Huntington Beach: Outlaw retail sale of pets

Council move targets animal sales

Ordinance would eliminate sale, resale of dogs and cats in the city, and would make it more dog- and animal-friendly, Carchio says.

By Mona Shadia

March 21, 2012 | 3:56 p.m.

"The City Council voted Monday to draft an ordinance that would eliminate the commercial sale or resale of dogs and cats.

Councilman Joe Carchio, who introduced the item, asked the council to consider the ban to keep up with the city's reputation of being animal-friendly. The city has a dog beach and dog parks.

Carchio showed a video to illustrate the deplorable conditions of dogs in puppy mills, where some retail stores obtain the animals to sell."

http://www.hbindependent.com/news/tn-hbi-0322-council-20120319,0,610400.story

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from AKC: Ventura County Cities to Consider Mandatory Spay/Neuter for “Pit bulls”

 

 

Dear AKC Delegates, Club Officers, Judges and Breeders,

Please pass this information on to any of your club members in the Ventura County area.

The Ventura County Animal Services Commission has proposed an ordinance to require the sterilization of all "pit bulls" over sixteen weeks of age unless the dog qualifies for a medical exemption, is registered with the American Kennel Club, United Kennel Club or other national registry, or is a law enforcement dog. The draft ordinance defines "pit bulls" as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers and any mixed breed dog containing these breeds. A first violation of this ordinance would result in a fine of up to $100 and additional violations could cost up to $500.

The proposal will go before each of the cities that contract with the county for animal services and once it has been approved by a majority, it will be taken up by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors. Responsible dog owners and breeders are encouraged to contact their elected officials at the city and county level and ask them to oppose this discriminatory ordinance.

The AKC opposes the mandatory spay/neuter of purebred dogs as well as ordinances that are breed-specific. Many owners of these breeds are extremely responsible, yet breed-specific proposals may prevent these owners from freely interacting with, showing, breeding or performing pet therapy with their dogs.  Shelter costs could also increase under this ordinance as citizens abandon pets of the targeted breeds in order to avoid paying the substantial fines to reclaim an animal.  Lastly, breed-specific laws may not withstand legal challenges because proper identification of what dogs would be included is difficult or impossible, and may be deemed unconstitutionally vague. 

AKC appreciates the efforts of Ventura County Animal Services to address this issue. For the last year the department has offered free sterilization for any "pit bulls" that have been impounded and returned to their owners. The county also charges $125 for adoption, but lowers that fee to $62.50 for those who adopt dogs they have determined to be "pit bulls." Additionally, Valley Vet Nonprofit offers $10 spay/neuters that include pick-up and drop-off of the animals.

What You Can Do:

• Responsible dog owners and breeders are encouraged to contact the members of your city council as well as the Ventura County Supervisors in opposition to this measure. A sample letter to personalize is attached. The cities of Ventura, Simi Valley and Oxnard are listed first as they are expected to take up this issue in March.

City of Ventura

501 Poli Street
Ventura, Ca 93002-0099
Councilmembers may be contacted via telephone at 805-654-7827 or by sending an email to council@cityofventura.net .
 

Mayor Mike Tracy mike.tracy@cityofventura.net

Deputy Mayor Cheryl Heitmann cheitmann@ci.ventura.ca.us

Councilmember Neal Andrews nandrews@ci.ventura.ca.us

Councilmember Brian Brennan bbrennan@ci.ventura.ca.us

Councilmember James L. Monahan jmonahan@ci.ventura.ca.us

Councilmember Carl E. Morehouse cmorehouse@ci.ventura.ca.us   

Councilmember Christy Weir cweir@ci.ventura.ca.us

The City of Simi Valley

Simi Valley City Hall
2929 Tapo Canyon Road
Simi Valley, CA 93063
 

Mayor Bob Huber bhuber@simivalley.org

Mayor Pro Tem Barbra Williamson bwilliam@simivalley.org

Council Member Glenn T. Becerra gbecerra@simivalley.org

Council Member Steven T. Sojka ssojka@simivalley.org

Council Member Mike Judge mjudge@simivalley.org

City of Oxnard

305 W. Third Street
Oxnard, CA 93030

Mayor Dr. Thomas E. Holden drtomholden@aol.com

Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Irene G. Pinkard irene.pinkard@ci.oxnard.ca.us

Councilman Bryan A. MacDonald  bryan.macdonald@ci.oxnard.ca.us

Councilman Tim Flynn timbflynn@gmail.com

Councilmember Carmen Ramirez carmen4oxnard@gmail.com

City of Moorpark

799 Moorpark Avenue
Moorpark, CA 93021

Councilmembers may be reached at 805.517.6222 or by e-mail as a group at citycouncil@ci.moorpark.ca.us .

