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PLEASE READ THIS> IT IS IMPORTANT WE STAY ON MESSAGE AND ON TRACK> GET THOSE LETTERS IN FROM INDIVIDUALS AND ORGANIZATIONS AND HOSPITALS> MUST BE IN BY 5:00PM THIS FRIDAY!
l wiliam hemby wrote:

> Permission to cross post:
> If you haven't as yet written your letter to members
> of the Senate BP&ED or Local Gov't Committees here are
> Talking points on AB 1634.
>
> The discussion at Senator Simitian's town hall meeting
> pretty much surrounded "It is not the pure-bred dog
> breeders who are causing the problem, but the
> irresponsible breeders and feral cats that populate
> our shelters. While that argument was heartfelt, it
> is the argument framed by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine and
> his A/R proponents. Their argument is breeders cause a
> pet overpopulation that is cramming our shelters with
> unwanted dogs and cats and that results in 400,000
> euthanasias a year.
> While it is true it is not our fault and it is true
> their numbers are faulty, I do not think we win that
> argument.

The whole focus on "breeders" is a mistake that plays into the hands of Levine
and his friends.

The primary reason for rejecting AB 1634 is that it is based on an incorrect
premise: the claim that limiting breeding by mandatory spay/neuter regulations
("spay or pay" also falls into that category) will reduce shelter intake and
euthanasia numbers and the costs of animal control and shelter operation. The
historical record proves that premise to be false - every time mandatory s/n
has been enacted the result has been an increase in those numbers and in the
associated costs. Even the proponents' pet example, Santa Cruz County, had that
result. Mandatory s/n DOES NOT WORK.

For that reason, amendments are beside the point ... and so are all the "better
breeder" arguments. It is not about breeding.

> Some talking points PetPAC has developed that resonate
> with the public and state senators are:
> AB1634 will result in more, not less dogs and cats
> being killed every year.
> Mandatory Spay and Neuter laws have caused sharp
> increases in shelter intakes, euthanasia rates and
> animal control costs. (see PetPAC flyer "Help defeat
> AB 1634: A proposed law to serilize nearly all the
> dogs and cats in California".

Yes (see above). AB 1634 would have many other evil effects, but the above is
sufficient reason for rejecting it in whatever form it may finally appear.

> What works is pet owner education which has resulted
> in an 86% drop in dog impounds over the last 30 years.
> Yet AB 1634 doesn't even address that solution.
> Animal population issues must be resolved at the local
> not state, level.
> Mandatroy spay and neuter laws are a governmental
> overreach and drastic government intervention into our
> civil and privacy rights.
> Safe Spay and neuter decisions are best left between
> dog and cat owners and their veterinarian, not
> mandated by government intervention nor dictated by
> vets alone.
> AB 1634 will eliminate service dogs for lhe blind,
> hearing impaired and disabled, police K9 dogs and
> working farm and cattle dogs. AB 1634 even with its
> latest amendments, elimiates the selection and
> breeding pool for these highly specialized and trained
> dogs.
> Mr. Levine has repeatedly called breeders of pure bred
> dogs and cats criminals and tax evaders. That is a
> slap in the face to honest, working responsible
> Californians who pay their taxes and support community
> programs.
> AB 1634 will decimate mixed breed dogs owned and loved
> by the majority of Californians.

All the above is true, though secondary to the main point above.

John
--
John E. Burchard, Ph.D.
Tepe Gawra Salukis