TX-RPOA E-News
From RPOA Texas Outreach and Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
Action Alert! The "hot potato" HB 1451 arrived in the Senate but who's to sponsor? The eyes of Texas animal owners are on the Senate!
Time to contact Texas senators and ask them to OPPOSE HB 1451 and do NOT sponsor it. The bill has passed the House; been sent to the Senate but not assigned to a committee. There is no sponsor yet and we want to keep it that way.
HB 1451 is not written to regulate dog and cat breeders in Texas. It is written to eliminate them. The Standards for Care; Confinement and Transportation adopted must meet federal USDA regulations at a minimum. Bill sponsors and proponents know they cannot be met in a home environment.
There is no way that there can be an unbiased advisory committee in Texas to administer the bill provisions because PETA types have infiltrated all levels of government, animal shelters, animal controls, humane societies and some rescue groups.
Recently Della Lindquist, with Texas Dept. of Licensing & Regulation, was exposed to be an Austin "animal rights" activist. This is the department involved in writing and enforcing the bill.
RPOA is networking with many other animal interest groups. The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and Sportsmen's & Animal Owners' Voting Alliance are among them. Check out their links below for helpful information.
Sportsmen's & Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA) has a link to email ALL the senators with one email.
U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance has an excellent report on the House Members Voting Record on HB 1451. Please note in the link that all the Democratic representatives voted in favor of the bill with the Republican vote divided almost in half.
If not for the power of bill sponsor Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D) who allegedly threatened representatives with killing their bills in her Local & Consent Calendar Committee, we would have killed this bill in the House. But now it's on to the Senate!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Texas House Passes Bill That Treats Sporting Dog Kennels like Puppy Mills
U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance 4/27/11
A bill that could put many sporting dog owners out of existence has been passed by the Texas House of Representatives and is moving to the Senate.
The bill, House Bill 1451, introduced by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D- Houston), would classify many sporting dog owners as commercial dog breeders and subject them to costly new regulations, warrantless home inspections, and expensive new permit fees.
Click here to see the list of how Texas Representatives voted.
The bill will now move to the Senate. All sportsmen need to immediately contact their state senators and ask that they oppose House Bill 1451.
Some of the many harmful provisions in the bill include:
•Classifying anyone who possesses 11 or more intact female dogs and sells only one dog as a “breeder.” So-called breeders are then subject to unnecessary new regulations and costly fees.
•Allowing unannounced warrantless searches of all areas where a breeder keeps dogs or maintains records related to their dogs. Even homes are included in this.
•Allowing a commission to set permit fees for breeders that are necessary to pay for administrative costs and enforcement of the bill. The fiscal note attached to the bill estimates that this will amount to nearly $1.3 million. Based on this estimate, fees for sporting dog owners could be in the thousands of dollars per year.
•Requiring a commission to establish new, unnecessary standards of care for sporting dog breeders including new enclosure, veterinary, and exercise requirements. These new requirements are not needed and would cause a financial burden on responsible sporting dog breeders.
Unlike Commercial operations, sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders do not typically have a revenue stream to shoulder the cost of high fees, and dramatic costs associated with complying with a bill intended for large scale facilities that exist primarily for the purpose of commerce. More important there have been no findings that justify treating sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders the same as commercial kennels.
Take Action! Texas sportsmen should contact their state senators today and ask them to oppose HB 1451. Tell them the bill unjustly treats sporting dog and hobby breeders as large commercial breeders, allows for warrantless searches of homes, and creates unnecessary, costly new regulations that could put many of these breeders out of existence.
To find your state senator’s contact information, visit the USSA Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org/LAC.
http://www.ussportsmen.org/
A bill that could put many sporting dog owners out of existence has been passed by the Texas House of Representatives and is moving to the Senate.
The bill, House Bill 1451, introduced by Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D- Houston), would classify many sporting dog owners as commercial dog breeders and subject them to costly new regulations, warrantless home inspections, and expensive new permit fees.
Click here to see the list of how Texas Representatives voted.
