In an incredibly onerous move, the CaliforniaHealthyPets web site home page now declares that AB 1634 will help stop dog fighting!

Did I miss something?

Last I checked, we already have laws onthe books to deal with dog fighting. It's already a FELONY. I really doubt that a dog fighter will go "oh no! a 500.00 fine?, I will now neuter or spay my already illegal 10,000 dollar fighting dog and my 10-100s of thousands of dollars worth of breeding dogs! Gosh darn that California Healthy act!"

Sorry, I aint buying it

AND

It now states that the law is needed to help enforce ALREADY EXISTING LAWS and go after "underground breeders"

According to bill "creator" Judy Mancuso, everyone who is not a USDA licensed puppy mill is an underground breeder. If we sell even one puppy without a tax license we are underground, evil, illegal breeders in spite of the fact that ibn Ca hobby breeding haas always fallen under the occaisional sales rule, ie: all or part of 2 LITTERS per year is not a business. You CANNOT get a business license or tax id for this kind of breeding and if you did, you could deduct all those dog expenses so at the end of the year, you would probably deserve a refund. YET Judy insists anyone selling even one puppy is a tax cheat.

It means that the thin "we just want to save shelter dogs/cats" facade is now off the bill. This has always been a "kill the breeders" bill. Now they are just making it more public. Puppy mills are of course exempt, get a license, breed 2000 pupies a year! No health testing etc... Import from China or the Chezch Republic all you want! But the show, working, livestock dogs have got to go. Why, because responsible dog owners and breeders were considered, prior to this bill being beaten back, to be soft targets. Judy and her ilk are counting on the general public buying into the idea that breeders should be licensed by the state and USDA. Even though we know that most who are are puppy mills! You cannot run a business breeding 5, 10 or even 20 puppies a year. You literally must breed hundereds. We need to keep educating John Q Public on that point.

Come January when Loyd and Judy roll out the new version of the bill, I would expect to see less emphasis on the Mandatory part, but all kinds of new restrictions, fines or fees attatched to breeding. If they make spay neuter secondary to an "offense" expect the list of offenses to be long, trivial and outrageous.

I really do FEEL WE WILL PREVAIL in the new year against this bill, BUT only if we remain active and vigilant and don't let them get ahead of us again

Jen