Mayor Janice R. Parvin jparvin@ci.moorpark.ca.us

Mayor Pro Tem David Pollack dpollock@ci.moorpark.ca.us

Councilmember Roseann Mikos, PhD rmikos@ci.moorpark.ca.us

Councilmember Keith F. Millhouse kmillhouse@ci.moorpark.ca.us

Councilmember Mark Van Dam mvandam@ci.moorpark.ca.us

City of Fillmore

Fillmore City Hall
250 Central Avenue
Fillmore, CA 93015

Mayor Gayle Washburn gwashburn@ci.fillmore.ca.us

Mayor Pro Tem Jamey Brooks jbrooks@ci.fillmore.ca.us

Council Member Eduardo Gonzalez egonzalez@fillmoreca.com

Council Member Steve Conaway sconaway@ci.fillmore.ca.us

Council Member Brian Sipes bsipes@ci.fillmore.ca.us

City of Port Hueneme

250 North Ventura Road
Port Hueneme, CA 93041

The full council can be emailed at councilwebmail@ci.port-hueneme.ca.us. 

Mayor Douglas A. Breeze  douglasbreeze@yahoo.com

Mayor Pro Tem Ellis Green meengreen@gmail.com

Council Member Norman E. Griffaw normangriffaw@hotmail.com

Council Member Sylvia Munoz Schnopp sylviaschnopp@yahoo.com

Council Member Jonathon Sharkey jon@sharkey.com

City of Camarillo

601 Carmen Drive
Camarillo, CA 93010

The full council can be emailed at council@ci.camarillo.ca.us.  

Mayor Jan McDonald
Vice Mayor Charlotte Craven
Councilmember Mike Morgan
Councilmember Don Waunch
Councilmember Kevin Kildee

City of Santa Paula

P.O. Box 569
Santa Paula, CA 93061

The full council can be emailed at info@ci.santa-paula.ca.us. 

Mayor Fred W. Robinson
Vice Mayor Robert S. Gonzales
Councilmember Richard C. Cook
Councilmember Ralph J. Fernandez
Councilmember James Tovias

City of Ojai

Ojai City Hall
401 South Ventura Street
P.O. Box 1570
Ojai, CA 93024 

Mayor Betsy Clapp clapp@ci.ojai.ca.us

Mayor Pro Tem Paul Blatz blatz@ci.ojai.ca.us  

Council Member Sue Horgan horgan@ci.ojai.ca.us  

Council Member Carol Smith smith@ci.ojai.ca.us

Council Member Carlon Strobel strobel@ci.ojai.ca.us or carlon-strobel@roadrunner.com

Ventura County Board of Supervisors

Ventura County Government Center
800 South Victoria Avenue
Ventura, CA 93009
 

First District – Supervisor Steve Bennett steve.bennett@ventura.org

Second District – Supervisor Linda Parks  Linda.Parks@ventura.org

Third District – Supervisor Kathy Long kathy.long@ventura.org

Fourth District - Supervisor Peter C. Foy supervisorfoy@ventura.org

Fifth District - Supervisor John C. Zaragoza John.zaragoza@ventura.org

 

 

San Diego Editorial on Chula Vista - "Four-legged rules do not come easily"

"Four-legged rules do not come easily"

 

San Diego Union-Tribune

March 16, 2012

Chula Vista's 63,000 households own 47,000 dogs and 54,000 cats. Each family, it seems, is passionate about its pets. Just how passionate, the city found out in trying to revise a 1960s-era ordinance concerning stray animals, breeding, license fees and such.
Some five months and 12 meetings later, a new ordinance was adopted Tuesday by the City Council. But not without sections watered down and with promises for regular future dialogue with stakeholders.
Gone is a ban against large reptiles and a new definition of "breeder." Surviving are incentives for owners of impounded animals to have microchips implanted in the pets and to opt for lower-cost spaying and neutering. Updated license fees are coming.
Irresponsible backyard breeding and unneutered animals on the loose cause a population explosion. Unwanted animals overwhelm shelters and result in sorrowful euthanizing. About 5,000 animals are impounded in Chula Vista each year and 2,700 are adopted out.
Thanks to donations, Chula Vista's animal shelter is two weeks away from new and spacious condominiums for kittens awaiting adoption. But forgive Scott Tulloch, assistant city manager responsible for the shelter, if he isn't eager to talk definitions once the current round concludes.

Our response:

 

ZERO adoptable animals are killed in Chula Vista's shelter, and "backyard breeding" has little influence on your shelter population. The majority of intakes are feral cats and unweaned kittens, yet the city refuses to implement a trap-neuter-release program. Less than 5% of owned pets enter the animal shelter yearly. The US Border Patrol estimates 10,000 dogs per year are smuggled into San Diego County from Mexico. "Rescue" groups including Helen Woodward import dogs from southern states and even from as far away as Romania to meet the demand. Current leash and confinement laws should be enforced, instead of suggesting punitive measures that will cause higher shelter intakes, as has happened in all other localities where such methods have been tried. 