The bill will now move to the Senate. All sportsmen need to immediately contact their state senators and ask that they oppose House Bill 1451.
Some of the many harmful provisions in the bill include:
•Classifying anyone who possesses 11 or more intact female dogs and sells only one dog as a “breeder.” So-called breeders are then subject to unnecessary new regulations and costly fees.
•Allowing unannounced warrantless searches of all areas where a breeder keeps dogs or maintains records related to their dogs. Even homes are included in this.
•Allowing a commission to set permit fees for breeders that are necessary to pay for administrative costs and enforcement of the bill. The fiscal note attached to the bill estimates that this will amount to nearly $1.3 million. Based on this estimate, fees for sporting dog owners could be in the thousands of dollars per year.
•Requiring a commission to establish new, unnecessary standards of care for sporting dog breeders including new enclosure, veterinary, and exercise requirements. These new requirements are not needed and would cause a financial burden on responsible sporting dog breeders.
Unlike Commercial operations, sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders do not typically have a revenue stream to shoulder the cost of high fees, and dramatic costs associated with complying with a bill intended for large scale facilities that exist primarily for the purpose of commerce. More important there have been no findings that justify treating sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders the same as commercial kennels.
Take Action! Texas sportsmen should contact their state senators today and ask them to oppose HB 1451. Tell them the bill unjustly treats sporting dog and hobby breeders as large commercial breeders, allows for warrantless searches of homes, and creates unnecessary, costly new regulations that could put many of these breeders out of existence.
To find your state senator’s contact information, visit the USSA Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org/LAC.
http://www.ussportsmen.org/
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Definition of Commercial Breeder
What is a large-scale breeder? A vast difference exists between large-scale commercial facilities where breeding and selling animals is a full time occupation and a kennel in which a small number of intact animals is owned and maintained. When current Texas cruelty laws are enforced and dogs from a “large” facility are seized by authorities, details are widely aired by the media. Several large kennel seizures made the news in the past few years. In 2009 over 600 dogs were seized from a substandard kennel in Kaufman County. Yesterday the Dallas News reported a recent raid where 140 dogs were seized. It is logical to assume that the majority of the dogs in either kennel would be female, as the females produce puppies for sale. Even at an unlikely ratio of one female to one male the first kennel would have a minimum of 300 females (28 times the threshold of intact animals cited in HB 1451). The second kennel would have a minimum of 70 females (6.5 times the threshold of intact animals cited in HB 1451).
HB 1451 is part of an organized nationwide campaign by HSUS and has basically nothing to do with actual need in Texas. It is a relentless effort to place government restrictions on hunters and dog breeders until our sport, dogs, and hobbies are regulated out of existence.
HB 1451 is part of an organized nationwide campaign by HSUS and has basically nothing to do with actual need in Texas. It is a relentless effort to place government restrictions on hunters and dog breeders until our sport, dogs, and hobbies are regulated out of existence.
Texas House Moves to Strip Rights of Sporting Dog Owners
4/27/2011 U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance
By Rob Sexton, Vice President for Government Affairs
Surely Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jim Bowie are rolling over in their graves. It is hard to believe that these patriots in the fight for a free and independent Texas would ever have foreseen that a legislature full of supposed conservatives would vote to permit warrantless searches of the homes of those folks who might sell a few puppies at the end of their driveway. That, however, is exactly what took place yesterday as the Texas House of Representatives voted 98-43 in favor of a bill alleged to be targeting so called puppy mills. Click here to see who voted to take your rights away and to see those that stood up to protect them.
Puppy mill is a media term coined by animal rights groups to bring attention to substandard conditions in some large scale, commercial dog breeding facilities. The dog owners that I know, along with hunters in general, all believe that these places should be operated humanely. But as is often the case with legislation drafted by the animal rights lobby, the net has been cast much wider than large-scale commercial facilities.
That’s why the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Texas Wildlife Association, and many other national and local sportsmen’s and dog groups are opposing the bill.
