A bad week for the American Kennel Club
February 7th, 2008 by admin
This week on the website of the American Kennel Club, under “Legislative Alerts,” the first two issues that they want breeders and dog fanciers to get involved in are spay/neuter ordinances in Palm Beach County and in Los Angeles. The AKC opposes any restrictions on breeding. Thankfully, their efforts were not successful.
Last week, the Los Angeles City Council voted 10 to 1 to require most dogs and cats in the city to be spayed or neutered. The ordinance must get a second reading on Friday, but it is expected to pass. Bob Barker spoke in support of the ordinance, “For decades, I closed every ‘Price Is Right’ urging viewers to have their pets spayed. . . . I’d like to think all of us working together would be enough. But it’s not enough. We need legislation.”
It was a similar feeling this week in Palm Beach County. After years and years of inaction, and the deaths of thousands and thousands of homeless animals (84,000 dogs and cats have been killed at Palm Beach County’s main animal shelter since 2000), the county commission approved a new ordinance that will require all healthy cats and dogs in the county to be sterilized, unless an individual purchases a $75 unaltered license tag and declares in writing that the animal will not be bred.
ARFF joined many local animal advocates at the final public hearing on Tuesday to speak in favor of the new regulations. Not surprisingly, dog breeders in attendance urged the commissioners to do nothing, and instead set-up a task force to “study” the problem.
And there’s more good news. The Volusia County Council is considering a similar spay/neuter ordinance to combat dog and cat overpopulation.