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." Plato 

Breed-specific MSN letter for cities of Ventura, Oxnard, and Simi Valley

This is a letter faxed and mailed today to the cities who will decide about moving forward the breed-specific MSN proposal for Ventura County. I provided here both the letter along with contact information and faxes for your use. Feel free to use talking points from this letter in your communication with the legislators. Thank you for taking the time to contact these cities regarding this important issue. 

 

City of Oxnard                                  City of Simi Valley                City of Ventura

305 W. 3^rd St.                                  2929 Tapo Canyon Rd.          501 Poli Street

Oxnard, CA 93030                            Simi Valley, CA. 93063         Ventura, CA 93002-0099

Fax: 805-385-7595                            Fax: 805-526-2489                Fax: 805-652-0865

 

Mayor: Dr. Thomas E. Holden            Mayor: Bob Huber                  Mayor: Mike Tracy

City council members:                      City Council Members:           City Council Members:

Dr. Irene G. Pinkard                         Barbra Williamson                  Cheryl Heitmann

Bryan A. MacDonald                        Glen T. Becerrra                     Neal Andrews

Tim Flynn                                        Steven T. Sojka                      Brian Brennan

Carmen Ramirez                              Mike Judge                            James Monahan

                                                                                                   Carl E. Morehouse

                                                                                                   Christy Weir

 

Dear Mayor and City Council Members,                                              

 

The California Federation of Dog Clubs urges you to reject any mandated spay-neuter proposal, particularly when attempting to single out a specific breed or breeds.

 

Everywhere such laws have been attempted, they have failed. Punitive and coercive laws are burdensome on the citizenry, particularly the elderly and low-income families, who often simply ignore the unreasonable spay-neuter mandate. Enforcement costs rise, and shelter intakes and deaths also subsequently rise when people cannot afford the fines and, in many cases, the cost of the sterilization procedure itself.

 

Legislation attempting to target specific breeds has been a documented failure with breed-specific laws also unable to withstand legal challenges. Baltimore, MD estimated in 2001 that it spent over $750,000 per year for their breed-specific law and they were still unable to effectively enforce it. They chose to repeal the law, as did Saginaw, Michigan and other locations. On February 21, 2012, Ohio Governor John Kasich officially signed Ohio HB 14 into law, which prohibits discrimination by breed. Dogs in Ohio will now be regarded by their behavior instead of their appearance. It is not possible to ID a supposed "pit bull". There are at least 25 breeds of dogs that are commonly mistaken for "pit bulls", including Rottweilers, Boxers, and even Labrador Retrievers.

 

Attempting to target a certain type of dog simply because it is popular and appealing makes no sense whatsoever. Responsible owners will be unfairly affected while the problem owners will be unlikely to comply with any new laws. Adding more punitive laws to the books will not reduce shelter intakes and deaths. Enforcement of existing leash and confinement laws should prevent the vast majority of shelter intakes, while cooperation with local breed rescue groups, providing low-cost spay-neuter services and marketing of shelter pets to the public at adoption events have all been successfully-used methods to achieve reductions in shelter death rates.

 

Mandatory sterilization and breed-specific laws are opposed by many mainstream animal welfare organizations,  

including the American Kennel Club, the National Animal Interest Alliance, and the American Veterinary Medical Association. These laws simply don't work.

 

Incidentally, there are studies that show that while de-sexing a dog may decrease dog-to-dog aggression, it increases the risk of aggression toward humans. The choice for spay-neuter should remain with the dog's owner, in consultation with their veterinarian.

 

CFoDC has produced a powerpoint breed ID program for shelter personnel. We would be happy to provide you with a complimentary presentation any time.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

 

Geneva Coats, R.N.

Secretary

California Federation of Dog Clubs

From AKC - Chula Vista update

	Ask Chula Vista Council to Oppose MSN TOMORROW (3/13)
	Mon, 12 Mar 2012 09:09:45 -0400
	AKC's Government Relations Department <mba@akc.org>

March 12, 2012

Dear AKC Delegates, Club Officers, Judges and Breeders,

Please share this information with club members and concerned dog owners in the Chula Vista area.

The Chula Vista City Council will hold their second and final hearing tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13^th on an ordinance that will establish new kennel definitions and regulations and require animals to be sterilized on a second impoundment.

Attendees at the February 28^th city council meeting understood that the kennel/cattery language would be removed and discussed by a stakeholder group prior to another vote. As this has not happened, the AKC believes the only prudent course of action is to defer this item until discussions can be held and a consensus can be reached by community members.

Responsible breeders and dog owners are encouraged to attend the city council meeting or contact the councilmembers and ask them to remove this ordinance from the agenda in order to convene a stakeholder group.

