by Chuck Bridges
Board of Directors, California Federation of Dog Clubs
Legislative Liaison, Contra Costa County Kennel Club
Monday, January 24, 2011
The Contra Costa County Public Protection Committee directed that an ordinance be drafted in line with the previously disclosed memo from the county's animal control director -- this despite strong opposition and no support in today's hearing. There were about twenty citizens at the hearing, ranging from Laura Sanborn of "Save our Dogs" and Laura Finco from CDOC, to Chuck Bridges from CFODC, to representatives from various breed clubs, rescue organizations and Angie Niles representing the NAIA.
From the supervisor's opening remarks, the ultimate result was apparent -- don't bother them with the truth. Neither supervisor believed the proposed ordinance to be MSN, and both ignored testimony that indicated (1) that there is no form of MSN that actually reduces shelter impoundments and shelter killing and (2) that there is no form of MSN that does not reduce compliance with licensing laws, thereby creating a public health risk. One of the clearest statements about the failure of MSN is from the ASPCA's position statement on MSN:
Please note that while the ASPCA is firmly against MSN, it would advocate the MSN of dogs, "repeatedly caught at-large." The current CCC proposal would define "repeatedly caught at-large" as once for any unlicensed dog and twice in any three-year period for any licensed dog, a premise that most would find unreasonable.
There was no mention by the two supervisors on the committee of any relaxation of any of the provisions of the AC director's memo. The memo was part of the published agenda of the meeting:
The next step will be consideration of the yet-to-be-drafted ordinance by the Board of Supervisors. With two supervisor votes already "in the bag," MSN "Lite" may become a reality in CCC.
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