Taking on Animal Cruelty » Governer Schwarzenegger veto

!Ranting! Governor Schwarzenegger: Watch This!

Cher — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:44:06 +0000

And then tell me again why you vetoed a perfectly good bill to limit puppy mills.

SHUT DOWN PUPPY MILLS NOW!

This video just about broke my old heart when I watched it just now. I’m still crying. How can we be so callused and thick headed that we allow these sorts of operations to continue in any state, any province or any country that we live in? What is wrong with us as humans that we allow this to occur? We suck!

These poor animals were living in darkness with no hope of ever being a normal dog or cat. You can see it in their eyes that they had lost all hope, all the natural joy that animals usually have for life.

What I wouldn’t do to the assholes who ran this operation. There doesn’t seem to be any follow up yet on who it was and if they were charged. I sure would like to get my hands on them, I promise you they would pay big time! I can’t remember the last time I was this angry about animal cruelty, animal exploitation at it’s very evil worst.

PUPPY MILLS NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN! Never mind trying to enforce limits, or laws or rules or guidelines. JUST SHUT THEM DOWN NOW! People who want pets can either visit a shelter and give a homeless animal a chance or if necessary, spend thousands of dollars with reputable, government sanctioned breeder who abides by the number of animals limit and all other strict rules and laws. No more selling that puppy in the window!

I am sick and tired of PUPPY MILLS!! Please do your part to put an end to this needless horrible suffering we’re inflicting on the poor defenceless creatures. Man’s best friend? With friends like us, these dogs definitely do not need any more enemies.

!Ranting! Governor Schwarzenegger: Watch This! is a post from: Taking on Animal Cruelty

Best Friends Joins the Crusade to Address Governor Schwarzenegger

Cher — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:26:30 +0000

Previously Posted: Puppy Mills Get the Green Light…

Here is the post from Best Friends which includes addresses that you can use to contact the governor and let him know how disappointed you are that he has vetoed a bill that would have greatly reduced the number of animals that are suffering and abused in California puppy mills. Remember I told you his reason for vetoing the bill was that it would potentially criminalize the legal activities of reputable breeders and charitable organizations raising service dogs? Remember also in my post that I said that was a load of crap because no reputable breeder or organization raising service dogs would have more then 50 unsterilized animals in their care?

Well that’s exactly the take Best Friends took on the Governor’s stand as well. Read on…

October 15, 2009, 9:34PM MT

By Francis Battista

Best Friends’ co-founder Francis Battista urges Californians to take action on behalf of animals following the veto of AB 241.

Dear California Members and Friends,

Governor Schwarzenegger’s veto of AB 241, The Responsible Breeder Act, was a loss for the animals and a win for puppy mills.

Please contact Governor Schwarzenegger to express your disappointment with his failure to act either in the best interests of California’s taxpayers or California’s pets.
     Call, fax, mail:
     Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger
     State Capitol Building
     Sacramento, CA 95814
     Phone: 916-445-2841
     Fax: 916-558-3160 (new number)
E-mail

Even though the bill had been weakened through legislative compromise in its intent to sharply curtail exploitive breeders, its signing would have signaled the governor’s support for a measure aimed squarely at commercial breeders, i.e., puppy millers.

The governor’s explanation for not signing AB 241 – potentially criminalizing the legal activities of reputable breeders and charitable organizations raising service dogs, is without merit. Reputable breeders do not house more than 50 intact animals at a time and neither do breeders of service dogs. Reputable breeders raise their pups a litter at a time in their home. Their dogs are pets. A reputable breeder does not keep fifty intact dogs in their home.

Meanwhile, nearly $300 million taxpayer dollars are spent every year in California to house the nearly one million animals that enter our municipal shelters, over half of which are euthanized. It’s one of the largest reimbursable mandates in a state that is bankrupt, and puppy mills are contributing significantly to that crisis. Surely Californians would prefer their taxes to be spent on other programs and services our state desperately needs – healthcare, school programs, increased fire and police protection, etc.

As always, thanks for caring for the animals.

Francis Battista
Co-founder
Best Friends Animal Society

Become a fan of the Puppies Aren’t Products campaign to learn more about how you can take action to combat puppy mills and urge people to adopt companion animals instead of shop.

Photo by Clay Myers

Send Governor Schwarzenegger an email now. Join in on letting him know that this veto is completely unacceptable to those of us who care about how animals are treated in the Pets for Profit industry.

Best Friends Joins the Crusade to Address Governor Schwarzenegger is a post from: Taking on Animal Cruelty

Puppy Mills Get the Green Light from Governor Schwarzenegger

Cher — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 02:19:10 +0000

Apparently the Governor of California thinks it’s okay to house hundreds of unsterilized dogs in conditions of abuse and neglect. He has vetoed an Anti-Puppy Mill Bill that would have limited California puppy mills to no more then 50 unsterilized dogs.

Four other states (Virginia, Oregon, Louisiana and Washington) already have laws in place regarding limits put on puppy mills and two other states (Massachusetts and New York) have limits pending.

It is well known within the animal welfare community that puppy mills (kitty and bird mills as well) do not put the health and welfare of their animals before their concern for profits. I have seen the victims of puppy mills being rescued by shelter organizations such as Best Friends and it would break your heart to see the damage and neglect these poor animals suffer in the name of profits.

I have also watched videos of puppy mills showing animals stacked in cages with no solid flooring so their feces drops down into the cage below them and their paws become terribly painful from having to stand on wire cage bottoms. Mange, worms and all manner of kennel diseases prevail in these conditions and how anybody could support the continuation of this practice is beyond me.

Governor Schwarzenegger claims this bill goes too far. Direct quote: “I am returning Assembly Bill 241 without my signature. This… measure simply goes too far in an attempt to address the serious problem of puppy mills. An arbitrary cap on the number of animals any entity can possess throughout the state will not end unlawful, inhumane breeding practices. Instead this measure has the potential to criminalize the lawful activities of reputable breeders, pet stores, kennels, and charitable organizations engaged in raising service and assistance dogs. For these reasons, I am unable to sign this bill.”

Be advised that under this bill, public shelters, rescues, humane societies would have all been exempt from this bill. (In my opinion, they should not have been exempt from having more then 50 unsterilized animals. Simply get the animals neutered or spayed and then there’d be no issue.) This bill would have gone a long way though in reducing the amount of animals subject to horrible conditions. It would have gone a long way to lightening the load on local rescues, law enforcement and animal control when these puppy mills are closed down and there are over 50 animals in need of shelter, veterinary service and placement. It would have gone a long way to reducing the amount of sick and diseased animals for sale in unscrupulous pet stores.

“Criminalize reputable breeders, pet stores, kennels and charitable organizations”? Certainly no reputable breeder would have more then 50 breed-able dogs because you simply don’t have the resources to care for them properly. Pet stores shouldn’t be selling any animals at all let alone have 50 breed-able animals in stock. Kennels and charitable organizations would have been exempt from this law so either Governor Schwarzenegger is stupid (and I’ve always thought he was actually) or somebody with money in the puppy mill business has greased the governor’s pocket.

I sure don’t like what has been happening to California since Schwarzenegger was elected Governor. First they quash the Gay Marriage bill and now they do the same to the Puppy Mills bill. I used to think California was one of the most forward thinking states in the union but not anymore. It has been a case of 1 step forward, 3 steps back for sure.

More on the Virginia Anti-Puppy Mill Law

Puppy Mills Get the Green Light from Governor Schwarzenegger is a post from: Taking on Animal Cruelty