Bad news from Houston below!
RPOA vehemently opposes this new trend in Texas to force veterinarians to become pet police. Ask your vet if your records are confidential! Dallas and San Antonio city officials have been pursuing this avenue also.
With "animal rights" legislation being passed every day regarding pet limits, intact animal permits and breed specific legislation, pet owners are very concerned, worried and paranoid for good reason. It is mindboggling to see this approach with animals being relinquished to shelters in droves due to the economy and loss of jobs. Houston vote is today.
Read the excellent post below from
Bett Sundermeyer, President
No Kill Houston
www.NoKillHouston.org
City Of Houston: Wasting more of your money on programs that will NOT lower the kill rate The following item is on City Council's Agenda for Wed 10/21/09:

"ORDINANCE amending Ordinance No. 2004-0808 to INCREASE the maximum contract amount; approving and authorizing second amendment to contract between the City of Houston and PETDATA, INC for Animal Licensing Services for Houston Department of Health & Human Services - $380,000.00 - General Fund"

I'm sure that this is a followup to the letter that Houston veterinarians have recently received informing them that the city is going to "deputize" them to enforce pet licensing laws. (See our website to read the letter) However, enforcement of pet licensing laws has proven to be a waste of money in other cities and can cause kill rates to rise. The reason is that responsible people are going to be responsible WITHOUT laws. Irresponsible people will remain irresponsible and still will not license their pets no matter how many laws are passed. And when irresponsible people are faced with fines for not having licenses or being over the pet limit,they will DUMP the pet.

This particular law will also drive the very people that BARC & COH needs most, i.e. foster parents and adopters, "underground" because of Houston's pet limit laws. People who are over the pet limit will be forced to avoid vet care, including spay/neuter, for fear of being found out that they are over the limit. This will just add to pet population problem.

Concerned pet owners are already talking about using vets outside of the city limits and even moving outside the city limits for fear of being found out. So instead of encouraging more people to adopt pets so Houston can stop killing 80,000 pets every year, BARC/COH are instead antagonizing and punishing the very people they need most.... people who adopt animals and adopt more than one.

Also, our vet bills are going to go up because vets will, most likely,be forced to hire additional staff to process the extra paperwork they are now required to handle. This again punishes the very people that BARC needs most..... people who adopt and care for animals.

Please see these websites for more information about licensing
pitfalls:
http://www.nathanwinograd.com/linked/license.pdf


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The $380,000 that they plan to spend on licensing would spay/neuter 7,600 female cats and 9,500 male cats at SNAP! Just think of how far this money would go towards lowering the kill rate in Houston! Just think of how much money this would save the city in the long run when those 9,500 cats aren't breeding and BARC isn't forced to deal with the offspring in a few months. This is more WASTEFUL spending by our city leaders on programs that will NOT lower the kill rate.

The city has an almost 200 page assessment report in their hands, prepared by no kill expert, Nathan Winograd that tells them EXACTLY how to stop the killing. Pet licensing is not mentioned once in this report. The city needs to follow Nathan Winograd's recommendations. This is the ONLY way that Houston will stop the killing.

The ordinance approving the spending of $380,000 more tax dollars will most likely be voted on Wednesday (10/21/09) . Please use this opportunity to contact the Mayor, City Council, Elena Marks and Alfred Moran and let them know how you feel about this wasteful spending that will cause more animals to die in Houston. There are better methods available that will save lives and make money for BARC/COH.

If you need help getting started, we have prepared a form letter for your use. A link is on our website.

Also see our website for contact information for the city.

VISIT NO KILL HOUSTON'S WEBSITE FOR MORE INFORMATION
www.NoKillHouston.org
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Read this editorial in Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/6677439.html

Nearly a quarter century ago Houston City Council passed an ordinance requiring veterinarians in the city to provide names and addresses of pet owners whose animals receive rabies vaccinations.

The data was intended to be the backbone of a city licensing system for area pets.

Partially because a majority of vets have refused to cooperate, the city licensing effort has been ineffective. Less than 4 percent of the estimated one million dogs and cats in the city have been registered for the inexpensive tags. As a result, incentives in the license pricing system to encourage neutering of pets have also failed to achieve the goal of reducing the number of unwanted animals on the streets. A license for a neutered dog or cat is an initial $10 fee, plus $2 annually. A license for a fertile animal is $50 a year.

Responsible pet ownership has never been one of Houston's bragging points.
As a result, the Bureau of Animal Regulation and Care has been overwhelmed by the number of abandoned and abused pets, with its primary business being the gassing of thousands of animals a year. Lack of a dedicated funding source has contributed to substandard and inhumane holding facilities.

Now a real reform effort is underway, headed by consultant Gerry Fusco, to put the "care" back into BARC. But it will require support from the pet-loving populace and the medical professionals who serve them.

The city plans to turn up the heat on vets who continue to flout the reporting requirements. Regulators have sent letters to the pet docs warning them that failure to comply with the ordinance can result in $500-a-day fines.

Some vets claim that the law violates confidentiality between a DVM and the pet owner/patient. That ignores the fact that MDs are required to furnish data on child vaccinations to the state, and the Texas attorney general has already ruled that municipal ordinances supersede vets' patient confidentiality.

Just as mechanics are empowered by the state to inspect vehicles and collect fees, so area vets should combine the process of vaccinations with collecting license fees at the same time. That's how the City of El Paso has handled pet licensing since the '60s, with the vets receiving 10 percent of the revenue collected. Neither vets nor pet owners have complained.

You'd think dedicated veterinarians would be the first to call for and contribute to an effective licensing system for pets. Not only would it provide valuable data on the extent of animal vaccinations, but it would also yield added revenue to improve animal control and care.

In order to alleviate suspicions that the money wouldn't go for that purpose, city officials could create a dedicated fund so that license revenues could only be used for BARC.

Now that the city is finally taking steps to create an animal-caring agency rather than a killing machine, vets and pet owners need to do their part to neuter, vaccinate and license as many animals here as possible. Until all parties work as a team, this community will never be able to achieve the no-kill status that should be the goal of our animal control efforts.
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RPOA Texas Outreach (501C4 Nonprofit)
www.rpoatexasoutreach.org
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance (501C3 Nonprofit)
www.responsiblepetowners.org

900 NE Loop 410 #311-D
San Antonio, TX 78209
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