“Thank you to SAOVA."
Read and
learn what might have slipped by pet owners.
UPDATE:
PAWS
(Pet Animal Welfare Act
of 2005) is totally dead. This Rick
Santorum-HSUS-DDAL-AKC-AVMA bill consumed incredible time,
energy and resources to kill, but common sense and
responsible animal owners prevailed. SAOVA took a leadership
role in this fight and, with the support of hundreds of
animal owner groups and thousands of individuals, S1139 and
HR2669 were soundly defeated. Neither bill ever had a
subcommittee vote and their cosponsor lists never matched
those of Sen. Santorum’s 2001, pre-PAWS, Puppy Protection
Act (PPA). This support shortfall occurred despite that the
American Kennel Club (AKC) and American Veterinary Medical
Association (AVMA) switching sides and joining HSUS-DDAL
on PAWS, after opposing them in 2001.
Take it from a retired career lobbyist,
this was an amazing
achievement! Seldom has a pro bono federal
lobbying effort had such an inspired and forceful grass
roots component. Much is owed to many, but I’d be remiss in
not recognizing the many non-canine groups, supporting
agriculture interests, and the officers of the forty parent
breed clubs and 140 other AKC clubs that put their members'
and dogs interests' before the AKC’s disguised attempt to
hurt other registries, and in so doing injure thousands and
thousands of innocent animal owners.
http://saova.org/1139opponents.html
Susan Wolf of the North Carolina Responsible Animal Owners
Alliance and Kelly Wichman of the Dog Federation of
Wisconsin also deserve special accolades for their tireless
cooperative efforts with SAOVA against PAWS. They gained an
unusual DC insider perspective. Few others understand the
role that the Judiciary Committees and Department of Justice
played in this winning effort.
UPDATE On
H.R.503 -
The Horse Slaughter Prevention Act
(HR503) passed the House by a vote 263-146 on September 7,
2006 in a very dark day for animal owners. The hysteria
surrounding this bill that was whipped up by the Humane
Society of the U.S. (HSUS), and that group's dishonesty,
were overwhelming. This bill gives equines quasi-human
status, federally dictates end-of-life decisions for animal
owners and sets a dangerous precedent by banning a livestock
product for reasons other than food safety or public health.
HR503 will not become
law. Senate opponents, led by Sen. John
Cornyn (TX-R), have put a procedural "hold" on the bill,
eliminating any possibility of Senate passage this year. If
you agree that HR503 is a bad bill, call the Senator’s
office and thank him - 202-224-2934.
HR503 Horse Slaughter Prevention is the bill where the anti's are
most likely to achieve a success using a revised legislative
technique. Equine slaughter is an incredibly emotional issue that
divides and ravages the horse community. More than twenty horse
owner groups oppose the bill. Race track owners and thoroughbred
groups are for HR503 and adamantly opposed to this disposal idea in
any form, fearful of a repeat of bad publicity that Derby winner
Ferdinand's slaughter in Japan created. HSUS's CEO Wayne Pacelle
invokes images of covered wagons, pony express riders and fallen war
heroes when he lobbies for HR503. This is also a huge money raiser
for the anti's. The policy issue is whether a horse owner or the
government decides how to dispose of an old, sick and unwanted
animal. In a few states equines have been classed "companion"
animals. For each sides talking points, see the attached paper and
http://www.equineadvocates.com/slaughter.html
https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2006_horses_cosponsorhouse2
http://www.commonhorsesense.com
Since July 2001 there's been at least one horse slaughter ban bill
every Congress. The bans normally take the form of prohibitions on
shipping horses to slaughter via interstate commerce. The co-sponsor
support has steadily grown.
2001 - 8
2002 - 65
2003 - 228
A new (repeat) ban bill was introduced 2/1/2005, HR503/S1915. It has
203 House and 21 Senate cosponsors.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d109:HR00503:@@@P Chairman
Bob Goodlatte's House Agriculture Committee voted 37-3 to kill HR503
last month. The Energy and Commerce Committee, in a separate action,
discharged the bill without recommendation or amendment. Resource
Committee Chairman Richard Pombo asked to have the bill referred
there, without success. An important factor in this fight is the
very public opposition to the bans by the American Veterinary
Medical Association (AVMA).
ACTION REQUEST:
HSUS is pushing for a HR503 floor vote on September 7th, immediately
after Congress returns from its August recess. Most House members
are home in their districts, busy campaigning for reelection in
November. Please contact your individual Congressman and urge him to
vote *against* HR503. If he or she is listed as a bill cosponsor
(above), take special pains to make your points against HR503.
In addition, call or fax the following House GOP leaders and ask
that HR503 not be permitted on the floor. At a minimum, it should
have a hearing before the Resources Committee.
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert
(202) 225-2976 - Fax: (202) 225-0697
Majority Leader John A. Boehner (202)
225-6205 - Fax: (202) 225-0704
Rules Chairman David Dreier
202) 225-2305 - Fax: (202) 225-7018
H.R. 857
is another first step into federal legislation restricting
your rights as an animal owner. It has to do with equine slaughter
and it does nothing for horses but everything for the political
growth and bank account of the Humane Society Of America (HSUS.) It
fails to provide any standard of humane care for horse rescue
facilities now receiving federal funds. It fails to provide
funding (minimum $1800 per year for minimum care) for the huge
numbers of sick and elderly horses that would be kept alive in order
to promote the political agenda. It fails to provide
care/facility funding for horses confiscated from violators or
voluntarily turned in due to new slaughter restrictions, thus
causing unnecessary suffering for the horses. It restricts
euthanasia methods, hampering vets and forcing inhumane killing of
horses. It fails to address the significant environmental
issues resulting from the necessary disposal of thousands of
carcasses presently being “recycled” through slaughter houses.
Like other such
bills pushed by anti-animal agendas, it “sounds” as though it would
benefit horses when in fact, the exact opposite is the case. It is
devious and deadly to animal owners.
UPDATE:
The Animal Enterprise Terrorism
Act (AETA) (S3880)
passed the Senate on September 30, 2006. This is a pro-animal
owner interest bill. The House will take it up during the lame
duck session. Bill dynamics in the House after the November 7th
election will be substantially changed, if the Democrats win
control of that chamber, even though new members won’t be seated
until January. This makes it hard to predict S3880’s chances.
SAOVA lobbied for AETA's inclusion of hunting-related business
enterprises.
No bills are ever carried over to the next Congress, contrary to
what consultant James Holt told AKC’s Lobby Day PAWS supporters
last month. However, the anti’s efforts will never cease and new
assaults against us, our sports and livelihoods are guaranteed.
These positive lobbying experiences of 2005-2006 demonstrate
that we can effectively protect interests if we stay vigilant,
communicate, work hard together and get to know our legislators
better.
Side
Effects
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