House Bill 1451 classifies you as a commercial breeder if you maintain eleven female dogs that have not been spayed, and you sell dogs. Now, to a lot of urban folks having eleven dogs may seem like a lot. But to a sporting dog kennel owner who uses the animals to chase foxes and coyotes or flush quail, it is not a lot. And if one of these owners sells even just two puppies, then that person opens his house to being searched by the government without cause. Without even so much as a warrant.
No warrant. I guess you can now add the founding fathers to the list of those rolling in their graves.
But that is indeed the case with this bill. The fellow who puts a sign to sell a litter of puppies at the end of his driveway is considered a commercial breeder. The woman who takes out an ad in her local newspaper to sell a few extra Labrador retrievers is to be treated as if she were operating a puppy producing factory. And yet no one has ever made a case that hobby breeders and sporting dog kennels are operating inhumane facilities that would necessitate these restrictions.
This bill is like treating a mom and pop ice cream stand the same as a factory. License fees will be higher, even thousands of dollars. Record keeping requirements must be maintained and be available to the government at any time. Kennel construction and maintenance will be tightly regulated and specifically spelled out by the government. The bill sets up a new unelected board of bureaucrats that is allowed to add any requirement, fee and restriction that it deems necessary. The commission is estimated by the state to cost at least $1.2 million per year, which must be paid by kennel owners. All of these things will run the cost of maintaining a hobby kennel through the roof, and ultimately out of existence.
Currently many sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders maintain the records for their dogs on their home computer. Because, as I keep driving home the point, they are not a large commercial industry. This bill gives inspectors the authority to search the premises where records are kept without probable cause or even a warrant. A suspected drug dealer does not have to worry about government enforcers storming his house without cause, but a dog breeder does? That is simply amazing!
And what is even more amazing? Is that this is taking place in Texas. Not California. Not New York. But in the Republic of Texas. The future home of one of the most restrictive dog kennel requirements in the United States.
House Bill 1451 is now in the Texas Senate. Here’s hoping that the elected officials here will remember their historical predecessors and make sure that this bill is written fairly, and properly targets those abusive commercial operators it claims to be pursuing. Failing that, this bill should be defeated.
To find your state senator’s contact information, visit the USSA Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/ussportsmen/home/
By Rob Sexton, Vice President for Government Affairs
Surely Davy Crockett, Sam Houston and Jim Bowie are rolling over in their graves. It is hard to believe that these patriots in the fight for a free and independent Texas would ever have foreseen that a legislature full of supposed conservatives would vote to permit warrantless searches of the homes of those folks who might sell a few puppies at the end of their driveway. That, however, is exactly what took place yesterday as the Texas House of Representatives voted 98-43 in favor of a bill alleged to be targeting so called puppy mills. Click here to see who voted to take your rights away and to see those that stood up to protect them.
Puppy mill is a media term coined by animal rights groups to bring attention to substandard conditions in some large scale, commercial dog breeding facilities. The dog owners that I know, along with hunters in general, all believe that these places should be operated humanely. But as is often the case with legislation drafted by the animal rights lobby, the net has been cast much wider than large-scale commercial facilities.
That’s why the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, the American Kennel Club (AKC), the Texas Wildlife Association, and many other national and local sportsmen’s and dog groups are opposing the bill.
House Bill 1451 classifies you as a commercial breeder if you maintain eleven female dogs that have not been spayed, and you sell dogs. Now, to a lot of urban folks having eleven dogs may seem like a lot. But to a sporting dog kennel owner who uses the animals to chase foxes and coyotes or flush quail, it is not a lot. And if one of these owners sells even just two puppies, then that person opens his house to being searched by the government without cause. Without even so much as a warrant.
No warrant. I guess you can now add the founding fathers to the list of those rolling in their graves.
But that is indeed the case with this bill. The fellow who puts a sign to sell a litter of puppies at the end of his driveway is considered a commercial breeder. The woman who takes out an ad in her local newspaper to sell a few extra Labrador retrievers is to be treated as if she were operating a puppy producing factory. And yet no one has ever made a case that hobby breeders and sporting dog kennels are operating inhumane facilities that would necessitate these restrictions.
