Don't Drink The Kool-Aid: Lawmakers

The fight for our rights as pet owners and breeders continues on a daily basis.  Every day well-intentioned lawmakers in cities and states across the country pass or consider passing BSL (breed specific legislation), MSN (mandatory spay/neuter), pet limit laws, and other anti-pet/anti-owner laws. 

Just yesterday, Riverside County, CA, Board of Supervisiors passed a "3 Strikes Then the Pet Gets Fixed" ordinance, which states "that cats and dogs caught running loose more than three times in the county be spayed or neutered — regardless of a pet owner's wishes."   Sorry, but this is NOT the way to solve a stray dog problem nor is it the answer to lowering shelter intakes.  Enforcing current leash laws/dogs roaming at large laws is the answer.  Offering free or low cost spay/neuter clinics, along with EDUCATING and HELPING people solve dog behavior issues and working on owner retention, rather than surrendering the animal to a shelter, is a better solution.

Animal Rights advocates along with animal control and shelter workers sang the same tune we have heard before:  "we don't want to KILL the animals..." (But yet, they do it anyway) Rather than  putting policies/practices in place that actually REDUCE intakes and REDUCE killing, the blame for the KILLING is placed, as usual, on the public. 

Dog owners and breeders were also on hand to speak, stating:

 “I want the freedom to make my own medical decisions about my dog and not have to worry about animal control coming to my house,” Mary Bradley said.  

  And...Susan Scholar told the board that pet sterilization ordinances in other states and Los Angeles had not proved successful, resulting in revenue declines as fewer people register their pets.

“History shows that mandatory spay/neuter laws are not wise,” Scholar said.

Perhaps the Board of Supervisors should refresh their memories on a little thing called the Constitution and Bill of Rights rather than drinking more of the Animal Rightists poison kool-aid.  Maybe someone out there should send a copy of Nathan Winograd's book, "Redemption", to the shelter workers and the Board.