EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

NEWS AND UPDATES => TEXAS LAWS and BILLS => Topic started by: Txmason on February 03, 2013, 11:06:44 am



Title: What's going on in Austin
Post by: Txmason on February 03, 2013, 11:06:44 am
TDHA is there, where are you??

From RPOA Texas Outreach and
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
Crossposting is encouraged.
February 3, 2013

On January 31, 2013, US District Court Judge James Nowlin denied Responsible
Pet Owner Alliance's request for a Preliminary Injunction to block
enforcement of the 2011 Dog and Cat Breeder Act and the rules promulgated
therefrom while this case moves forward to its resolution. Our request for
a Temporary Injunction was previously denied.

This was not unexpected as we'd forewarned that the injunction would be very
difficult to obtain.
But most unexpected were statements made by Judge Nowlin himself. We lost
before we ever entered the courtroom!

We realized we were in shark infested waters when the Security Guard asked
at the door: "Are you here for the HSUS lawsuit?"
HSUS and Texas Humane Legislation Network (THLN) filed an Amicus Brief
supporting the state of Texas, and Texas Department of Licensing &
Regulation (TDLR), but we weren't aware that this was "their" lawsuit. Hey,
HSUS did write the Texas bill! Forgot about that!

Judge Nowlin previously served in our state legislature and informed the
court that he was a personal close friend of Rep. Senfronia Thompson,
sponsor of HB 1451, the misnamed "Puppy Mill" Bill, and they had lunch
together last week. Surely this was just a coincidence! The judge assured
everyone this would not affect his decision.

HSUS, their state affiliate Texas Humane Legislation Network, the state and
TDLR had an entourage of six attorneys at the table. RPOA had our attorney
Steve Thornton and members James Smith, Mary Visser, Teresa Arnett, Tina
Patterson and George Armstrong at the hearing to our knowledge. There may
have been others.

"It ain't over 'til it's over," so this is only the beginning, the first
step so to speak. RPOA will persevere with the lawsuit as long as we obtain
sufficient funding to pay our attorney.
In the meantime, our focus is to "repeal and replace HB 1451" with a new
state law that correctly defines a "High Volume Commercial Breeder" and
transfers administration to the Texas Department of Agriculture, eliminates
the Breeder Advisory Committee, Breeder Bounty, Snitch Fund, and many other
onerous sections.

We'll have a Legislature Action Alert in a few days. This flyer below
explains what is wrong with HB 1451 and the changes RPOA seeks with our own
bill.
http://www.rpoatexasoutreach.org/Brochurs_Flyers/TexasBreederBill_ChangesJustification.pdf
Save to your computer and forward to legislators, media, friends, relatives
and all. Do not let HSUS define us in Texas. We'll define ourselves, thank
you, as we're the "reasonable" voice for Texas animals and their owners.
Let's be proactive, not always reactive, and protect our animals from the
extremists who claim to "advocate for animals." Simply not so!

FYI: There are a number of URLs below of articles from various news sources
regarding our lawsuit. We want to give a special Shout Out to Texas Tribune
reporter MAURICE CHAMMAH who demonstrated "real" journalism with his article
below. If you wish to subscribe, Texas Tribune has an excellent email list
reporting on "all things Texas Legislature." This URL was sent out to all
their subscribers and hopefully legislators themselves.
"Despite Ruling, Group to Keep Fighting 'Puppy Mill' Law"
http://www.texastribune.org/2013/02/01/after-court-ruling-continued-battle-over-cat-and-d/
OR
http://tinyurl.com/byyt6l6

Check for broken links, please!
Dallas Morning News
http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2013/01/court-allows-implementation-of-puppy-mill-law.html/
OR
http://tinyurl.com/aczrdrx

Houston Chronicle:
http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Judge-denies-challenge-to-Texas-puppy-mill-law-4245524.php

Texas Humane Legislation Network:
http://www.thln.org/index.cfm?pageID=97FD650D-3048-C277-1145AD8444C1D3D4

Rebecca Poling, DFW Animal Rescue, a Dallas area "animal rights" extremist
presenting the HSUS perspective. (Consider the source!):
http://www.dfwanimalrescue.com/2013/01/federal-court-refuses-to-block-new-texas-puppy-mill-law/

God Bless Our Efforts and hug your pets today and everyday!