This bill is like treating a mom and pop ice cream stand the same as a factory. License fees will be higher, even thousands of dollars. Record keeping requirements must be maintained and be available to the government at any time. Kennel construction and maintenance will be tightly regulated and specifically spelled out by the government. The bill sets up a new unelected board of bureaucrats that is allowed to add any requirement, fee and restriction that it deems necessary. The commission is estimated by the state to cost at least $1.2 million per year, which must be paid by kennel owners. All of these things will run the cost of maintaining a hobby kennel through the roof, and ultimately out of existence.
Currently many sporting dog kennels and hobby breeders maintain the records for their dogs on their home computer. Because, as I keep driving home the point, they are not a large commercial industry. This bill gives inspectors the authority to search the premises where records are kept without probable cause or even a warrant. A suspected drug dealer does not have to worry about government enforcers storming his house without cause, but a dog breeder does? That is simply amazing!
And what is even more amazing? Is that this is taking place in Texas. Not California. Not New York. But in the Republic of Texas. The future home of one of the most restrictive dog kennel requirements in the United States.
House Bill 1451 is now in the Texas Senate. Here’s hoping that the elected officials here will remember their historical predecessors and make sure that this bill is written fairly, and properly targets those abusive commercial operators it claims to be pursuing. Failing that, this bill should be defeated.
To find your state senator’s contact information, visit the USSA Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/ussportsmen/home/
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
HB 1451 targets hobby breeders
HB 1451 goes beyond all reasonable need for animal welfare and places severe restrictions on dog breeders who are not breeding dogs as a business. The requirements cited in the bill would force many hobby breeders and hunting dog breeders to shut down altogether. Reading the actual bill instead of Rep. Thompson's media version of it might be an education to everyone.
If you are a dog lover, do you want dogs raised in a home setting or in a separate steel and concrete building? Thompson's bill requires federal USDA engineering standards be used for facilities - that means separate buildings, not a breeder's home. How does that benefit anyone? Even more ridiculous is the claim that no cost is attached to the bill. Must be some new math we don't know about.
If you are a dog lover, do you want dogs raised in a home setting or in a separate steel and concrete building? Thompson's bill requires federal USDA engineering standards be used for facilities - that means separate buildings, not a breeder's home. How does that benefit anyone? Even more ridiculous is the claim that no cost is attached to the bill. Must be some new math we don't know about.
"Stop Playing Political Football With Our Pets!"
A message from TX-RPOA E-News
From RPOA Texas Outreach and Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
www.rpoatexasoutreach.org
For animal owners, this is the most important Texas Legislative Session in history. RPOA with the help of many other animal interest groups in Texas defeated HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network attempts last session to regulate pet ownership out of existence and end all dog and cat breeding in Texas. We defeated Rep. Senfronia Thompson's Anti-Breeding Bill and Senator Leticia Van de Putte's Mandatory Spay/Neuter of all Texas dogs and cats. As expected they are back this session with a vengeance, spreading misinformation and campaign donations by the truckload.
Phone, fax and email your senators. Tell them you OPPOSE these bills
Last November's election clearly demonstrated the public's distaste for politics as usual and the expansion and overreach of government in our everyday lives. These bills must be OPPOSED for the following reasons:
* HB 1451 is in violation of the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the part of the Bill of Rights that guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a judicially sanctioned warrant supported by probable cause.
* Animals are legally our property in Texas to love, care for and protect from all harm.
* With budget cuts this Session for essential social services, education, nursing homes and children's programs, adding HB 1451's bureaucracy at a cost of $1.3 million and 14.5 new employees (with benefits) is ludicrous.
* HB 1451 duplicates the existing Texas Animal Cruelty Statute which addresses (1) "failure to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody." (2) "transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;" (3) "seriously overworks an animal."
