Re: Land of the free? ya , right

[*Nick*]

Just a quick update. The American Kennel Club has withdrawn their opposition to this bill.

quote :

The AKC negotiated in secret with Rep. Lloyd Levine and agreed to a “compromise” on AB 1634, which continues to be staunchly opposed by virtually all kennel clubs and dog owners’ organizations in the state. Levine is allied with some of the most radical animal rights groups in California, and has stated publicly that he wants to see almost every dog and cat in the state spayed or neutered.

In cutting the deal with Levine, AKC slapped the face of every member of its affiliated clubs in California and signaled a willingness to work against the interests and beliefs of dog owners nationwide.

As justification for the deal, an AKC announcement said the legislation simply requires dog owners to follow the law and be responsible. The American Sporting Dog Alliance rejects this position, because current laws already address animal control problems and mandate penalties for noncompliance. There is no reason to make owners of intact animals into second-class citizens by imposing a double penalty and endangering their dogs.

Perhaps the greatest error committed by AKC was to create division and disunity in the ranks of dog owners. This is cause for celebration among the animal rights groups, as their most successful tactic has been to divide and conquer animal owners. AKC stumbled into the trap they set.

Animal rights groups have targeted AKC as the weak link in dog owners’ advocacy groups, and are portraying the lumbering and toothless giant as the voice of all dog owners. AKC has come under sharp attack for its main function as a registry for purebred dogs, and has shown an increasing tendency to compromise with the very groups that want to destroy it. Animal rights groups oppose dog breeding in any form and regard every compromise as a victory that carries them one step closer to their long-range goal of eliminating animals from American life.

AKC apparently won two concessions in the “compromise.”

The first is that Levine inserted a provision to exempt nonresidents from the law if they can prove that their dogs are temporarily in California for shows, events, training and other legal activities. Prior versions of the bill would have made it unsafe to bring dogs into the state for AKC-sanctioned events, which would have hit AKC in the pocketbook. However, Levine also gained the assurance that his draconian law would not hurt tourism in California, thus making it more politically palatable to elected officials.

The “compromise” also eliminated a provision to allow anyone to make an anonymous complaint about dog owners, which could have led to citations and forced sterilization.

The AKC has shown clearly what it’s in the Dog ‘game’ for. To make money.  They don’t care about animal health or owners rights.