Laws won't stop with pet animals
A flood of animal-rights legislation throughout the United States is being
rammed in front of state and federal legislators, driven by organizations such
as the Humane Society of the United States and People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals.
Legislation in Illinois such as Senate Bill 139 bans tail-docking and
ear-cropping, and House Bill 198 is a heavy-handed dog breeder regulation bill.
Both are to be heard in committee this week in Springfield.
American Kennel Club legislative advisers say HB198 won't move but be put
forward as SB53 to be the vehicle for regulation of dog breeding.
If those bills pass, they will create requirements and regulations that
aren't based on proven animal husbandry practices, nor will they improve the
health and welfare of dogs in Illinois. They will impose breeding permits,
breeding bans and mandatory spaying or neutering of purebred dogs.
Numerical limits don't address the underlying issues of responsible
ownership and proper dog care, according to the AKC and advocates for laws that
protect the welfare of purebred dogs and don't restrict the rights of breeders and
owners who take their responsibilities seriously.
When legislators discuss laws against pet animals, they risk setting a
precedent that could eventually lead to removing farm animals, which would
threaten food-animal production.
Responsible people take animal husbandry seriously. Whether the animals are
pets, food animals, zoo animals, sporting animals or wildlife, the owners,
farmers, medical researchers, wildlife biologists and veterinarians are
interested in the best care for them.
A dairy farmer might not think the proposed draconian laws around dogs will
affect them, but it is the beginning of additional legislation already in
queue that's supported by the animal-rights activists.
A recent American Farm Bureau editorial by Chris Chinn described how newly
proposed legislation in Illinois would "ban egg-laying hen cages, sow stalls
and veal stalls."
Without much imagination, we can see the next step will be imposing more
oppressive laws until even pork producers quit because they can't fulfill the
requirements for care.
We all feel the fatigue of the legislative battles, but that too is a
strategy employed by animal rights and vegan activists, and it is an old reliable
one. Think of deer flies in summer. Deer flies are swinging hatchets aimed at
anyone with animals. Some farmers quit farming because they can't bear the
harassment and accusations.
We also need to draw the big picture for legislators so they understand the
precedent they're considering. Those proposed dog laws threaten the future of
pets (a primary goal of HSUS/PETA - change the culture so animals are not in
our lives in any way - "One generation and out," said Pacelle) but are also
doorways to removing animals used for food production in Illinois and Iowa.
With fewer than 2 million farmers in the country, under the best
circumstances you couldn't recruit new farmers fast enough to replace the loss and meet
the need. Consider the dramatic decline in the number of veterinarians. Read
the General Accounting Office report on the veterinarian shortage and the
risk it poses to public health at
www.gao.gov/new.items/d09178.pdf.
Regarding economic interests, what is the tax base in Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio? Who is the constituency? What will be the new economic model in five
years anywhere in the United States?
Laws require enforcement. Enforcement requires resources on streets and in
courtrooms. That suggests the need for more animal rights law attorneys
cultivated by HSUS/PETA and rushing to build their law and political careers
exploiting animals.
People who typically aren't actively involved with animals also need to
understand how their tax money is used for this legislative activity. People such
as social workers and health care providers need to see where their
resources are being squandered by HSUS/PETA as they attempt to further destabilize
the economy at a cost to all of us.
Just this week I worked on grants to fund mental health services and support
for farmers, to support alcohol and drug abuse prevention, to help parents
learn to support good bone growth in their children, and to fund therapeutic
community programs to support veterans returning from war. That's from small
pots of money communities will use to take care of people - many without
access to affordable health care. Communities are writing grants to help support
law enforcement and trying to intervene to keep people out of overcrowded
prisons.
Meanwhile, legislators are spending my tax money to conjure laws that will
rip my dogs out of my arms to kill them. Oh, baby; it isn't gonna happen. This
is an outrage and people need to let their legislators know this isn't
acceptable.
If those laws go into place, the cost will be enormous to enforce.
Who will feed the world, especially in places where the climate is changing
in ways that make it more difficult to grow food already? I doubt we'll see a
big rush for urban residents to move back to farms even to grow spinach or
peanuts. And it isn't likely to happen within 10 years.
There needs to be a big push back. A shake-up once in a while can be
healthy, but this is mass destruction that is far beyond management of breeding
dogs, and it was never about animal welfare. It's about power and control, and in
this equation the real animal welfare advocates - us - have less and less of
either.
We are the genuine advocates for our animals' welfare, as Chinn wrote. This
is a fight for our civil rights, our property rights and our economic
stability. This story must be framed so our legislators see the precipice they hover
over.
Bobbie Kolehouse is a rural community health consultant who raises, shows
and trains her Cocker Spaniels for the field as a hobby in rural Wisconsin
Rapids.