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

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 78 of 3307/5/2010than to charge dog owners with animal cruelty under the vague language in this bill?**As mentioned above, this bill does absolutely nothing to repeal or amend Section 97-41-2 in our current law. This statute allows seizure of dogs, cats, horses, and exotics based uponnothing but an allegation of being in possession of a debilitated dog, cat, horse or exotic. The seizure is not even linked to the commission of a crime and charges are often never even filed inthe case. To even get a hearing, the accused has to post a bond of an amount not even specified in the law. One cannot have a more obvious 5th and 14th Amendment violation than that. Inaddition, the statute attempts to legislate probable cause and does it badly thus allowing for 4th Amendment violations. No matter how well the legislature writes an animal cruelty bill forMississippi, doing it without addressing the civil rights violations in Section 97-41-2 sets the stage for a major 1983 civil rights violations lawsuit that will make Mississippi taxpayers veryunhappy.If you have questions or need more information, contact lindachance@mississippi-canine-coalition.orgJackson – (1/5/10) - Support for tougher animal cruelty laws from insurance company. 2010 could be the year where a compromise is worked out and felony animal abuse legislationis passed in Mississippi. Farm Bureau, which has killed the proposed laws in the past, says it is willing to support laws which only deal with dogs and cats. Mississippi is one of only fourstates in the nation which do not have felony animal abuse laws. There is plenty of animal abuse in this state. A puppy mill was broken up recently in Lee County in northeast Mississippi.There have been dog fighting arrests and WLBT gets numerous complaints about animal abuse. Farm Bureau has opposed felony animal abuse laws in the past. David Waide, president ofFarm Bureau says his organization opposes all animal abuse, but there is a huge animal meat production business in this state that could be affected, and rural farmers fear prosecution forhumanely putting an animal down. "We met with different groups throughout this summer. I think we have got something that maybe we can all live with. We certainly can support somethingfor dogs and cats," said Waide. David Waide says his organization hopes a compromise can be worked out that deals with dogs and cats.Ocean Springs – (1/26/10) – Moran calls for tougher requirements for pit bulls. Ocean Springs Mayor Connie Moran said Tuesday that she’s fed up with pit bull attacks in her city andhas asked her police and planning departments to come up with a solution. The last straw, Moran said, was Monday, when a man who had been jogging on East Beach came into her officewith a tale of being attacked by a pit bull that was on a lead. The owner, a woman, couldn’t handle the dog, Moran was told. Moran said she’d like to see the city consider requiring owners toregister a pit bull, require the breed be restrained at all times in the city or banned altogether. “They’re very unpredictable,” she said. “It’s a public safety issue. I’ve had it with these dogs.Cothern said he would be willing to see how other cities are handling the issue and follow their lead, but banning pit bulls would be hard to do. “There are people in the city that have pit bullsthat are big babies,” he said. “I’ll research through other cities, but if there’s nothing in their laws specifying a certain breed of dog, then I don’t want to be the test pilot to do it.”MISSOURIHB1288 - Large Carnivore Act - bill establishes the Large Carnivore Act which prohibits, beginning January 1, 2012, any person from owning or possessing, breeding, transferring ownershipor possession, or transporting a large carnivore unless he or she has a permit.HJR76 - Proposes a constitutional amendment requiring four-sevenths majority for voter approval of any initiative relating to bird, fish, game, wildlife, or forestry resources(1/27/10) - 2010 Initiative Petitions Approved for Circulation in Missouri. Statutory Amendment to Chapter 273, Relating to Dog Breeders - 2010-085, Version 1 THE PROPOSEDSTATUTE.Bolivar – (2/3/10) - Ag group encourages education, pro-activism in impending battle with animal activists. Creating a united front against the invasion of dog breeding regulations byanimal activist groups was the topic of a special Polk County Farm Bureau meeting Thursday. Kelly Smith, director of marketing and commodities for Missouri Farm Bureau, focused on thealleged attempts of the Humane Society of the United States and animal activist groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Sierra Club to subtly and slowly integrate theabolition of animal agriculture into seemingly harmless language that will appear on Missouri ballots over the next few years. That includes a current petition being circulated for ballotlanguage for a statutory amendment on dog breeding in Missouri. Smith called for the education of local farmers on the issues and encouraged them to go out and educate neighbors andfriends. “That is the bottom line,” Smith said. “What they are after is the abolition of all animal agriculture.” Smith spent much of his time educating those in attendance about different