Rep. Thompson and THLN have both been quoted saying that Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is sympathetic to her bill. So the revelation that Della Lindquist, Assistant General Counsel for TDLR, is an active "animal rights" extremist with Austin's Emancipet comes as no surprise. Their website links to Texas Humane Legislation Network. Lindquist recently visited several dog breeding kennels for TDLR. The extremists have infiltrated all levels of government, animal control departments, humane societies, and the Animal Law Section of Texas State Bar -- making it impossible to have an impartial advisory committee or enforcement team in this state.
HB 1451 has a new committee substitute by Patricia Halsell now simply entitled "The Dog and Cat Breeder Act" and defined as such. No more deceptions about regulating "commercial or high volume" dog and cat breeders! HB 1451 had 10 actions taken last Thursday and 2 actions Friday. We won't bore you with the details but we have Representative David Simpson to thank for objecting to the bill being on the Local and Consent Calendar as it was not "Local" and had opposition which should be debated on the House Floor. However after being "withdrawn from calendar, recommitted to committee, considered in formal hearing with committee substitute and favorably reported, HB 1451 is once again scheduled for consideration on the Local and Consent Calendar Thursday. Ask your representative to remove it from this Calendar once again for a House Floor vote!
Rep. Thompson and THLN have deliberately misled the media and legislators saying this bill does not affect hunting dogs or show/hobby breeders and that there are "no" regulations now on dog and cat breeders. This is not true!
From RPOA Texas Outreach and Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
www.rpoatexasoutreach.org
For animal owners, this is the most important Texas Legislative Session in history. RPOA with the help of many other animal interest groups in Texas defeated HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network attempts last session to regulate pet ownership out of existence and end all dog and cat breeding in Texas. We defeated Rep. Senfronia Thompson's Anti-Breeding Bill and Senator Leticia Van de Putte's Mandatory Spay/Neuter of all Texas dogs and cats. As expected they are back this session with a vengeance, spreading misinformation and campaign donations by the truckload.
Phone, fax and email your senators. Tell them you OPPOSE these bills
Last November's election clearly demonstrated the public's distaste for politics as usual and the expansion and overreach of government in our everyday lives. These bills must be OPPOSED for the following reasons:
* HB 1451 is in violation of the 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the part of the Bill of Rights that guards against unreasonable searches and seizures and requires a judicially sanctioned warrant supported by probable cause.
* Animals are legally our property in Texas to love, care for and protect from all harm.
* With budget cuts this Session for essential social services, education, nursing homes and children's programs, adding HB 1451's bureaucracy at a cost of $1.3 million and 14.5 new employees (with benefits) is ludicrous.
* HB 1451 duplicates the existing Texas Animal Cruelty Statute which addresses (1) "failure to provide necessary food, water, care, or shelter for an animal in the person's custody." (2) "transports or confines an animal in a cruel manner;" (3) "seriously overworks an animal."
Rep. Thompson and THLN have both been quoted saying that Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) is sympathetic to her bill. So the revelation that Della Lindquist, Assistant General Counsel for TDLR, is an active "animal rights" extremist with Austin's Emancipet comes as no surprise. Their website links to Texas Humane Legislation Network. Lindquist recently visited several dog breeding kennels for TDLR. The extremists have infiltrated all levels of government, animal control departments, humane societies, and the Animal Law Section of Texas State Bar -- making it impossible to have an impartial advisory committee or enforcement team in this state.
HB 1451 has a new committee substitute by Patricia Halsell now simply entitled "The Dog and Cat Breeder Act" and defined as such. No more deceptions about regulating "commercial or high volume" dog and cat breeders! HB 1451 had 10 actions taken last Thursday and 2 actions Friday. We won't bore you with the details but we have Representative David Simpson to thank for objecting to the bill being on the Local and Consent Calendar as it was not "Local" and had opposition which should be debated on the House Floor. However after being "withdrawn from calendar, recommitted to committee, considered in formal hearing with committee substitute and favorably reported, HB 1451 is once again scheduled for consideration on the Local and Consent Calendar Thursday. Ask your representative to remove it from this Calendar once again for a House Floor vote!
