North Penn Puppy Mill Watch

ACTION ALERT     ACTION ALERT     ACTION ALERT     ACTION ALERT
  
HOUSE BILL 2525 IS NOW IN JEOPARDY!!

After clearing the House of Representatives with 181 affirmative votes and all unfriendly amendments soundly defeated, the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee has taken the liberty of removing important provisions and added a new layer of bureaucracy designed to confuse, convolute and cause dogs to continue suffering.

Amendments Added by the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs Committee:

1)  Created a "Waiver" that will allow kennel operators an out and permit them not to implement new kennel and canine care requirement 3 years.

Using the state's Bureau of Dog Law kennel inspection report forms as part of the criteria to grant a waiver, these forms are known to be filled with inaccurate, incomplete and erroneous information that should not be utilized to grant anything.

2)  Created a "Canine Health Board" that will consist of seven veterinarians: three will be appointed by the Governor and the remaining four
     will be selected by the House and Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs committees. 

By incorporating this new board the Senate excuses themselves from having to vote for a piece of legislation that contained specific parameters that would create a healthy environment for the breeder dogs and puppies.  State senators are attempting to create a "middle of the road" position to appease constituents on boths sides of the puppy mill issue. 

3)  Extended the implementation date of the new laws from six months to one year.

Did the Senate forget that House Bill 2525 is designed to help dogs - not breeders?

It's once again time to pick up the phone.  Advocates have done a fantastic job in alerting Pennsylvania's general assembly that dogs in the puppy mills need help and that House Bill 2525 is designed to do exactly that.  Don't let a watered down version replace what the House of Representatives deemed worth and overwhelmingly passed.

The passage of House Bills 2525 is crucial to improving the health and welfare standards for dogs in Pennsylvania's breeding kennels.

What You Can Do:

1.  Politely contact your elected state senator and encourage their support of an UNAMENDED House Bill 2525

2.  Explain why a waiver based on convoluted inspection forms is not appropriate or fair.  Let them know that ALL breeders should have to comply with regulations that are geared to ensuring the health and welfare of all breeder dogs and puppies in state licensed breeding kennels.

3.  Advise that the parameters the new Canine Health Board will be charged with creating already existed in House Bill 2525 and that these parameters were discussed and agreed upon by ALL stakeholders prior to the House vote so there's no need for a Canine Health Board to spend time and money reinventing the wheel.

4.  Pass this alert on to every animal advocate in Pennsylvania that you know and encourage them to get involved and make the call!

Don't know who your state senator is?  Click HERE and enter your zip code
 
Each day that goes by without the passage of House Bills 2525 represents an extension of time that dogs in Pennsylvania must continue to suffer for the sake of profit.  By working together and letting our officials know how strongly we feel about the amendments tacked onto House Bill 2525 we may actually make the summer of 2008 the last summer breeder dogs in Pennsylvania spend sweltering in rabbit hutches or stacked in cages in unventilated barns.
 
By working together and making these calls we CAN make a significant difference in the lives of tens of thousands of dogs currently languishing in puppy mills across the Commonwealth.
 
Join us in this worthwhile endeavor and please, pick up the phone today!
 
Please feel free to cross-post this Alert to online advocacy discussion boards, canine email lists and sent to friends and family.

Return to the Home Page