CFA Legislative ALERT
Last Updated: Wednesday, January 07, 2009
LEGISLATIVE ALERT:
Riverside County, CA - Introduction of Ordinance 630.12
Fanciers and cat lovers;
ACTION IS NEEDED NOW- from all California pet lovers.
The Riverside County Board of Supervisors will be voting on ordinance no.
630.12 for mandatory micro chipping and mandatory spaying/neutering of
cats
on TUESDAY January 13, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.
The ordinance was introduced December 16th, 2008, and passed the Board of
Supervisors by a 5 - 0 vote. All Supervisors need to hear strong
opposition
from the general public, breeders, feral cat caretakers and rescuers who
will be affected. This is one of the most punitive ordinances ever
proposed
anywhere in the country. In reality, this ordinance is little more than a
breeder ban in Riverside County.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
ATTEND THIS HEARING - speak out and/or come and be counted in opposition.
Board of Supervisors, County of Riverside
1st Floor, County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street, Riverside, CA
9:30 a.m. is the hearing - come at 9:00 a.m. or earlier for a seat and to
sign in to speak in opposition
SEND A LETTER BY FAX OR EMAIL TODAY
URGE the Supervisors TO VOTE NO on Ordinance no. 630.12
CALL the Supervisors' offices and let them know you oppose this ordinance.
CONTACT friends, your veterinarian, kitten buyers, friends - anyone you
know
in Riverside County who loves pedigreed cats - let them know their help is
needed.
READ the entire ordinance
Check the County Website for any changes to the Board agenda:
Or contact the clerk of the Board of Supervisors for any changes:
4080 Lemon Street 1st Floor, Riverside, CA 92501 - (951) 955-1060
ORDINANCE HIGHLIGHTS:
MANDATORY MICROCHIPPING of all cats and dogs over 4 month of age with
records held by animal services. While CFA supports voluntary
microchipping, this proposal is designed to implement draconian penalties
contained elsewhere in the ordinance (see below). Cat owners accept
voluntary sterilization of their pets and work hard to manage feral cats,
especially when there are adequate low-cost veterinary services. Extreme
coercion and punishing pet owners will cause ill will. This is not
necessary when there are better alternatives.
MANDATORY SPAY/NEUTER (MSN) of any pets for any technical violation of
*any*
state or local law related to animals will be required. Any trivial
violation of the ordinance or any other law means sterilization of your
pet.
Violation examples are numerous and include operating a "business" without
a
license, or a dog/cat is at large. Any impounded cat or dog, no matter
what
the reason, must be sterilized. There are no specific provisions for
appeals. When any cat/dog is transferred, adopted or sold the new owner's
name and address must be turned over to animal control. Privacy rights of
your kitten buyers are taken away.
Contact information for the Riverside County, CA Board of Supervisors and
examples of discussion points in opposition follow. Please write or fax
TODAY.
WHAT TO SAY:
Microchipping technology is not perfect - scanners malfunction, chips
migrate. Using this form of ID should be the pet owner's decision. Pet
owner personal information should not be held by animal control - those
who
choose microchipping should enroll with a national recovery for high
quality
service dedicated to reuniting animals. Microchipping used as a tool for
animal control enforcement is a misuse of this technology. This is a
deterrent to public acceptance and further advancement of microchip
identification technology. Mandatory microchipping is expensive for and
will deter people trapping and neutering feral cats or taking
stray/unowned
into their homes. The low-tech collar and tag is fine for many pet owners.
Public education is needed, not coercion.
MSN - this proposal has been revised to now punish those "individuals who
violate existing state or local law relating to animals". Sterilization
is
severe punishment for every possible law no matter how minor. This is
surgery and veterinary procedures should be the decision of pet owners,
not
that of government. Any animal impounded must be sterilized no matter
what
the reason - what happens in case of fire or other disasters when animals
are taken into the shelter? Hearings will be expensive.
The first step in addressing a problem is to define it. National and
local
studies show that owned cats are already sterilized at a very high rate
(87%
to 92%). Free roaming stray and feral cats, along with unweaned kittens,
make up most of the cats entering shelters. It is estimated that less
than
5% of cats in this country are pedigreed. Programs to target the free
roaming/unowned/feral cats are necessary. Services for those of low income
are needed, not punishment and fines. This proposal does nothing to solve
the real problem.
Community based approaches, such as spay/neuter outreach or
trap/neuter/return (TNR) programs for free roaming cats will have the best
results. Positive cooperative approaches have proven to be successful in
other areas. Riverside Animal Services will destroy any hope of community
collaboration to build volunteers, provide education, breed rescue and
shelter support from breeders.
This ordinance may have other unforeseen consequences. As private
breeders
of pedigreed cats diminish in the community, people will turn to the
Internet and obtain cats from outside the area. This ordinance will
increase the importing of pets from outside the City and even outside the
US. If local breeders stop preserving their breeds it will mean less
chance
for the public to obtain cats of the breeds they want for their family or
lifestyle. Studies show cats who meet pet owners' expectations have less
risk of being relinquished to shelters.
CONTACT RIVERSIDE CA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
To find your representative on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors
please go to: http://www.rctlma.org/districts/
Supervisor Bob Buster - DISTRICT 1
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon St., 5th Floor
Riverside, CA 92501
Phone: 951-955-1010
FAX: 951-955-1019
district1@rcbos.org
Supervisor John F. Tavaglione - DISTRICT 2
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
vRiverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1020
district2@rcbos.org
Supervisor Jeff Stone - DISTRICT 3 (Vice-Chairman)
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon St. 5th Fl
Riverside, CA 92501
(951) 955-1030
Fax (951) 955-2194
district3@rcbos.org
Supervisor Roy Wilson - DISTRICT 4 (Chairman)
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
Tel: (951) 955-1040
Fax: (951) 955-2194
district4@rcbos.org
Supervisor Marion Ashley - DISTRICT 5
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1050
district5@rcbos.org
To correspond with the CFA Legislative Committee, please send email to legislation@cfa.org
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