Rep. Thompson and THLN have deliberately misled the media and legislators saying this bill does not affect hunting dogs or show/hobby breeders and that there are "no" regulations now on dog and cat breeders. This is not true!
Bill targets 'puppy mills'
Legislation would set limits and require checks
By JOE HOLLEY - AUSTIN BUREAU
April 22, 2011, 6:52AM
AUSTIN — So-called puppy mills and other dog and cat breeding operations would become regulated by the state, required to undergo annual inspections and criminal background checks under a bill that could come before the full House next week.
Rep. Senfronia Thomson's House Bill 1451 would classify dog and cat breeders who have 11 or more unspayed female animals as commercial breeders and require that they be licensed by the state. In addition to background checks and annual inspections, operators would be required to provide wholesome food and clean water, proper lighting and ventilation for animals confined indoors and adequate sanitation.
Supporters said current laws address only extreme cases and make it difficult for animal welfare workers to investigate puppy mills, especially if the operators bar them from their property.
Breeders criticize
Thompson's bill enjoys the support the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but breeders say it would go too far. At a committee hearing last month, dozens of witnesses, many of them breeders, testified that the measure would put them out of business while doing nothing to shut down inhumane operations.
Other breeders criticized the 11-female limit, and some argued that the annual examination and record-keeping requirements would be too expensive.
Hobby breeders would be excluded from regulation.
Thompson, D-Houston, said Thursday that she has continued to work with opponents of the bill during the past couple of months and believes she has addressed their concerns.
"Show dogs, wildlife, herding dogs — it doesn't affect them at all," she said. "If you have 11 intact females, and you're breeding them all at the same time, then you need to be licensed by the state. It's like when somebody cuts hair for free. We don't bother them. But when they start charging for their services, we need to make sure for the sake of public health that they know what they're doing."
Gib Lewis, the former House speaker who testified against the bill on behalf of the Responsible Pet Owners Association, the Texas Wildlife Association and himself, labeled the bill "extremely bad policy." He said Thursday he was opposed to it in part because PETA and other animal rights groups were pushing similar bills in state legislatures across the country.
Full story at link
By JOE HOLLEY - AUSTIN BUREAU
April 22, 2011, 6:52AM
AUSTIN — So-called puppy mills and other dog and cat breeding operations would become regulated by the state, required to undergo annual inspections and criminal background checks under a bill that could come before the full House next week.
Rep. Senfronia Thomson's House Bill 1451 would classify dog and cat breeders who have 11 or more unspayed female animals as commercial breeders and require that they be licensed by the state. In addition to background checks and annual inspections, operators would be required to provide wholesome food and clean water, proper lighting and ventilation for animals confined indoors and adequate sanitation.
Supporters said current laws address only extreme cases and make it difficult for animal welfare workers to investigate puppy mills, especially if the operators bar them from their property.
Breeders criticize
Thompson's bill enjoys the support the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, but breeders say it would go too far. At a committee hearing last month, dozens of witnesses, many of them breeders, testified that the measure would put them out of business while doing nothing to shut down inhumane operations.
Other breeders criticized the 11-female limit, and some argued that the annual examination and record-keeping requirements would be too expensive.
Hobby breeders would be excluded from regulation.
Thompson, D-Houston, said Thursday that she has continued to work with opponents of the bill during the past couple of months and believes she has addressed their concerns.
"Show dogs, wildlife, herding dogs — it doesn't affect them at all," she said. "If you have 11 intact females, and you're breeding them all at the same time, then you need to be licensed by the state. It's like when somebody cuts hair for free. We don't bother them. But when they start charging for their services, we need to make sure for the sake of public health that they know what they're doing."
Gib Lewis, the former House speaker who testified against the bill on behalf of the Responsible Pet Owners Association, the Texas Wildlife Association and himself, labeled the bill "extremely bad policy." He said Thursday he was opposed to it in part because PETA and other animal rights groups were pushing similar bills in state legislatures across the country.
Full story at link
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