Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc.
Protecting dogs, dog owners and our neighbors
through education and community service
|
Ohio Valley Dog Owners, Inc.Protecting dogs, dog owners and our neighbors
|
1. The animal rights agenda(1) clearly states: "We strongly discourage any further breeding of companion animals, including pedigreed or purebred dogs or cats. ..." What better way to achieve this end than to burden breeders with onerous regulations and high fees?
2. The animal rights agenda also states "Responsibility for enforcement of animal welfare legislation must be transferred from the Department of Agriculture ..." The introduced bills give enforcement to the commerce department, the agency that regulates pawnshops and liquor stores, even though expertise about animals resides in the agriculture department and Ohio courts have confirmed that raising dogs is an agricultural pursuit.
3. Activists depend on harsh regulations they can use to accuse breeders and other animal keepers of cruelty. One old sick dog, even if under veterinary care, may trigger accusations of abuse to the authorities, the press, and the Internet. One litter can trigger allegations that a breeder failed to get a license. Two litters in a short span of time can bring accusations of running a puppy mill. Activists are patient, sly, and not above twisting facts, photographing private property, or going undercover as potential clients or puppy buyers.2 Guilt or innocence doesn't matter to activists when they are intent on maligning breeders and raising money.
4. Activists also like laws that encourage breeders and other owners to surrender their animals to the government rather than fight the charges. HB 606/SB 342 accomplish this goal by failing to prohibit confiscation of all dogs in a kennel even if only one dog is alleged to be abused or neglected and by requiring owners to post a bond for care of impounded animals before they can appeal the impoundment.
5. Activists like laws that they can manipulate to their advantage. HB 606/SB 342 allows this manipulation through open-ended language that allows impoundment and confiscation of dogs for an alleged infraction that "materially violates this chapter or rules adopted under it ..." There's no definition of "materially violates," so it could be used to cover almost anything.
6. Activists like laws that deny licenses to large numbers of applicants. HB 606/SB 342 accomplish this goal by denying a license to anyone who has violated any provision of the law. So, if you keep your dogs in crates that don't meet the minimum size, treat your own dogs for diarrhea or vomiting without taking them to the vet, or fail to vaccinate according to the AVMA protocol, you can be denied a license or renewal of a license. You can't even get an Ohio kennel license if you if you violated an animal rights inspired cruelty law in another state.
Accusations by activists don't ever have to be legally proven in order to be effective. Even if charges are never filed or if a breeder is exonerated in court, the allegations can still be used to condemn breeding and raise money for activist groups.(2) The cost in ruined reputations, financial obligations, and emotional upheaval are high for the individual accused and for all breeders and kennel owners who could become targets.
1. Taken from the Animal Rights Platform as published in Animals Agenda magazine, November 1987.
2. Examples of these tactics and results can be found at "Veterinarian wins appeal; PeTA charges thrown out" by Norma Bennett Woolf, www.naiaonline.org/articles/archives/veterinarian.htm and "Jury affirms PeTA's right to profit from deceit" by Patti L. Strand, www.naiaonline.org/body/articles/archives/justice_flawed_Baker_v_PETA.htm.
OVDO
home page Contact Ohio Valley Dog Owners at
ovdog01@canismajor.com