Chula Vista City Council Meeting

Date:  Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Time:  4pm (Agenda Item #3)

Location:  City Council Chambers, City Hall-Building 100, 276 Fourth Avenue, Chula Vista, CA

Summary:

Chapter 6.22 of the proposed ordinance would require the mandatory sterilization of any animal the second time it is impounded. The two violations may occur years apart and not be a true reflection of a habitually irresponsible owner. If a dog gets loose one time as a 6-month old puppy and is then accidentally released by a gardener 5 years later, that does not signify a problem animal.

The proposed ordinance also continues to define a "pet seller" as anyone who sells more than two cats or dogs in a twelve-month period in the city. The term is only used in the definitions section and is never referenced again, making the purpose of this definition unclear, as well as how "pet sellers" may be impacted.

The measure also defines a kennel as a facility which maintains seven or more adult dogs (over four months of age) and establishes a variety of regulations to govern these facilities including requiring an annual inspection and payment of an undisclosed fee. 

What You Can Do

• Attend the Chula Vista City Council Meeting on Tuesday March 13^th and speak against the proposed ordinance.  Please ask that the item be removed from the agenda and that a stakeholder group be convened to discuss appropriate regulations for kennels and catteries.
• Contact the Mayor and City Council members and ask them to oppose this ordinance as drafted:

Mayor and City Council Office:  Phone: (619) 691-5044, Fax: (619) 476-5379

Mayor Cheryl Cox:  Click here to email her using the city's web form

Councilmember Rudy Ramirez:  rramirez@ci.chula-vista.ca.us

Councilmember Patricia Aguilar:  Click here to email her using the city's web form

Councilmember Pamela Bensoussan:  pbensoussan@chulavistaca.gov

Councilmember Steve Castenada:  scastaneda@chulavistaca.gov

AKC Government Relations (AKC GR) will provide more information as it becomes available.  For questions or more information, contact AKC GR at (919) 816-3720 or doglaw@akc.org.

 

Ventura County ALERT - breed-specific spay/neuter proposal

The cities of Ventura, Oxnard and Simi Valley, California are scheduled to address a proposed breed-specific mandatory spay and neuter ordinance for "pit bull" breeds by the end of March. In April, the commission will discuss the proposal again, and if a majority of cities in the county have approved it, the measure will go before the county board of supervisors.

 

 

Please contact the city council members of Ventura, Oxnard and Simi Valley to voice opposition to the ordinance.

• Mandatory spay/neuter results in increased shelter intakes and deaths wherever it has been tried.
• Existing leash and confinement laws should be enforced to effectively reduce shelter numbers.
• Attempts to single out certain breeds are both impractical and unfair to responsible owners.
• Breed-specific legislation has been successfully challenged and overturned in courts.
• A mandatory spay and neuter law against "pit bulls" cannot be adequately enforced as "pit bull" is not a breed of dog.  Animal control officers would be charged with making subjective determinations as to a dog's breed thus opening municipalities to liability in the event of false identification. 

 

City of Ventura Mayor and City Council
mike.tracy@cityofventura.net

cheitmann@ci.ventura.ca.us

nandrews@ci.ventura.ca.us

bbrennan@ci.ventura.ca.us

jmonahan@ci.ventura.ca.us

cmorehouse@ci.ventura.ca.us

cweir@ci.ventura.ca.us

 

City of Oxnard Mayor and City Council
drtomholden@aol.com

irene.pinkard@ci.oxnard.ca.us

bryan.macdonald@ci.oxnard.ca.us

timbflynn@gmail.com

carmen4oxnard@gmail.com

 

City of Simi Valley Mayor and City Council
bhuber@simivalley.org

bwilliam@simivalley.org

gbecarra@simivalley.org

ssojka@simivalley.org

mjudge@simivalley.org

 

 

LA county warning-Here come the pet police

So much for the lie of "complaint-driven" enforcement.

 

 http://articles.pasadenasun.com/2012-03-05/the626now/31125500_1_mandatory-spay-animal-care-pet

County pet police coming to San Gabriel Valley

March 05, 2012

County animal control officers are sweeping through parts of the San Gabriel Valley, checking to see that pets have been spayed or neutered and have current rabies vaccinations and licenses, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Animal Care and Control. Officers will work the unincorporated areas near Pasadena, San Gabriel, Monrovia, and Arcadia to make sure residents are in compliance with pet licensing and rabies requirements as well as the mandatory spay/neuter and microchip ordinance. State law requires that all dogs and cats over the age of four months be vaccinated against rabies and be licensed.

Residents not in compliance face license fees and delinquency charges, including a $40 field enforcement fee. For more information, including contact information for low-cost options for vaccinations and spay-and-neuter surgeries, visit http://animalcare.lacounty.gov.