Legislation

Dogs and their owners today face numerous challenges from overzealous lawmakers and from Animal Rights (AR) activists. Lawmakers sometimes want to restrict our rights, for often questionable reasons. AR zealots want to totally eliminate pet animals. Their goal is to end pet ownership, dog shows and the use of animals by humans for any purpose.

Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) has been passed in several jurisdictions. These BSL laws have varied from severe restrictions (mandatory muzzling, mandatory sterilization, liability insurance requirements, etc.) to outright bans on ownership of certain breeds of dogs. In 2005 California passed SB861, a law that allows local jurisdictions to implement BSL. While SB861 does not allow absolute bans on specific breeds, it does allow mandatory sterilization of specific breeds as a backdoor way of eliminating a chosen breed of dog.

AB 1634 - The Current Threat

AB 1634 is still alive in the California Senate. AB 1634 requires mandatory spay/neuter (MSN) of all dogs and cats before they are 6 months old. If passed in its current form, AB 1634 would eliminate the hobby breeding of purebred cats and dogs in California and severely curtail, or eliminate, dog and cat shows in the state. The bill's sponsor, Assemblyman Lloyd Levine has promised to push for AB 1634's passage early in 2008. Take a look at the PetPac web site for current information about how to fight this legislation. We encourage you to contact Assembly Members and Senators and express your opposition to AB 1634. Here are several other sources you can look at to better understand the details of this Draconian proposal: