Page 1 of 330 The Monthly National Legislation Report 7/5/2010 ...

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 12 of 3307/5/2010_________________________________________________________________________________________CANADA(6/10/10) - The Calgary Humane Society says Alberta's animal abuse laws are outdated. The Calgary Humane Society is not too surprised by the results of a U-S based study that putAlberta near the bottom when it comes to punishing animal abusers. Spokesperson Desiree Arsenault says it is because our laws are outdated. The California based group, Animal LegalDefense Fund, says Alberta and Quebec are in the bottom tier when it comes to punishing animal abusers. Ontario finished in first place.Vancouver - Delta - While some governments around the world, including Ontario's, have banned pit bulls, Delta is taking a refreshingly different tack -- by putting more onus on theirowners to keep the controversial canines in line. After considerable community discussion, the feisty municipality is revamping its animal-control bylaw, which automatically designates pitbulls as "dangerous," to replace it with one that refuses to discriminate against them. Delta Coun. Robert Campbell said the draft bylaw should be passed by council this summer. It calls forescalating punishment for owners of dogs with a history of aggression, including fines of up to $1,000._________________________________________________________________________________________CHINABeijing – (6/7/10) - Police cannot stop cruelty to animals. Although animal lovers have urged the public to report cases of animal cruelty to the police, little is being done to tackle theproblem and even the police admit they are powerless to act on complaints without laws that make animal abuse a crime. About 300 artists, representatives from the media and animalprotection organizations gathered at a charity event in Beijing on Saturday to stress the importance of police enforcement. The China Small Animal Protection Association (CSAPA), theTravel Channel and local animal welfare groups jointly hosted the charity show on World Environment Day. Some frustrated animal lovers said they prefer to deal with the problemthemselves rather than call the police. Chen Nan, a volunteer with the Beijing-based Ruijia Animal Rescue Volunteer Group, told the Global Times Sunday that he heard rumors the police donot properly care for stray cats and dogs kept in animal rescue shelters. "There are rumors saying the animals will be killed if no-one adopts them. That is why we have been avoiding askingthe police for help," he said. Chen said some policemen are not helpful. "They are poorly equipped to catch the stray animals. They don't even have cages, " he said. "Moreover, there is nolaw that allows them to arrest someone who abuses animals." Yu Lixian, director of the dog control department of Beijing public security bureau, admitted that in the absence of an animalcrueltylaw, police can only "educate" those who abuse animals. "Because there is no law that bans people from eating or abusing animals, we can only hope that people will change theirminds through education," Yu told the Global Times. Meanwhile, lawmakers are drafting the nation's first animal rights law, which would provide fines up to 6,000 yuan (878 U. S. dollars) andtwo weeks in detention for those found guilty of animal abuse._________________________________________________________________________________________DENMARK(7/1/10) - Denmark bans more dangerous dog breeds. Denmark has added 12 more dog breeds to a law banning dangerous dogs that already forbade people from owning pit bull terriersand tosa inus. Under the law that became effective on Thursday, the American Staffordshire terrier, Brazilian Fila, American bulldog and Dogo Argentino, among others, are forbidden.Owners who had such dogs before March 17 can keep them but the animals must be muzzled and restrained by a leash. No one will be allowed to enter the country with these breeds ofdogs. Violators could have their animals seized and put to sleep. Denmark banned pit bull terriers and tosas in 1991 in line with several other European countries. Additional article – clickhere. - Danish dog breed law takes first innocent victim - a Boerboel. Denmark's most prestigious Boerboel breeding kennel, was forced to euthanize the first Boerboel victim ofDenmark's cruel breed ban. The reason? Because she was a spayed female for which a home couldn't be found in time. One of the owners of Anasha Boerboels made the followingstatement: "The first Boerboel has to be put to sleep today because of the new dog laws that came into effect yesterday. In about an hour we will take her to the vets and she will beeuthanized. She is neutered and therefore cannot be used for breeding, therefore she would have to be placed as a pet. This is now illegal in Denmark and therefore she has to pay the price.We are a professional kennel, we have vet inspections and the vet noted that she was here. We are not allowed to own pet dogs, only breeding dogs. This is a rule that the tax authoritieshave enforced so that kennels have to account for all the dog food etc used in their kennel business."_________________________________________________________________________________________INDIAAhmedabad – (7/3/10) – First ever dog census exercise in city planned. An international organisation, Humane Society International (HSI), will conduct the first ever dog census exercise inAhmedabad. This was decided in the meeting between Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) chairman major general RM Kharab (Retd.) and Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) commissioner IP Gautamhere on Saturday. Also, AWBI and AMC signed a MOU for effective Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme and sharing of grant equally through Society for Stray Canine Birth Control (SSCBC).On the census exercise, Gautam said, "The HSI officials will visit the city on July 9 to discuss the modalities for census exercise. The organisation will do the census free of cost. After the census a massivesterilisation drive will be conducted in the city."On the use of barbaric iron tongs by Cattle Nuisance Control Department (CNCD) of AMC, Kharab said, "Catching the dogs with orthodox manner is not advisable as it amounts to animal cruelty." "The AWBIexperts will train the AMC staff to catch the dogs in a humane way at Marwar Trust in Jodhpur." Both the organisation will work in a time bound manner to control the dog population in Ahmedabad.Kharab also met senior state government officials for implementation of ABC programme in other civic bodies across the state. AWBI officials have visited different Non Government Organisation(NGOs) in thecity to check infrastructure facilities, Kharab said, "The infrastructure facilities need to be upgraded for ABC programme and AWBI certificate is essential for NGOs to carry out the programme."AMC authorities blamed the Animal Help Foundation (AHF) for a botched' up sterilisation programme in the city. Gautam said, "In year, 2006, AHF did a good job but after that they were not up to the expectation.In past four years they have sterilised just 20,000 dogs which is far below the standards."FIAPO Trustee, Abodh Aras, who was present during the discussion, said, "Birth control by sterilization - removal of ovaries and castration is advocated in conjunction with rabies inoculation for dogs."Chandigarh – (6/7/10) – Chandigarh gets dog bye laws. Residents of Chandigarh now have to register their dogs with the municipal corporation and will be allowed to keep a maximum oftwo, the union territory administration said Monday. The administration issued the Chandigarh Registration of Bye Laws, 2010, according to which all dogs over 4 months have to beregistered.New Delhi – (6/23/10) - Govt revises draft Pet shop rules 2010. Following suggestions from animal rights activists, the government has revised the draft pet shop rules 2010, makingprovisions for a defaulter to appeal against show-cause notice apart from addressing other issues. The draft rules, formulated by the ministry last month, were meant to prevent cruelty toanimals in pet shops by ensuring they are supplied adequate food and drinking water, not sold at a tender age besides taking steps to prevent their unnatural deaths and spread of infectiousdiseases.However, following objections from various quarters including animal rights activists and lawyers opposing the draft rules, the government set up a panel to consider their views. Acting ontheir suggestions, the ministry has revised "provision for issuance of show-cause notices prior to embarking upon prejudicial action, for recording of reasons in writing and for appeals andpersonal hearings_________________________________________________________________________________________SCOTLAND(7/1/10) - Animal welfare Bill welcome but lacks important detail. Ulster Unionist agriculture spokesperson Tom Elliott MLA has said that the Welfare of Animals Bill, while ultimatelywelcome in its ability to "protect animals from abandonment, from suffering and from being used by criminals in fights and baiting", is unfortunately "almost void of any detail" in its currentform. Criticising the Department of Agriculture for bringing forward a Bill without detail, the "gaps" of which would be filled in by subordinate legislation, the UUP MLA - deputy chair of theAssembly Agriculture Committee, said: "We don't believe in giving the Department powers without knowing what the detail is and we're not going to start now. "It's also empty because itavoids tackling issues that are relevant to the welfare of animals, such as the use of wild animals in circuses, keeping primates as pets and the regulation of breeding establishments. "It's asif the Minister and the Department, in their quest to earn Brownie points by passing another Bill, want to avoid controversial issues." Pointing to the Department's desire to create an offencein respect of tail docking, the Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA asked for an explanation why they would seek to argue that a lamb's tail or a pig's tail can be docked when they seek toprohibit the tail docking of a working dog. "They should explain how the pain associated with the castration of an animal is any different or less severe than the docking of a dog's tail."Welcoming the introduction of a number of offences relating to the practice of animal fighting, Mr Elliott said that the legislation must be sufficiently "stringent to guarantee that criminals areappropriately punished and that they offer an appropriate deterrent to those who participate in this heinous crime"._________________________________________________________________________________________TURKEY6/30/10 - Turkey Aims to Seize Every Pit Bull in the Country. Last week, the Turkish parliament decided it was time to start rounding up "pit bull type" dogs - specifically, pit bull terriers,Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos, and Fila Brasileiros — and, on June 27th, the witch hunt began. Memos were sent around to every governor's office in the country, ordering them to startenforcing a 2004 law that said it's illegal to own, breed, sell, import, gift, exchange or advertise these dogs. The plan, effective immediately, is seize "pit bulls" from their homes and impoundthem in shelters. Some officials claim they will be spaying and neutering them, but considering it is illegal to own, sell, advertise or exchange these dogs, it's a pretty safe bet that the dogswon't be headed back home or be put up for adoption. And, there aren't any shelters in Turkey looking to take in the estimated 10,000 "pit bulls" in the country. It's a death sentence for thedogs. UPDATE: Dog experts bite back at Turkey's pit bull ban. The government’s issuing of orders to round up pit bulls and other “dangerous” breeds was an unfortunate, unscientificdecision, experts have said, calling for assessments of individual dogs rather than a total ban. “Dogs of all breeds rather than just a specific few must take temperament tests, and thosecategorized as dangerous must be forbidden and taken under supervision,” said Tamer Dodurka, a professor at Istanbul University’s Veterinary Faculty, daily Milliyet reported Tuesday.Taking calm dogs that have never caused harm to anyone from their owners just because they are pit bulls is illogical.