Here's another one that is of great concern to all sportmen in NJ. This one is a back-door ban on bird hunting and dog ownership!
CALL TO ACTION: Oppose New Jersey Bill A2649
New Jersey Bill A 2649 is active and must be OPPOSED. Here is the link to the bill as it was approved out of committee in February:
A2649 ACS AS 2R
This is a ridiculous and ambiguous bills - all 56 pages of it. The language is very difficult to follow and presumes guilt until you are proven innocent of any charge of animal cruelty.
Please send your letters of opposition to NJ A2649 to the following:
Speaker Joe Roberts
AsmRoberts@njleg.org
Rte 130 South & Browning Road
Brooklawn, NJ 08030
856-742-7600
Copy to: Republican Leader: Alex DeCroce
AsmDeCroce@njleg.org
101 Gibraltar Drive, Suite 1-A
Morris Plains 07950
973-984-0922
And to your own Assemblymen. You can find them via your municipality here:
New Jersey Legislature - Districts by Number
Remember that real hard copy letters are far more influential than e-mail!
The bill is undergoing more amendments. It's best to simply object with
the points on the AKC alert and the NAIA letter. See links to the alert and letter below.
Here are some areas that the bill is very unclear on to give you an understanding of the many ridiculous items in this bill:
1. Dogs crated in vehicles at shows. This could be interpreted as cruel and inhumane by uninformed "Do-Gooders".
2. Allows no tethering less than 15', no matter how long it's for. This would apply to field trials, grooming tables, and even your morning stop at Starbucks with your pooch tied to the pole while you run in for your morning cup of Joe.
3. Provides immunity from any civil or criminal liability for any person who submits a report of animal cruelty, regardless of their own responsibility and regardless of whether the accusations are purely vindictive in nature.
4. Allows forfeiture of animals even before full disposition of a case is achieved. This creates a system by which the accused are guilty until proven innocent, and is a violation of due process rights.
5. May force people who cannot financially afford it to treat an illness that might be treatable with heroic measures. (Can their vet who won't sign off on an incurable condition report them to the authorities?)
What you can do:
• Read the NAIA letters written by Patti Strand and Barbara Reichman. These letters explain some of the issues and will help you in composing your own letters.
• Patti Strand's letter:
http://www.naiatrust.org/PDF/NJCruelty.pdf
• Barbara Reichman's letter, June 3, 2007:
http://www.naiatrust.org/PDF/NJ A2649.pdf
• Read the AKC Alert included below and use their bulleted talking points in your letters. Go to their site,
American Kennel Club - akc.org for additional information
• Write to both the Majority and Minority leaders of the NJ Assembly as well as all of the legislators, especially those from your district.
• Alert all pet owners in the state and educate them that this bill will negatively effect EVERYONE - not just show people or breeders. Enlist them to write letters of opposition.
• If you are from out-of-state, you can still write and tell them how much money you spend in NJ for dog shows, field trials, hunt tests, agility trials, etc. Money talks and New Jersey hosts some of the biggest dog shows in the country from all-breed shows, (Trenton Kennel Club) to National Specialties. Remind them that the pre-Westminster Specialties are now held in Secaucus, NJ.
•
From AKC: Oppose Overreaching NJ Proposal!
American Kennel Club - Oppose Overreaching NJ Proposal!
[Thursday, June 07, 2007]
The American Kennel Club is alarmed by the provisions of New Jersey
Assembly Bill 2649. The proposal attempts to replace New Jersey's
already comprehensive and reasonable animal cruelty laws and humane care
standards with an unnecessary, confusing, and haphazard system that will
not only affect the health of the general public, but will also threaten
the due process rights of individual animal owners.
The AKC believes that dog owners bear a special responsibility to their
canine companions to provide proper care and humane treatment at all
times. We take animal cruelty cases seriously—in fact, anyone convicted
of animal cruelty involving a dog will have all AKC privileges
suspended. The AKC also supports reasonable and enforceable laws that
govern dog ownership, as is currently provided by New Jersey's regime of
common-sense laws and regulations. Among AB 2649's 56 pages, its most
egregious proposals include the following:
* Any person, regardless of their lack of knowledge, training, or
expertise, could accuse another person of animal cruelty, while
receiving immunity from prosecution for cruelty themselves. Without
providing redress for someone who has been unjustifiably and
vindictively accused of animal cruelty, this provision is ripe for abuse.
* The use of a living bird or other animal in events would be
considered animal abuse. This would effectively make illegal many
performance events, including Earthdog, Coonhound, and Sporting dog hunt
tests and field trials.
* The definition of "minimum care" required for the care of animals
will be lessened to include "veterinary care deemed necessary by a
reasonably prudent person". AKC believes that veterinary care in all
cases should be administered with a professional standard of care with
the highest levels of professionalism and competence, as deemed
necessary by a licensed veterinarian.
* The definition of "cruelly restraining a dog" specifically bans
the tethering of dogs with less than 15 feet of tether. This provision
does not expressly provide an exemption for dogs being groomed on
grooming tables in any setting, including grooming salons and dog shows.
With substantive animal cruelty provisions already in place, New Jersey
state and local governments need to enforce existing law in cruel tethering cases. Irresponsible owners who are not providing humane treatment for their animals can and should be prosecuted under current law.
