Wisconsin Dog Owners Alert

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eaglerock814

Wisconsin Dog Owners Alert

Post by eaglerock814 » Mon Apr 13, 2009 1:51 pm

Wisconsin Dog Owner Alert

House And Senate Sponsors Unveil 2009 Breeding Legislation

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

This article is archived at: http://eaglerock814.proboards.com/index ... &thread=36

Anticipated Wisconsin kennel legislation has been officially unveiled.

This kennel and breeding legislation will entrap many hobby breeders and private rescue groups in regulations that make it difficult to raise quality puppies in a home environment, home inspections without warrants, possible seizures of dogs without due process, and potentially devastating penalties.

Rep. Jeff Smith (D-Eau Claire) and Sen. Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) have unveiled “The Commercial Dog Breeders Licensure Bill,” which they are introducing jointly. They were joined in the announcement by Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), who will be co-sponsors.

More co-sponsors are being sought before an April 24, 2009 deadline, and the American Sporting Dog Alliance is asking all Wisconsin dog owners to contact their own representatives and senators immediately to ask them to oppose this bill.

The bill has been tentatively numbered LRB 2448/2. It is not available on the official Legislature website, but we are asking dog owners to read it on a link made available by Sen. Kreitlow: http://www.thedailypage.com/media/2009/ ... 20Bill.pdf .

Here are some of the bill’s major provisions:

· A dog breeder is defined as anyone who sells 25 or more dogs or puppies in a year. For many breeds of dogs, this would amount to raising only three or four litters, which entraps many serious hobbyists in the definition. Private rescue groups would be classified as dealers, if they transfer 25 or more dogs a year and are not recognized nonprofits.

· Dog breeders and dealers are required to be inspected and licensed by the state, with fees ranging from $250 to $1,000. The penalty for not getting a license can be up to $10,000, plus up to nine months of imprisonment. There are no criteria for determining guilt or innocence in the face of an unsubstantiated complaint, and an accused person would be placed in the unconstitutional position of having to prove her or his innocence.

· The Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is empowered to raise the license fees to balance its budget, and also is given a blank check to write regulations regarding all aspects of dog care, without oversight by the public or Legislature. This includes unspecified requirements for kennel sizes and construction, and unspecified daily exercise requirements. An advisory committee would be named to review regulations, but it is not given any power.

· The Department also is empowered to deny or revoke a license if, in the Department’s opinion, a person is not “fit, qualified or equipped” to have a kennel. No definitions for those terms are contained in the bill, which means it would be a purely subjective and/or arbitrary decision by state officials.

· A license may be suspended without notice or hearing if an inspector finds a condition that “threatens the health, safety or welfare of any animal” on the premises – not only dogs. This also is not defined and would be a subjective and/or arbitrary opinion of the inspector. Dogs may be seized if the inspector believes they are endangered, and placed with any licensed kennel (such as pounds and animal shelters) that will accept them.

· A summary suspension may be appealed only to the Department, which thus becomes the cop, prosecutor, judge and jury of a kennel owner.

· State officials can enter any property during business hours to inspect the kennel and facility, including a person’s home. There are no limits to the number of inspections that can be conducted. Kennel owners may be required to pay for follow-up inspections.

· All dogs and puppies must be inspected and certified by a veterinarian before they are sold. Several kinds of paperwork also are required for each dog.

Animal rights activists have begun an emotion-laced campaign in Wisconsin to paint people who breed dogs in the worst possible light. Here are some recent examples from newspapers: http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/artic ... icle=25568 and http://www.thedailypage.com/isthmus/art ... icle=25284 .

Here is a link to Sen. Kreitlow’s announcement: http://www.legis.wi.gov/senate/sen23/ne ... 09-026.asp . It is worth noting that it includes a new tactic by animal rights groups to divide dog owners and get some dog owners to support this kind of legislation. Sen. Kreitlow argues that responsible breeders will be able to sell more puppies and make more money, if substandard competitors are removed from the marketplace.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance categorically rejects this attempt to divide dog owners under a fictitious premise. This legislation is not aimed at substandard breeders. It is aimed at invading the lives of everyone who raises dogs with impossible regulations that are being hidden from view and removed from legislative oversight, and draconian enforcement measures for technical violations.

The goal of this legislation is to burden and scare people who raise dogs into quitting.

The American Sporting Dog Alliance is asking all Wisconsin dog owners to promptly contact their own legislators and senators. Please let them know that you oppose this legislation, and that you hope they will, too.

Here is a link to a search page for your legislator’s or senator’s contact information: http://www.legis.wisconsin.gov/w3asp/waml/waml.aspx .

This link lists legislators alphabetically: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/w3asp/cont ... e=assembly, and this link lists senators alphabetically http://www.legis.state.wi.us/w3asp/cont ... use=senate .
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We also welcome people who work with other breeds, 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. We will not compromise on any legislation that takes away the fundamental constitutional rights of dog owners, or which reduces us to second-class citizens. 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 your donations in order to maintain strict independence.
Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org . Our email is asda@csonline.net .

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