FIGHT ANTI-PET LEGISLATION   Illinois is facing an increasing amount of anti-pet legislation which, if enacted, will dictate how our pets are treated, the number we are allowed to own, and what we are allowed to with them.   The Illinois Federation of Dog Clubs and Owners (IFDCO) was recently formed to fight this anti-pet legislation.  As you know, pet owners have strength in numbers. I stongly urge you to take the time to visit IFDCO's website (www.ifdco.org), print an application, and join this group. An individual membership is just $25.   The Sportsmen's and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance (SAOVA) is a nationwide, nonpartisan group of volunteers seeking to elect politicians who will oppose the "Animal Rightist" (AR) threat to our rights as Americans. It is the only national group working to protect both sportsmen and animal owners, natural allies, in the legislative and political arenas. SAOVA's members hunt, fish and own livestock, dogs, cats and other pets.  “We study political candidates in all states to identify those who understand and resist the AR threat, as well as those who are in the pocket of the Animal Rightists.”  For additional information on each of the bills discussed below as well as information on how to contact your representative or senator (and well as the relevant committee members) in opposition to this legislation, please visit the SAOVA website.  The relevant link is posted below the description of each bill.   *****************      *****************   SB 2580 (Anti-Tethering Bill), Introduced on 1/21/10 by Senator Linda Holmes Text and status of SB2580   The bill creates many problems for dog owners by setting a number of restrictive requirements on the practice of tethering. For tethering to be allowed, the dog must be visible to the owner at all times; must be on a 15-foot lead; may not be tethered between the hours of 10 PM and 6 AM; may not be tethered during extreme weather; and must not be able to move outside of its owner's property while on the tether. Some of the definitions are vague and could therefore encompass even short term tethering as well as the use of tethering at field trials and other dog sporting events. Punishment for violation of this tethering bill is excessive. A person convicted a second time would be charged with a Class 4 felony with every day that a violation continues constituting a separate offense. A Class 4 felony carries with it a minimum penalty of one year in prison. Should a person have multiple pets, and be convicted, they would have to undergo psychiatric evaluation and be investigated as an “animal hoarder,” and comply with a judge’s orders as to treatment. This bill completely ignores the fact that fencing is not allowed in many subdivisions. Even where allowed, fencing may be restricted to local ordinance to a height and construction not suitable for containing a dog, and fencing in an entire yard is often prohibitively expensive for those of modest means. “Underground fences”” or electronic fences are not suitable for all dogs, are expensive, and may also be restricted by local ordinances. Hand-walking a dog on leash during all weather conditions or at all hours of the day or night may not be practical for an owner who is elderly, frail, disabled, or who lives in a high-crime area. Dog owners of more moderate income, or who are frail or elderly, will find it more difficult to keep their pets.  As a result, people may be forced to give up their pets to local humane shelters, increasing shelter intakes and euthanasia rates, and (for publicly-funded shelters) shelter expense paid for by the municipality’s taxpayers. The bill states that the dog must have access to water and shelter, regardless of weather conditions or the amount of time the dog will be tethered outside.  This is extremely impractical and unnecessary when the dog is to be tethered only a relatively short period of time, or during an emergency.   The definition of tethering is all-inclusive with no exceptions for emergencies or unusual circumstances, or tethered for relatively short periods of time, or tethered during field trials. There is no minimum time during which an owner is not required to be actively watching a tethered dog. It is impractical to expect owners to sit outside to monitor a tethered dog in a neighborhood where fencing is not allowed. Requiring that a dog be at least 6 months of age is arbitrary and has nothing to do with a dog's breed, size or maturity. The requirement that a dog must not be suffering from “any injury or illness that is exacerbated by being tethered” is not well defined. Should a dog be “suffering” from any illness or injury, no matter how trivial, an owner could be in violation of this section. Mandating that the lead must be 15 feet or longer in length is impossible at field trials where multiple dogs are staked out. Many trainers will have 25 or more dogs to tend to and 15 foot leads would be impossible to manage. Requiring that the lead must prevent the dog from moving outside of its owner's property would make it illegal to tie a dog out at a field trial, dog park, or any place other than an owner's property Tethering restrictions would curtail or severely limit outdoor canine performance events such as agility trials, obedience trials, conformation trials, hunting tests, field trials, earth dog trials, herding trials, and tracking tests, all of which are held in varied weather conditions to which the entered dogs are expected to be acclimated.  