On to the Senate: New taxes
and demands for Ohio dog owners passes House May 28!
ALERT!! HB
446, the bill that doubles kennel license fees, bans rabies vaccination
by owners, burdens military families and others who move into Ohio with
a family pet, and requires all dogs to wear license tags unless in the
owner's home, passed the Ohio House on May 28 and is headed for Senate
hearings.
HB
446 is more than 100pages of new and amended regulations that overhauls
Ohio animal control law. If approved as amended, HB 446 will
- ban the sale of unlicensed dogs,
- mandate individual licenses for dogs in kennels,
- prohibit owners from giving rabies vaccinations,
- require new owners to license dogs within one business day of acquisition,
- require new Ohio residents who own dogs to license them within one
business day of moving into the state,
- make it easy for someone who finds a stray dog or takes a dog from
a neighbor to keep that dog simply by buying a license, and
- mandate training for animal control officers.
The amended bill is available at
http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/bills.cfm?ID=127_HB_446
OVDO's letter to the sponsor is here.
OVDO testimony is here and here.
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SB
173 and HB
223 are almost identical bills that impose state regulation on breeding
kennels with more than eight intact adult dogs. Testimony on SB 173 was
heard on April 24 and April 30; testimony on HB 223 was heard on May 22.
HB 223/
SB 173 place high financial & regulatory burdens on owners with
more than eight intact adult dogs regardless of kennel conditions.
Does USDA do it better?
This is an anti-breeder animal rights
bill. Proponents pretend that all breeders with more than eight adult
dogs will mistreat their dogs or keep them in bad conditions without state
oversight. These bills include
- high license application fees,
- a new state bureaucracy to hire inspectors and
enforce the law,
- an oversight committee with only three of the
10 members representing those who breed or sell puppies,
- micro-management of kennel conditions and veterinary
care, and
- the power to revoke or refuse a license on trivial
grounds.
October 11, 2007: HB 223 opponents
packed two hearing rooms in the bill's third hearing before the Ohio State
Government & Elections Committee. Read the OVDO
testimony.
May 22, 2008: The comittee
suspended the hearing on HB 223 when time ran out. Testimony will resume
at a later date. OVDO testimony
was entered into the record.
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Two
Ohio lawmakers send mixed messages about pit bulls
Representative Shawn
Webster's HB
366 would eliminate breed specific language 
from state law and
leave bans and restrictions to local governments. Representative Tyrone
Yates' HB
568 would ban pit bulls fromOhio and kill all the
pit bulls remaining in the state.
Following an uproar over Yates' bill, the two representatvies announced
that they will work together to protect the public from irresponsible
dog owners without targeting family pets.
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The
judges speak: Toledo's pit bull restrictions pass court muster
State
Supreme Court decision*
Will the decision
encourage lawmakers to rewrite the state's unconstitutional vicious dog
law? Or will breed restrictions and bans
continue to proliferate?
Breed-specific laws continue to be
a hot topic throughout the state. While some cities opt for bans, others,
including the Columbus suburb of Whitehall, reject prohibitions in favor
of general vicious dog laws. Following a decision to train police officers
to identify pit bulls, Cincinnati City Council accepted two motions that
could result in the ban being lifted. One motion re-establishes the Vicious
Dog Legislative Task Force to draft legislation to punish irresponsible
dog owners; the other outlines a registration program that would allow
responsible owners to keep their dogs. If the motions go forward, the
task force report would be due on August 1.
* The plaintiff in the case petitioned
the US Supreme Court for a hearing, but the petition was denied.
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HB
71 tightens penalties on dog fighting, passes Senate on May 28
Substitute
HB 71 began as an attempt to strengthen laws
against dog and cock fighting but morphed into a drive to repeal due process
for people accused of animal cruelty.
OVDO opposed this dangerous
bill because it assumed that cruelty accusations equal cruelty
conviction. The Senate committee amended the bill to return most of the
due process provisions before sending it to the full Senate for a vote.
Unfortunately, the final bill fails to return the bond money to the owner
of an unlicensed dog who is acquitted of more serious charges of cruelty
or dog fighting that prompted the authorities to impound the animal and
the court to require a bond before disposition of the case.
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In
the hopper
These bills affecting animals
and animal owners have also been introduced
in the 2007-2008 session of the Ohio State Legislature.
- HB
22: Increases
penalties for animal cruelty and requires counseling for minors convicted
of animal abuse.
- HB
45: Restricts exotic animal ownership.
- HB
281: Amends the process for determining fair market value
of certain animals killed by a dog.
- HB
352: Adds alpacas to the definition of livestock.
- HB
415: Increases penalties for animal fighting, allows
for sale of equipment and forfeiture of cash confiscated in raids with
proceeds used for care of impounded animals and education to decrease
animal fighting.
- HB
418: Increases penalties for animal cruelty, provides
for probation for felony animal abusers, requires counseling for minors
convicted of animal abuse, and expands protection orders in domestic
abuse cases to include pets.
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Louisville
plaintiffs file summary judgement petition in federal court
Plaintiffs in the lawsuit against the Louisville City Council rewrite
of the city's dangerous dog law have asked a federal court to decide in
its favor without hearing further arguments.
Lawyers for the Louisville Kennel Club and other plaintiffs filed a summary
judgement petition that argues that several provisions of the law
are unconstitutional and that these provisions make the remaining language
of the law impossible to enforce. The filing also takes issue with the
city's hiring of veterinarian Gilles Miloche as the director of its animal
control division as illegal under Kentucky law. Dr. Meloche not only is
not a US citizen as required by law, but he is also ineligible to become
a peace officer in Kentucky on other grounds according to the petition.
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NAIA
promotes responsible animal ownership and use, exposes the arrogance and
danger of the animal rights movement, and encourages lawmakers and regulators
to include responsible animal owners in their deliberations. Visit the
NAIA website at http://www.naiaonline.org
See these NAIA articles for more information: From
firearms to Fido: "Feel Good" Laws Make Things Worse, and
the NAIA
Guide to Pet Friendly Ordinances
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