Crossposting is encouraged.
May 29, 2011
Please contact Governor Rick Perry and ask him to "VETO HB 1451," the
misnamed "Puppy Mill Bill."
It is not written to regulate dog and cat breeders, but to eliminate them.
Tell him this is Texas and not California! If he doesn't veto this bill,
we'll remember at election time! Tell him you own dogs and/or cats and you
vote in every election. Use any of the Talking Points below if you wish (or
use your own).
HB 1451 was not written for Texas and is being steamrolled all across the
country by HSUS, an animal "rights" organization. In 2005 HSUS failed to
get PAWS, a federal bill, passed to license every dog breeder in the U.S.
and vowed to take it to the states. Senator Rick Santorum sponsored the
HSUS bill and lost his next election.
HB 1451 is a very controversial bill and was defeated last session. Texas
Humane Legislation Network (THLN) is the Texas lapdog for HSUS and
responsible for the extreme animal "rights" legislation we face each
legislative session.
Last November's elections have shown that voters want an open transparent
government and we certainly didn't see that with this bill. The bill was
rammed through by Rep. Thompson and Senator Whitmire - same sponsors as last
session. Every legislative rule in the book was broken; meeting notice
requirements suspended, etc. Allegedly Rep. Thompson threatened to block
any bills from going through her Local & Consent Calendar Committee if
legislators didn't support her bill. The vote was corrupted!
Every legislator who voted "Aye" on HB 1451 has been recorded and will be
publicized extensively through many web sites in Texas and elsewhere.
President Cile Holloway, Texas Humane Legislation Network, has publicly
stated they wanted to get "anything" passed this session and come back
later. Senator Whitmire said the bill will be back next session. HB 1451
is only the beginning -- not the end.
"The standards adopted under this section must at a minimum meet federal
USDA regulations." The only breeders who can meet these standards are the
existing 36 USDA licensed facilities in Texas. There will be no more
breeder licenses sold unless expensive new facilities are built. With pet
stores banned in Austin and El Paso, the handwriting is on the wall.
The exemptions hastily added to the bill at the last minute are meaningless
and will have to be defined in the court system. Dogs "bred for hunting,
herding, tracking, chasing, pointing, flushing, or retrieving game,
competing in field trials, hunting tests, or similar organized performance
events" is ambiguous and not defined anywhere.
Selling any puppies from those litters as family "pets" is questionable.
Since the Breeder License is renewed annually, a dog that qualifies one year
may not qualify in subsequent years. The rules are yet to be written by an
Advisory Committee which will undoubtedly be stacked with THLN members.
Della Lindquist, an attorney with Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation
(the agency that helped write and will interpret/enforce the law) has been
exposed as an Austin animal "rights" extremist.
The bill refers only to "dog and cat breeder" now with all reference to
"commercial and high volume breeder" removed. It was always meant to apply
to show dog and cat breeders and exhibitors. There is no legal definition
of a "Puppy Mill."
This legislative session has seen bills filed to eventually end ALL dog and
cat breeding, sterilize every dog and cat in the state and establish a "Pet
Abuser Registry" to elevate animals to human status as in a "Sex Offender
Registry." It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see their radical agenda.
Please contact Governor Perry every day in every way! Ask him to "VETO HB
1451!"
Go to
http://governor.state.tx.us/contact/ and click on "Registering
Opinion" and send your opposition email. Copy and paste anything you wish
from this alert.
Telephone: Opinion Hotline [for Texas Callers] (800) 843-5789
Second Citizens Opinion Hotline [for Texas Callers] (800) 252-9600
Opinion Hotline for Out-of-state Callers: (512) 463-1782
Office of Governor Main Switchboard [8:00 a.m. To 5:00 p.m. CST] (512)
463-2000
Office of Governor Fax: (512) 463-1849
Alternate Fax: (512) 463-1843
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