Such events are rarely canceled due to the weather except for the most extreme or dangerous conditions. The Illinois Humane Care for Animals Act is already on the books and specifically mentions the provision of adequate food, water, and shelter that is required for any dog, tethered or not. Owing to the fact that SB2580 will become a redundant law if enacted, it will prove costly to the taxpayers to enforce, provide no added benefit to Illinois citizens or their pets, and add unnecessary complications to existing Illinois animal law that would not serve as improvements to existing law.   For information on how to contact your senator and to send emails to the Illinois Agriculture & Conservation Committee in opposition to this bill, please click on http://saova.org/IllinoisSB2580.html     SB 3496 (Barking Dogs Bill), Introduced on 2/10/10 by Senator Dave Syverson Text and status of SB 3496    Amends the Counties Code. Authorizes the county board to regulate and prohibit the ownership, keeping, possession, or harboring of dogs that by frequent or habitual howling, yelping, barking, or otherwise cause annoyance or disturbance within unincorporated areas of the county that have been subdivided for residence purposes. Authorizes a county board to impose fines and penalties for violations. Exempts veterinary hospitals and clinics operated by a licensed veterinarian and county pounds from ordinances to regulate barking dogs. Effective immediately. There is no time limit specified or number of instances of yelping or bakring to trigger a complaint being made. "Habitual" and "frequent" are arbitrary terms and could mean anything from once a month to once a day. Complaints could be lodged for dogs sounding the alarm at strangers approaching the kennel. The amount, duration and sound level of barking would be totally subjective. There are no exceptions for training kennels, rescue kennels, private kennels, or farms. There are no exceptions for actively working dogs, dogs in training or in field trials, dogs hunting on private land. Repeated violations of a noise ordinance could lead to dogs being seized.  For information on how to contact your senator to oppose this bill, please click on http://www.saova.org/IllinoisSB3496.html HB 5771 (Dog Breeders/”Puppy Mills”), Introduced on 2/9/10 by Representative Susana A. Mendoza Text and status of HB 5771   Provides for the licensure of dog breeders and the regulation of commercial dog breeders. Defines "dog breeder" as any person who owns, has possession of, or harbors 6 or more female dogs capable of reproduction for the purpose of the sale of their offspring. Defines "commercial dog breeder" as any dog breeder who (1) owns, has possession of, or harbors 10 or more female dogs capable of reproduction; (2) breeds or whelps dogs; and (3) sells or transfers any dog to a whole sale dog dealer or pet shop or otherwise sells or transfers more than 30 dogs per calendar year. Provides additional requirements for licensees related to the treatment of dogs. Provides that, in addition to certain requirements imposed on other licensees under the Act, commercial dog breeders shall meet certain specified requirements concerning the treatment of dogs.  No evidence exists that any additional regulation is needed for dog breeders in the state of Illinois. The Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Care for Animals Act require licensing and inspection for many dog breeders in the state. Federal regulations require breeders selling at wholesale to be licensed and inspected. Violations of the law requiring action by the Illinois Department of Agriculture are few and were documented in a report to the 2009 Joint Task Force on Breeders and Pet Stores. The majority of violations were minor; the majority of actual abuse cases were by unlicensed kennels. Despite the “sky is falling” cries from HSUS and ASPCA of an impending puppy mill epidemic, it is clear that existing law works. Lawbreakers were caught and dogs were rescued. Increasing the number of inspectors would ensure that unlicensed kennels do not continue to operate; increasing legislation would not. Exemption is given for a breeder who raises his or her dogs for the sole purpose of hunting. As this bill is currently written, the breeder might lost this exemption if any non-hunting activity was undertaken, such as bench shows, agility trials, obedience trials, sled racing, etc. He/she might also lose this exemption by selling even one dog that would not be used for hunting. Existing regulation states licensees must provide humane care and treatment. HB 5771's requirement to provide annual veterinary exams serves no reasonable purpose. A routine exam can only detect obvious conditions such as being over/underweight; adding costly tests or lab work without specific reasons only serves to make breeding and raising dogs more expensive. The annual exam requirement is a steppingstone to mandating other breeding and care provisions. There is no scientific basis to prohibit a female from having more than 2 litters in an 18 month