animalactivist organizations and the different activities in which these groups are involved, hoping to prepare farmers and consumers for upcoming legislation and current petition bids. For now,according to Smith, animal activist groups are focusing on Missouri for one reason — this state is No. 1 in the nation for dog breeding. The groups are making an attempt to get legislation onthe November ballot that, on the surface sounds innocent enough, but Smith said it is just the beginning of an attempt to pass more restrictive legislation in the future. According to Rep. MikeParson, who spoke briefly at the event, the ballot language on the petition reads, “Requires large scale breeding operations to provide each dog under their care sufficient food, clean water,housing space, necessary veterinary care, regular exercise and adequate rest between breeding cycles.” “Now, is there any problem with that?” Parson asked. “If you’re the average guy,that’s all you get, you don’t get the pages and pages of what they’re really trying to do. It gives them the right to come on personal property and inspect that, not law enforcement.” Parsonstressed that if the same type of legislation passed, in 2012 it might not say “large scale dog breeding” but “large scale cow breeding.” “It’s not about the cruelty to animals, it’s about takingaway the animals from us for consumption, and I truly believe that,” Parson said. Smith said groups of people from these animal activist organizations will focus on getting petitions signed insix Missouri districts (1, 2 and 3 in St. Louis; 5 in Kansas City; 9 in Columbia and St. Charles; and 7 in southwest Missouri, Springfield and Joplin) to place language on the ballot in Novemberregarding dog breeding laws. “That’s their goal, to come after all of us,” Parson said. “What we need to do is unite on this issue. ... "Carl Junction – (2/1/10) - Carl Junction residents hope to muzzle barking dog problem. Carl Junction, Missouri is nipping at the heels of an animal control issue - barking dogs. TheCarl Junction Police Department is offering electronic "barking collars" to owners with loud pups. "You have barking dogs situations in every town, and if a dog barks it doesn't necessarilymean it's a problem," says David Wehmeyer, an animal control officer for the Carl Junction Police. "If a stranger is walking by your house the dog should bark." Officer Wehmeyer is workingwith Invisible Fence to allow residents to try electric barking collars. Dog owners who think they can benefit from the barking collars can contact the Carl Junction Police Department.Columbia – (2/1/10) – Council approves Backyard Chickens. The Columbia City Council approved an ordinance that amends the city code to allow residents to keep chickens in theirbackyard. The ordinance allows residents to keep six hens — no roosters — per tract, doesn't require a permit or neighbor approval and allows people to keep hens for only noncommercialpurposes. The council also amended the ordinance so that a dog or cat that kills a chicken outside of a coop would not be considered vicious or aggressive for that reason alone. Theoriginal ordinance stated they would not be considered vicious or aggressive for killing a hen alone if it was off the owner’s property. After over more than two hours of public comment andcouncil discussion, the ordinance passed in a 4-3 vote.Raytown - (1/29/10) – Hurt pup can’t be treated due to city ordinance. The plight of an injured puppy in Raytown is concerning area residents who are wanting to pay for its care but arenot allowed to, yet.The dog, a yellow Labrador, was hit by a car Monday night and suffered a broken leg. As standard practice, it was put in the care of veterinarian Dr. Heath Rose at the Raytown AnimalHospital who is treating the animal, but has yet to treat the broken leg further due to a Raytown city ordinance. The ordinance provides a 10-day waiting period to allow any owner to comeforward and make medical decisions, as well as incur the costs of treatment as well. And while area residents have expressed a desire to cover the costs, they are being told they must waitfor the 10 days to expire. In the meantime, Rose said the injury is not-life threatening and the dog is on pain medication and doing well. The waiting period to treat an animal used to be fivedays rather than 10. The city will only provide a nominal amount of funding to keep the animal, and normally does not approve funds for more extensive procedures. The ordinance keeps theresidents from paying for procedures without the owner's approval. Once the waiting period is over, Rose said that he will "Start doing repair work on (the leg), get him healed up and get himready for adoption once he's healed." The waiting period will end on Feb. 3.Read The OrdinanceShelbina – (1/21/10) – Shelbina dog owners urge more enforcement. Shelbina dog lovers urged at a public meeting that officials enforce existing ordinances instead of banning specificbreeds.A proposed ordnance would ban ownership of pit bulls, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinschers, wolf-hybrids, German Shepherds and chows in city limits. Many who spoke at the meeting said theproblem of dogs running loose could be addressed with existing ordinances. No vote was taken Wednesday, but aldermen could discuss the new proposal again Jan. 26.