In May 2008, Alderman Edward M. Burke (14th) and Alderman Virginia A. Rugai (19th) introduced a draft Mandatory Spay/Neuter (MSN) Ordinance requiring that all cats and dogs within the City of Chicago be spayed/neutered at the age of six months. The rationale for this ordinance was that MSN would eliminate brutal dog attacks, combat dog fighting, improve the quality of life for domesticated dogs and cats, and reduce the multitude of homeless pets in the City of Chicago.

Chicago Spay/Neuter Ordinance Based On Lies
RDOWS’ Letter to the Chicago City Council Regarding Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance

On July 29, 2008 Aldermen Burke and Rugai presented the draft ordinance to Chicago’s Joint Committees on Finance and License & Consumer Protection. The witnesses called by Alderman Burke in support of this proposed ordinance included Bob Barker (the former game show host) as well as representatives of HSUS and PAWS Chicago. Speaking in opposition to the proposed ordinance were representatives of the Illinois State Veterinary Medical Association (ISVMA) and the Chicago Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). Due to the high volume of speakers signed up both in favor and opposing the ordinance, there was no vote taken and the topic was continued to a later date.

Barker, interviewed after the meeting, said the goal of animal rights groups is to use a Chicago ordinance as a springboard to passing similar ordinances in other cities, and also to pass a statewide spay/neuter mandate in Illinois. "If you pass this ordinance here there will be cities all over the Midwest and coasts that will pass this as well, and we really need this legislation," Barker said. “…It will spread like wildfire.” Bob Barker: Chicago Mandatory Neuter Law Will Spread Like Wildfire'

The rationale for the introduction and passage of a Chicago MSN ordinance is greatly flawed. Specific reasons to oppose Mandatory Spay-Neuter laws are addressed in the following articles.

HSUS Weighs in on Chicago MSN
Chicago’s Proposed Mandatory Spay/Neuter Ordinance
ISVMA Position on the Proposed Chicago MSN Ordinance
2006 CASA Announcement
Long-Term Health Effects of Spay/Neuter in Dogs.pdf

Chicago's Joint Committee on Finance and
Committee on License and Consumer Protection
Thursday, March 12, 2009, 10:00 AM
City Council Chamber, 2nd Floor, Chicago City Hall

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

To fight passage of this ordinance, it is imperative that alderman hear from their constituents. If a Chicago resident, please contact (call, fax, write, and/or visit) your Alderman to state your opposition to the proposed ordinance.

The NAIA Trust has a capwiz web page from which you can email your opinions to the City of Chicago. NAIA Trust | Chicago Contemplates MSN

Attend the meeting of the Joint Committees on Finance and License & Consumer Protection at Chicago City Hall on Thursday, March 12, 2009.

HB 0198 / SB 53: Dog Breeders ("Chloe's") Bill
The Breeder's License Bill, a/k/a "Chloe's Bill," purported to be legislation targeted against puppy mills, was introduced by the IL House of Representatives as HB 0198 and the IL Senate as SB 53. To read the full text of this legislation, click on HB 0198.
The bill assumes that all breeders maintain their dogs in an institutional fashion. While this may be true for large commercial breeding facilities, it is patently untrue for home/hobby breeders whose dogs and their offspring live in their homes as members of their family.

Many responsible breeders keep their dogs in their homes as pets. This bill would force home breeders to maintain their dogs in an institutional manner, requiring strict engineering standards for cages as well as sanitation rules. Breeders who did not maintain their dogs in cages or kennels would be forced to start.

Puppies are not allowed to be in the same enclosure as other adult dogs (except for their mom). Accordingly, at a minimum, breeders would need to have two separate enclosures. Under this bill, the enclosures must be sanitized daily with live steam or water temperatures greater than 180 degrees. The breeder will be in violation if there is any rust on the crates.

The crates must be twice the size required by the USDA under the Animal Welfare Act. Breeders with large breed dogs will find there are NO commercially available cages or crates that are large enough to meet these requirements. In addition, each crate must have unfettered access to a private outdoor dog run. Have you ever seen a crate or cage attached to a doggie door? Or a home with 2 separate doggie doors, two separate fenced in areas, connected to two different dog enclosures? Small home breeders could never afford to meet these requirements.

Enactment of this bill will not only destroy a breeder's livelihood, it will endanger their animals. If a breeder is in violation of this bill at a yearly unannounced inspection, the breeder has only seven days to fix the problem and file a written report, or the breeder must dispose of their intact dogs to an animal control facility or have them killed by a veterinarian. Is this bill supposed to help dogs?

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
SAOVA: HB 0198 / SB 0053 Licensing Dog Breeder provides contact information for each of the relevant IL House and Senate committee members as well as sample letters in opposition.  It is very easy to:

Send emails to the relevant IL House and Senate committee members with a simple click.

Send letters and faxes to committee members.

Call each of the IL House and Senate committee members to voice your opposition to each bill.

NAIA Trust | HB 0198 has a series of bullet points to enter into a letter and/or email to send to your legislators based on your street address/zip code. This is an easy and fast way to state your opposition.

SB 0139: Anti-Crop/Anti-Dock Bill
SB 0139 defines the cropping of dogs' ears and docking of dogs' tails as "animal torture," punishable as a Class 3 felony.   For the full text of this legislation, click on SB 0139.

SB 139 has no provision for preventive measures of crop/dock to be performed by veterinarians when the dog is a puppy, not even for breeds used in their traditional roles. It only allows for crop/dock for medical reasons after the adult dog is injured. Therefore, it does not provide for the humane care of dogs, especially for traditionally docked working and hunting breeds which often incur serious and painful tail injures while performing their work as adults. Such tail injuries often result in tail amputation for the dog, a much more risky and painful surgical procedure for the dog that is very costly for its owner.

The bill does not provide for current owners of docked dogs who do not have "proof" that a veterinarian performed the procedure prior to the date of enactment of the law. This would result in the owner of a docked dog being subject to a Class 3 felony charge.    Likewise, if there is no proof that an animal was docked/cropped before it reaches rescue, the rescuer (or subsequent adopter of the dog) could be charged with a Class 3 felony. Therefore many breeds (those with cropped tails or docked ears) will not be rescued and ultimately will face euthanasia.

AKC regulations prohibit classes containing cropped dogs in states where the practice is illegal. Therefore these breeds could not be shown under AKC auspices in IL should this legislation pass.

Docking tails when done at the typical age (of less than one week) is a very simple and safe procedure frequently performed by the breeder at his/her home. Involving a veterinarian as required by this bill would create extra expense to the breeder; stress to the puppies and the dam if the puppies had to be separated to be taken in to the vet; and would also expose the puppies to non-home bacteria if they were taken in to the vet for which they received no maternal antibodies, thereby causing increased risk of infection at a vulnerable young age.

The cropping/docking ban is a thinly veiled attempt to stop the traditional uses of dogs representing the hunting, working and terrier breeds who are cropped and/or docked.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

SAOVA: SB 0139 Anti-Dock/Anti-Crop  provides contact information for each member of the Senate Agriculture and Conservation Committee as well as sample letters in opposition.  It is very easy to:

Send emails to the each committee member with a simple click.

Send individual letters and faxes to committee members.

Call each of the IL House and Senate committee members to voice your opposition to each bill.

NAIA Trust | SB 0139 Attacks Cropping and Docking  has a series of bullet points to enter into a letter and/or email to send to your legislators based on your street address/zip code. This is an easy and fast way to state your opposition.