period. HB 5771 is yet another attempt by the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) at control of nearly all dog breeders residing in Illinois. HB 5771 establishes an extremely low limit (10 females) as a commercial breeder classification. This is a completely arbitrary number that has absolutely nothing to do with quality of care and should not be used to add an additional layer of regulation. For information on how to contact your representative and to email the Agriculture and Conservation Committee in opposition to this bill, please click on http://www.saova.org/IllinoisHB5771.html    Dog and Cat Disclosure Requirement Bills HB 5772 Introduced on 2/9/10 by Representative Susana A. Mendoza SB 3594 and SB 3663 Introduced 2/11/10 by Senator Dan Kotowski   Text and status of HB 5772 Text and status of SB 3594 Text and status of SB 3633   This bill sets forth disclosure requirements for any dog or cat made available for adoption or sale by an animal shelter, animal control facility, or pet shop operator, including adoptions or sales available over the internet. Sets forth certain requirements concerning an acknowledgement of disclosures form which must be signed by the customer or adopter and the pet shop operator or authorized representative of the animal shelter or animal control facility. Makes other changes. Amends the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act. Provides that any person who knowingly violates the disclosure requirements for a pet shop operator who sells a dog or cat under the Animal Welfare Act commits an unlawful practice. Effective January 1, 2011.  HB 5772, SB 3594, and SB 3633 ("Dogs and Cats - Disclosures") have been introduced into the Illinois House and Senate. These bills seek to amend the current Illinois Animal Welfare Act by mandating various detailed disclosures regarding pets for sale to potential buyers "prior to sale" by pet shops and "prior to the time of adoption" for animal shelters or animal control facilities. The information that would be mandated to be provided by pet shops "prior to sale" is completely unnecessary, since most of this important information is already disclosed to the purchaser at the time of sale under current Illinois law. Posting detailed breeder information in a conspicuous location in the store covering all pets for sale as would be required by this law, available for review by all people who visit, would prove a serious invasion of privacy for professional breeders who sell their puppies and kittens to a pet store. These breeders would be now all-too-easily harassed by Animal Rights activists who wish to see all pet breeding and sales of any type abolished. Similar disclosure regulations would apply to shelters and rescues who would be required to provide the following information on any dogs or cats they adopted out: a.                    A detailed medical history on the animal.  This information may prove difficult or even impossible to compile, given that so many of these animals come from uncertain backgrounds. Rescues who obtain animals from shelters might have even a more difficult time, since in addition to type of medical treatment or vaccination given a dog while previously at a shelter, they would also need to obtain the name of the manager who authorized the treatment or vaccination, his title and his employer, and provide that to any potential adopter. Any medical treatment or procedure performed on the animal while at the shelter or rescue, would necessitate the name and address of the veterinarian.   b.                    Information on the animal’s background–whether a stray, an owner relinquish, shelter transfer–and the reason why the animal ended up in the shelter available for adoption.  If a pet was relinquished to a shelter, this information would be obtained from the pet's previous adopter.  If the pet's previous owner relinquished the animal due to serious personal (medical or financial) reasons, they may be much more reluctant to do so knowing that this information will be captured and provided any future adopter. These unfortunate pets will therefore face an even more uncertain future should this bill pass.   c.                    If the animal was ever returned to the rescue, the reason for being returned and the date returned.. This detailed information is required to be posted “in a conspicuous place” for every dog and cat at a shelter.  It would also have to be included for every dog and cat listed for adoption on the internet by animal shelters and rescue groups. This information would require constant updating each time a medical procedure is done; i.e., vaccination booster, treatment for internal or external parasites, HW prevention, etc.  The constant updated information would require reprinting the posted material at the shelter and never-ending updates to the animal’s adoption information posted on the internet.  These procedures will take time and money for the shelter or rescue to implement and away from the animals themselves that these rescues and shelters are attempting to serve. Home    E-mail us Illinois Cocker Rescue Aly Posner P.O. Box 384 Harvard, IL 60033 Email: ILCockerRescue@aol.com Website: www.ILCockerRescue.org Copyright © Illinois Cocker Rescue All Rights reserved. Email: Webmaster