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

The Monthly National Legislation Reporthttp://mnlreport.typepad.com/Page 9 of 3307/5/2010The Animal Agriculture Alliance, a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization, is a broad-based coalition of individual farmers, ranchers, producer organizations, suppliers, packerprocessors,private industry scientists, veterinarians, and retailers. The Alliance's mission is to communicate the important role of animal agriculture to our nation'seconomy, productivity, vitality, and security and that animal well-being is central to producing safe, high-quality, affordable food and other products essential to our dailylives.Cleveland – (6/24/10) - Cleveland Animal Shelter Works To Resolve Conflict with Rescue Groups. Assistant Police Chief Gary Hicks explained to the Animal Shelter Board thatmeshing animal control with rescue and adoption groups is like “”mixing water and oil.” The Animal Control Unit is under the supervision of the Cleveland Police Department. The AnimalShelter Board called an unscheduled meeting primarily to resolve concerns about getting pictures of animals brought to the shelter in a timely manner. By law, animals with tags are to beheld five days and without tags only three days before being euthanized. According to Shelter Director Gene Smith, tagged dogs that arrive at the Cleveland Shelter are usually held at least10 days. Many in the audience expressed a desire to volunteer at the Shelter, which, according to Chief Hicks, is understaffed. There was a misunderstanding among some in the audiencewho thought the volunteer program no longer existed. City Manager Janice Casteel told those interested that the program was available and paperwork would be made available for anyoneinterested. A background check must be completed before acceptance into the program. A member of the audience made a plea for public education concerning low-cost spay and neuteringservices. Ms. Foster said that there a misconception in the community that an animal goes to the Shelter where it stays, possibly for months, until the perfect family comes along and they alllive happily forever. Out of 6,900 animals being handled in 2009, over 5,000 were euthanized.Columbus – (6/3/10) – Bill would regulate Ohio breeders, fight puppy mills. "It's these high-volume breeders that have given Ohio a black eye and has made Ohio the worst state in thecountry for breeding dogs," said Kellie Difrischia with Columbus Dog Connection. Difrischia has spent 4 and half years developing Senate Bill 95, also known as the puppy mill act. The goalof the bill was to develop regulations on breeders -- something that has never been done in Ohio. Difrischia said the bill will provide minimum care to dogs that are in kennels 24/7 and thatright now having no one watching them. Currently 32 states have passed or have pending regulations on breeders. Difrischia said she is hoping that the new regulations will stop convictedbreeders from coming to Ohio. "We have that welcome mat out saying we have no regulations come on in and do what you want," Difrischia said. "And it's time Ohio says enough is enough."Columbus – (6/23/10) – video at link - Livestock Amendment Could Help Animals, Raise Food Prices. H$U$ is the main sponsor of a constitutional amendment that would set newrules for Ohio livestock production. "We have well over 450,000 Ohioans who've signed this petition to put it on the ballot this November," says HSUS Ohio State Director Karen Minton. Theproposed amendment would require the State Livestock Board approved by Ohio voters last November to create new rules governing the treatment of farm animals. Under the amendment,the Board would have six years to create the new rules and set minimum standards. It would prohibit extreme confinement that keeps animals "from lying down, standing up, fully extendinghis or her limbs, or turning around freely." For egg-producing hens that means "fully spreading both wings without touching the side of an enclosure or another egg-laying hen." The anticonfinementlanguage does not apply to rodeos, county fairs, 4-H programs, agricultural research or during slaughter. An Ohio State University Agricultural Economist predicts direconsequences for the farming community if the amendment passes. In a report released June 18, 2009, Emeritus Chaired Professor Luther Tweeten looked at several studies and concluded that,"Eggs produced under conventional cage systems in surrounding states would have a 20 percent or more cost advantage over Ohio's farms producing under [California] Prop 2-type regulations. Ohiolaying hen producers would not be competitive." "Ohio would lose: laborers, livestock and crop producers, and the economy as a whole," Tweeten's report continues. He says the Ohio egg-producingindustry would be "decimated" and "other states would gain jobs and income at Ohio's expense as animal products consumed in Ohio would be produced elsewhere." The full text of the amendmentis downloadable as a .pdf file here.