There is a very bad bill pending in Congress. PAWS
was originally proposed by animal rights (AR)
organizations to, ostensibly, get rid of
"puppy mills" but, if it passes, it will insure that
eventually most, probably almost all, pure-bred and/or
working dogs will come from commercial
breeders, i.e. those very puppy mills. It will make
pure-bred cat breeding impossible and will also make
rescue prohibitively expensive. PAWS is an
extremely bad bill!! If you love your animals, oppose
it vigorously!
PAWS, as written, is confusing, arbitrary and NO ONE
knows for sure exactly what all of its provisions will
mean for animal owners in the US but it will be bad.
The pet-law list has been running 100-200 mails a day
about PAWS for two months, and still there is no
consensus about precisely what its provisions will
mean except that what the HSUS and the AKC are saying
about it is not true. (BTW, the AKC, without whose
support this bill would not pass, infuriated most of
its members by presenting AKC support for this bill as
a fait accompli with no discussion among its members -
but then corporate AKC will make a lot of money if
this bill passes while the dog owners they are
supposed to represent will lose. The AKC even changed
its historic mission statement to reflect this
change in their priorities.)
I must admit that my head is spinning as I try to
figure out what this law will actually mean to me and
other people but I have already determined
that, even though I breed a litter of puppies no more
than every four years, still there are at least 4 ways
that I will lose my exemption as a small breeder and I
will have to comply with the USDA regulations which
will be impossibly costly and absolutely inimical to
the rearing of good home-raised hounds.
Lawyers and people who have much legislative
experience are as confused about this law as the rest
of us (and this is even before the bureaucrats who
will enforce it get involved!) But certain things are
becoming apparent. Rescue groups are claiming that
they will be exempt but that is not true unless the
bill is rewritten. PAWS, if enforced, will devastate
rescue in this country. Pure-bred cat breeding will
almost cease to exist and the hobby breeders of dogs
(the good show and working dog people who produce the
best animals) will not fare much better. And now it
is becoming apparent that many home breeders of
rabbits, guinea pigs and other pets will also be badly
affected.
This bill was hatched when the Doris Day Animal League
- an animal rights, not an animal welfare,
organization - lost a lawsuit (DDAL v. Veneman).
They were trying to force the USDA to regulate
everyone who breeds any animals, not just the large
commercial breeders who are already covered by the
Animal Welfare Act (AWA). They lost that lawsuit
because the courts concluded that Congress had no
intent to regulate hobby breeders under the AWA. This
new bill WILL DEFINITELY ESTABLISH THAT INTENT and,
while its provisions are already bad enough, I am sure
that the DDAL and other AR groups are already
preparing a lawsuit to file if PAWS passes which will
try to eliminate the few exemptions small breeders can
claim under PAWS. They will have an excellent chance
of winning that lawsuit.
This bill radically changes the federal government's
relationship with animals in the US. PAWS is not
about animal cruelty, neglect or puppy mills. "Puppy
mills", i.e.commercial breeders, are already very well
covered under the AWA. If the AWA were properly
enforced, all those abuses decried by the AR groups
(and mourned by us all) would not exist.
And, in addition, every state, county and municipality
in this country already has laws regarding cruelty and
neglect.
Animal rights groups want to control and possibility
eliminate your relationship with your animals and PAWS
is a crucial first step for them.
Do a deep background search on what some of the more
extreme people behind AR actually think and want to
implement or let me know and I will send you a list of
verified quotes that will chill your soul. Many of
the leaders of the AR movement are envisioning a
future where we will ALL be petless vegans and the
only animals will be ones that can survive in the
wild. They won't get that far, of course, but in the
meantime they may inflict a lot of damage. PAWS is
definitely part of that damage.
Please do whatever you can do to stop his bill which
creates another huge intrusion by the federal
government into our lives and threatens our
futures with our animals.
Call and write your Senator. In the Senate, PAWS is
S.1139. Also call the Senate Agriculture Committee
(202) 224.2035 and the Senate Appropriations Committee
(202) 224-5270 to let them know you oppose
S.1139.
Call your Representative
. In the House, PAWS is HB
2669. Also call the House Agriculture Committee
(202) 225-2171.
Check the links below for more information and more
ways you can oppose PAWS.
Thanks for listening,
Geraldine
Websites with PAWS info and how to fight it:
http://www.pet-law.com/index.htmlhttp://saova.org/1139.html http://www.dfow.org/paws.htmhttp://ncraoa.com/alerts.htmlPermission to crosspost