Vets to Bob Barker: Price not right for mandatory spaying and neutering

Medill Reports ^ | 7-29-08 | Brenna Ehrlich

[Impy]

Bob Barker, retired game show host of "The Price is Right," testified Tuesday at City Hall in support of a controversial ordinance that would make spaying and neutering mandatory in Chicago. Under this legislation, all cats and dogs would be required to undergo the necessary operation once they reach six months of age.

“Overpopulation is one of the most tragic animal problems that we have in our country,” Barker said. “There are thousands, probably millions of people across the country who have devoted [themselves] to trying to find homes for surplus animals. And these people… are doomed to fail,” he said.

While some at the raucous meeting supported the ordinance, others including a group of veterinarians argued that it is seriously flawed.

Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th) and Ald. Virginia A. Rugai (19th) presented the ordinance, which seeks to reduce the number of homeless dogs and cats in Chicago and to cut down on attacks by aggressive animals, before a Joint Committee on Finance and License and Consumer Protection.

“Apathy sets in…. And when we get to this wall… the only answer is legislation,” Barker said.

[Impy]

What if you want to breed?

What if you can't afford it?

Barker has become quite the zealot.

Alderman Burke is the city's premier statist b**t**d. I think he was behind the cell phone driving ban and I'm pretty sure he wants you to bike to work. He has been in office for almost 40 years, before him his daddy was in office. We need term limits.

[Sloth]

These leftists are shameless in their speciesist attack on reproductive rights.

[hole_n_one]

Your argument would be far more persuasive if you attached a pic of a bunch of dead puppies in a colorful basket.

Image is everything.

[Lawgvr1955]

Chicago. Glad I live at the other end of the state of Illinois.

[Philly Nomad]

If you can’t afford to have your pet spayed/neutered then how in the hell can you afford to take care of a litter of puppies/kittens?

[Slings and Arrows]

[Saundra Duffy]

The do-gooders strike again.

[Randy Larsen]

Do Gooders?

Only in thier eyes, Not mine!

[Saundra Duffy]

In our home right now we have 3 cats and 2 dogs - all spayed or neutered. That is how we want it. I just don’t like people telling me I HAVE to do something.

I used to not care about having a gun until people started telling me they thought I should not have one. Then I HAD to have one. Same thing here.

The do-gooders trying to shove their ways down my throat. Big brother stuff.

[Impy]

?????

Those are 2 separate for instances.

[Kirkwood]

So taken to extremes, pet owners will only be allowed to buy from designated pet stores? Or maybe pets will no longer be available except illegally?

[higgmeister]

They need to make a special collar that will hold a shotgun to the neck for all Veterinarians to wear. That way City Hall can force those professionals to give their time and talents to implement mandatory dictates. /sarc

[coydog]

Or it could be that certain councilmen have ties to commercial breeders and the puppymill industry who would then be the only legal sources of pets.

And what about show dogs, which have to be entire to be eligible for entry?

Bob Barker is making himself Enemy No. 1 to the serious dog fancy.

[Randy Larsen]

Good For You!

I too feel that way...

How have you been?

Don't tell me feisty, because I already knew that! LOL!

[kalee]

If every cat and dog is eventually spayed or neutered, at some point don’t they become extinct?

[Impy]

Or it could be that certain councilmen have ties to commercial breeders and the puppymill industry who would then be the only legal sources of pets.

Would not shock. Out city council makes Congress look like it's full of upstanding good-governemnt patriots.

[AKA Elena]

The following was posted on the California Board by rottndog. I got the same e-mail on that day.

!!!!!!!!!!DOG/CAT OWNER ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!

— permission to cross post is granted —

AB 1634 will face its final hurdle in the California state legislature over the next few weeks. The bill was “gut amended” in June into a different bill, one that on the surface appeared to remove many objections. Unfortunately the new AB 1634 is arguably worse than the old bill. If Californians don’t seriously step up the response, this bill will soon pass the California state legislature. If the governor doesn’t veto it will become illegal to own an intact dog or intact cat in California.

As Assembly member Levine explained in his testimony before the Senate Local Government Committee several weeks ago, AB 1634 makes owning an intact dog or intact cat a “secondary offense”, analogous to the seat belt law which made driving without a seat belt a secondary offense.

Make no mistake about what this means. It means that owning an intact dog or cat will be illegal in California, no exceptions. No exceptions for registered purebreds. No exceptions for dogs or cats owned by responsible breeders. No exceptions for police dogs, search-and-rescue dogs, detection dogs, hunting dogs, working farm and ranch dogs, or any other dog. There are no longer any exemptions or ways to obtain intact permits in AB 1634. All that was removed when the bill was gut amended.

Furthermore, the primary offense that activates the fines and sterilization mandate in AB 1634 includes “complaints” — mere allegations that need not be valid or proven. Your neighbor can complain that your intact dog was in his yard, and even if you can prove the allegation was untrue, even if no one believes the allegation, you can still be fined or ordered to sterilize your dog. Mr. Levine used this very example in his committee testimony.

AB 1634 will be voted on in the full California State Senate sometime between August 5 and August 31 (the deadline). It already passed the Assembly. (All Republicans voted against the bill, which is not enough in this state -- my comment)

The State Senate is not receiving as much opposition to the new AB 1634 as they had about the previous versions. I have spoken with Senate staff and heard this message. I am seeing only a small fraction of the response that we had last year. Your letters, faxes, and emails sent last year don’t count anymore.

If Californians don’t seriously step up the response, this bill will pass the California state legislature. We managed to stop the old bill and can stop this one. We cannot stop it with well-reasoned arguments alone. It doesn’t work that way. We can stop it if those arguments come from tens of thousands of Californians. If you own an intact dog or intact cat in California, if you want responsible dog or cat breeding to continue in California, or if you just don’t like the idea of the state government declaring all intact dogs and cats illegal, then please take action now. There is no longer any time to wait.

Ways that you can take action are on the home page of the Save Our Dogs website. http://saveourdogs.net/

Some of them only take a few minutes of your time (a brief phone call to your state senator’s office and a customizable email using NAIA’s capwiz that already has major objections for you to select). The most effective thing you can do is to visit the district office of your state senator and discuss your objections.

A review of the major objections to the bill is here, formatted as a sample letter you can edit as you see fit. http://saveourdogs.net/documents/senateSample.doc

Please help.

Laura Sanborn

[Saundra Duffy]

Just fine, FReeper pal. Just fine. In school for BA degree but somehow still find time for mischief on FR. Watched the YouTube videos tonight about Christian the lion. Oh, it is so cool. There are I think 10 videos of the story of Christian. Once you get started watching it, you are hooked and can’t stop til you’ve seen them all. Someone sent a link to the one where Christian has a reunion with his human pals. It is so darling. Here’s the link to the big hug:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7VkiL_PW6U

[Chucky is a girlie man]

Hmmm...
I know some people who should be spayed or neutered.

[television is just wrong]

let’s neuter bob barker