________________________________________________________________________________________PENNSYLVANIABelleville – (6/11/10) - New Pa. law putting puppy mills out of business. The state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement is wagging its tail about the results, declaring Friday in its annualreport to the Legislature that Pennsylvania has become a "model state" for its oversight of commercial breeders. Pennsylvania had long been known as a breeding ground for puppy millswhen Gov. Ed Rendell signed off on an overhaul of the dog law in 2008. The legislation was a response to appalling conditions in many large commercial breeding kennels, where dogs spentmost of their working lives inside cramped wire cages, stacked one atop the other, and got little grooming, veterinary care or exercise. Key provisions that went into effect in October requiredlarge-scale breeders to double cage sizes, eliminate wire flooring, and provide unfettered access to the outdoors. The new law also banned cage stacking, instituted twice-a-year vet checks,and mandated new ventilation and cleanliness standards. Many breeders have closed voluntarily rather than comply. The number of commercial kennels in Pennsylvania plummeted from303 at the beginning of 2009 to 111 today — a reduction of almost two-thirds — although a few of them are expected to reopen after making renovations, while other kennels got rid ofenough dogs so that they are no longer classified as commercial operations. Thousands of former breeding dogs have been relinquished to shelters and placed in homes as pets. Dogs havealso been sold or transferred to other kennel owners in and out of state. "It's much more difficult now to run a puppy mill in Pennsylvania," said Sarah Speed, Pennsylvania state director ofThe Humane Society of the United States. "I think the puppy mill business in Pennsylvania is absolutely on its way out."_________________________________________________________________________________________SOUTH CAROLINAR255, S932 - Hogs - AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION _50-16-25_CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE RELEASE OF PIGS FOR HUNTING PURPOSES, SOAS TO PROVIDE THAT IT IS UNLAWFUL TO POSSESS, BUY, SELL, OFFER FOR SALE, TRANSFER, RELEASE, OR TRANSPORTR266, S1294 - Coyotes - AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION _50-11-2540_CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE TRAPPING SEASON OF FURBEARINGANIMALS, SO AS TO CHANGE FROM JANUARY TO DECEMBER AS THE BEGINNING OF THE TRAPPING SEASON, TO DELETE THE MAXIMUM SIXTY-ONE DAY SEASONLIMITATION, TO AUTHORIZE THE TRAPPING OF COYOTES FROM DECEMBER FIRST OF EACH YEAR TO MARCH FIRST OF THE SUCCEEDING YEAR, AND AUTHORIZE THETAKING OF COYOTES BY OTHER LAWFUL MEANS AT ANY TIME DURING THE YEAR.Columbia – (6/7/10) - Cockfighting Arrests Highlight Need for Stiffer Penalties. South Carolina’s animal fighting laws are some of the most lax in the nation and the recent breakup ofcockfighting ring in the Upstate has some calling for stiffer penalties. Roughly 50 people were arrested Sunday during a raid in northern Greenville County and charged with betting oncockfights. It’s currently a misdemeanor to host a cockfight, with a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and a year in jail. “It’s almost a slap on the wrist,” said Wayne Brennessel, with theHumane Society of Columbia. The Humane Society of the United States ranks South Carolina 44th in the nation for the severity of its cockfighting laws. Neighboring states Georgia and NorthCarolina are ranked 34th and 36th, respectively, where cockfighting is a felony. “The law certainly needs to be strengthened,” said state Sen. Larry Martin (R-Pickens). Martin is sponsoring abill that would make all types of animal fighting a felony in South Carolina. He said his bill, which he plans to introduce next session, would increase the penalties for animal fighting to 5 yearsand $5,000. “It’s a pretty severe punishment,” said Martin. “The folks that engage directly in the activity need to be more severely dealt with.” He hopes increasing the penalties will deteranimal fighting in the state. “It usually centers around gambling, that’s the big draw to an animal fight or a cockfight,” said Martin. “That’s why we need to be vigilant and enhance thesanctions, because what it leads to is obviously more egregious crimes.” “You’re also looking at potential money laundering situations, gambling, drugs, illegal weapons,” said Brennessel.“It’s not just the animal fighting, which in and of itself is despicable, but all the other potential crimes that go along with it.” Brennessel said he believes people are traveling to South Carolinafor cockfights because the penalties are less severe, than in other neighboring states. “I think we are attracting people from out of state,” he said. “You don’t want an unsavory elementattracted to your state.”_________________________________________________________________________________________TENNESSEEChattanooga – (6/24/10) - Hamilton Place Pet Store Not Subject To Chattanooga Animal Care Laws, Attorney Adam Pippinger Tells Judge. Attorneys for a Hamilton Place Mall petstore did not bother to contest testimony that animals in the establishment were kept in cages stacked in piles, or that many of the containers designed to hold feces and urine in the cageswere cracked and broken, enabling the waste from one cage to leak down onto the animals in the cages below. Likewise, they did not try to disprove allegations that The Pet Company alsoviolated numerous other city regulations, including mandates that animals be supplied with food and water, kept in sanitary conditions and receive veterinary care when they are ill. Rather,attorney Adam Pippinger argued on behalf of the store and its parent company, United Pet Supply Inc. of New Windsor, N.Y., it doesn’t matter how many Chattanooga regulations the storeviolates because those regulations do not apply to it. It is the National Code of Animal Regulations that United Pet and its retail outlets must follow, Mr. Pippinger told City Judge Sherry Paty.Arguing that state and local inspectors had proven no violations of the federal code, Mr. Pippinger demanded that the judge “summarily dismiss” the charges against his client and order thereturn of more than 30 animals seized by McKamey Animal Center during a June 15 raid. Under cross examination, however, Attorney Pippinger made mincemeat of most of the testimonygiven by the Department of Agriculture employee, who had admitted casually on direct examination that he is not familiar with the state codes he was hired to enforce._________________________________________________________________________________________