as RALEEF - the Responsible Animal Legislative Educational Effort Federation. The purpose and duty of RALEEF is to educate members of the Parent Club about the benefits or threats of legislation and organizations that could affect our dogs or our sport. RALEEF will also assist members in responding to both good and bad legislation and ordinances as an entity, rather than as individuals. This is, obviously, an education oriented committee, and it has already started work.

RALEEF is going to attempt to bring together similar groups/committees from other Parent Clubs, so that we can work together in a united way to combat the Animal Rights Organizations, who are so well organized. It is time to join together and fight. We all know the breeds commonly named in Breed Specific Legislation, and we hope the Parent Clubs for those breeds will be the first to join us. Also, because as the AROs gain more and more influence with legislators nationwide, other breeds will also be affected, we hope all Parent clubs will form similar committees and work with us.

Your parent club will hear from RALEEF in the near future.

I am only a member of the RALEEF committee, not its chairperson. I am writing to you unofficially and privately, to give you a "heads up" about this effort and to ask you to start taking action now, laying the groundwork, so to speak, so that when your club hears from us, it will be able to act quickly. If you as an individual are concerned about anti-dog, anti-breeder legislation, please start talking to your parent club members soon. Official contact is likely to be made through your AKC delegate. In the meantime, if you require further information on RALEEF, please feel free to contact me, either by phone at 804-560-1086, or email at pmick@erols.com.

Not everyone to whom I have sent this message is a member of an AKC recognized breed club. Not everyone is in a breed that has been the subject of Breed Specific Legislation. Nevertheless, as time passes, more and more laws and ordinances that are unfriendly (to say the least) towards all dogs are being proposed. Almost all of these laws are instigated and supported by Animal Rights Organizations. There is at this time no unity to speak of between various breed clubs and State Federations to stand together and fight. RALEEF means to bring us all together in a united effort to do so.

Please let me know if you (and your club) are interested. We of RALEEF have great plans, and we would like to work with other parent clubs in accomplishing this goal.

Peggy Mickelson

pmick@erols.com

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