Michigan Dog Legislation Targets YOU

[eaglerock814]

Michigan Legislation Has Every
Dog & Cat Hobbyist In Its Bullseye

Anyone Who Sells More Than Two Dogs or cats, Raises Two Litters
Must Comply – HSUS Pushing Same Legislation In Chicago, IL, IN

by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org
asda@csonline.net

LANSING, MI – Legislation introduced by Rep. Bill Caul of Mt. Pleasant calls for intensive state regulation and licensure of everyone who raises more than one litter of puppies or kittens a year, or sells more than two dogs or cats.

HB 6395 was referred to the House Agriculture Committee and may be considered anytime after the House reconvenes on September 9, 2008.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance urges every dog owner in Michigan to play an active role in defeating this legislation by keeping informed, voicing strong opposition to elected officials and in letters to the editor to newspapers, supporting the efforts of statewide and local organizations, and helping us to organize a strong team to actively work against this proposal.

Here is a summary of the legislation:

· Anyone who sells or offers to sell more than two dogs a year, or who raises more than two litters of puppies, would be defined as a “pet seller.” They would be placed in the same classification as commercial pet stores.

· All pet sellers would be required to apply for a license through their local animal control agency, and pay an annual license fee of $200.

· All applicants would be required to be fingerprinted and submit to state police and Federal Bureau of Investigation criminal background checks, and pay for the cost.

· Anyone who has been convicted of domestic violence or cruelty to animals would be barred from licensure, at the discretion of the county. A county may deny an application based on these convictions, but is not permitted to inform the applicant of the exact nature of the alleged offenses. There is no chance to contest this information, and there is no appeal.

· All applicants’ homes and animal facilities would be opened to state inspection, and they would have to follow the same regulations for housing, care, handling and transportation as a commercial pet store business. Each home or hobby kennel would be required to follow detailed and specific regulations about care, housing design, sanitation and perimeter fencing. If these regulations are interpreted literally, it would be illegal to keep a dog and cat in the same house, or to keep puppies in the same house with any adult dog except their mother.

· No dog, cat, puppy or kitten may be sold unless it is accompanied by a health certificate from a veterinarian, including a vaccination history.

· Although the wording is somewhat ambiguous, it appears that it would be illegal for a person to sell a dog or puppy to someone who lives in a different county, without also having a license from the second county.

· Violation of these rules is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance urges Michigan dog owners to read HB 6395 for themselves. Here is a link to the legislation: http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents ... B-6395.htm.

In addition, please read the regulations that you would have to follow for the care, housing, handling and transportation of your dogs and puppies: http://www.state.mi.us/orr/emi/admincod ... 8500151001.

The Michigan legislation appears to be part of a Midwestern initiative of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to intensively regulate hobby and home breeders. HSUS is a radical animal rights group with a long-range agenda of eliminating all private ownership of animals in America.

Almost identical legislation was quietly introduced in the City of Chicago in March, the American Sporting Dog Alliance discovered. Until now, this ordinance has not been publicly disclosed.

ASDA obtained a copy of this ordinance and correspondence to rescue organizations in the metropolitan area. The author of the correspondence was HSUS Illinois Chairman Jordan Maytas.

“Attorney Cherie Travis and I have drafted an ordinance that Chicago Alderman Brendan Reilly (42nd Ward) is introducing,” Maytas wrote in a letter to rescue groups. Maytas and Travis are both attorneys who specialize in animal law, and Travis also is president of the suburban PACT Animal Society.

Regulating home and hobby breeders has been high on the HSUS agenda, and was the centerpiece of the failed federal Pet Animal Welfare Act, which would have regulated direct sales of animals to consumers.

As is usual in HSUS-orchestrated campaigns, the media has been flooded recently with inflammatory press releases about animal cruelty arrests of people who breed dogs and cats in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. Anti-breeder billboards also have been observed by American Sporting Dog Alliance members along highways in Indiana, and legislation is considered imminent in all three states. Similarly punitive legislation already has been introduced in Ohio and Wisconsin. The Wisconsin legislation stalled in committee, but Ohio HB 223 remains on the table.

The Chicago ordinance calls home hobbyists “pet retailers,” and the definition includes anyone who owns more than two breeding-age females, even if they are not being bred. Anyone who raises more than two litters a year also would be in this category.

The Chicago ordinance also calls for home inspections and meeting regulations about animal care, and requires posting paperwork and providing many kinds of information to buyers. The cost would be $275 a year.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance is researching the status of the Chicago ordinance now, but complete information is not available at this time.

We are asking dog owners to immediately take steps to defeat the Michigan legislation, maintain vigilance in Illinois and Indiana, and extreme vigilance in Chicago, which also is facing a pet sterilization mandate.

What you can do

Michigan dog owners should immediately contact their state legislator to voice strong opposition to this bill. The best form of contact is face-to-face or by phone, followed by faxing and sending letters of opposition through the mail. Emails are the least effective means of communication.

Here is contact information for each legislator: http://house.michigan.gov/replist.asp. If you don’t know your legislator’s name, you can find it here: http://house.michigan.gov/find_a_rep.asp.

We also ask dog owners to contact any organizations that they belong to, such as dog clubs, field trial clubs, hunting clubs, sportsmen’s groups, or show, obedience or performance organizations. Please inform these organizations about this legislation, and offer to support their efforts to fight it.

In addition, please write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper to let people know about HB 6395, and tell why you are opposed to it.

It is vital to get the word out to as many dog owners as possible, as quickly as possible. Please let all of your friends know about it.

The House Agriculture Committee meets next on September 10. Please ask for full public hearings on this legislation, as well as a detailed analysis of the cost to the taxpayers to enforce it and the economic impacts on the state economy. We expect enforcement costs to be very high if thousands of homes are to be inspected, and criminal background checks are processed through law enforcement agencies. In addition, pets are a billion-dollar-plus part of the Michigan economy, which already has been struggling because of the loss of its manufacturing base.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help. Please join our organization and volunteer to help us do the many things that it will take to defeat this legislation. Please also let us know if you are willing to assume a leadership role. Our email is asda@csonline.net.

Our immediate task is to inform as many dog owners as possible, and we are intensifying our efforts to build a powerful email database that will allow us to reach several thousand people in Michigan quickly. We also are offering our complete support to Michigan dog owners’ organizations and want to assist them in any way.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We welcome people who work with other breeds, too, as legislative issues affect all of us. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance also needs your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.

Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. Our email is ASDA@csonline.net. Complete directions to join by mail or online are found at the bottom left of each page.

PLEASE CROSS-POST AND FORWARD THIS REPORT TO YOUR FRIENDS

[rydaddy]

I live in Michigan and as some can imagine our Economy currently leaves this state in not the greatest of situations. I have to believe that our tax dollars could be spent worrying about much greater issues. It's too bad. I'd hate to think that next summer I couldn't pick up another Vizsla from a breeder in Michigan because of this. Ridiculous....