Category Archives: California

Simi Valley city council will consider breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter for all “pit bull”-looking dogs, March 26, 6:30 PM, at City Hall, 2929 Tapo Canyon Road.

City of Simi Valley Mayor and City Council
bhuber@simivalley.org; bwilliam@simivalley.org; gbecarra@simivalley.org; ssojka@simivalley.org; mjudge@simivalley.org   

Please encourage the city of Simi Valley to drop the breed-specific language in their proposal. Breed-specific MSN—like any other breed-specific law—discriminates against people and their dogs based on whether the owner or dog have a “desirable” or “undesirable” physical appearance. Breed identification is a subjective, non-scientific process, which results in unfair and unequal application of the law. Disputes over breed identification are also inevitable, and appeals and court cases fighting breed designations are expensive and resource-consuming.

StopBSL takes no position on mandatory spay/neuter as long as it is not breed-specific. Whether you support or oppose MSN, it doesn’t need to be breed-specific. If MSN is good for dogs that look like “pit bulls,” it is good for any dog. By removing the breed-specific focus, the city of Simi Valley can avoid the expense and inequality that goes with BSL.

All alerts for Simi Valley: http://stopbsl.com/?s=simi+valley

Simi council to consider pit bull ordinance

By Mike Harris
Posted March 25, 2012 at 8:23 p.m.

The Simi Valley City Council today will consider an ordinance that would require residents to spay or neuter their pit bulls. [...]

Diane Rowley Van Sickle, president of the Santa Paula Animal Rescue Center and director of Promote and Protect Animals, expressed her opposition to the proposal in a March 7 letter to the Simi Valley council.

“The better, less arbitrary and prejudicial ordinance would be one that requires all dogs brought in as strays be altered for free as a condition of return to the owner unless the owner can produce (American Kennel Club) papers and a breeders’ license or a statement by a vet saying the dog is already sterile, or too old, too young or too sick to undergo the operation,” she wrote. [...]

Full article retrieved 3/26/12 from: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/25/simi-council-to-consider-pit-bull-ordinance/

Many thanks to Jodi for this concise write-up!

http://blessthebullys.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/change-the-course-of-breed-specific-proposal-in-ventura-county-california/

In January, the Ventura County Animal Services Commission approved a mandatory spay/neuter proposal that would apply only to “pit bulls”. That proposal was sent to city governments and county leaders for consideration in coming weeks.

It appears there are many divisions among city leaders with respect to the proposal, and we may have an opportunity to change its course. The cities of Ventura, Oxnard, and Simi Valley, California are scheduled to address the proposed ordinance by the end of March. In April, the commission will discuss the proposal again, and if a majority of cities in the county have approved it, the measure will go before the supervisors.

Regardless of your position on spaying and neutering of pets, it is important to remember that any law that applies to one breed or grouping of dogs involves the practice of breed profiling and is breed specific legislation. Breed specific MSN is fraught with the many problems associated with BSL, and opens the door for future additional breed restrictions.

Please contact the city council members of these cities and encourage them to seek a solution that does not single out one breed of dog. Suggested alternatives can be found at: http://tinyurl.com/6v4j4yy

City of Ventura Mayor and City Council
mike.tracy@cityofventura.net, cheitmann@ci.ventura.ca.us, nandrews@ci.ventura.ca.us, bbrennan@ci.ventura.ca.us, jmonahan@ci.ventura.ca.us, cmorehouse@ci.ventura.ca.us, cweir@ci.ventural.ca.us

City of Oxnard Mayor and City Council
drtomholden@aol.com, irene.pinkard@ci.oxnard.ca.us, bryan.macdonald@ci.oxnard.ca.us, timbflynn@gmail.com, carmen4oxnard@gmail.com

City of Simi Valley Mayor and City Council
bhuber@simivalley.org, bwilliam@simivalley.org, gbecarra@simivalley.org, ssojka@simivalley.org, mjudge@simivalley.org

All alerts for Ventura County: http://stopbsl.com/?s=ventura+county

Pit bull spay proposal drawing mixed support among cities

By Hannah Guzik, Ventura County Star
Posted March 3, 2012

An ordinance proposing mandatory spaying and neutering of pit bull terriers countywide is drawing mixed support even as Ventura County Animal Shelter workers say the policy would reduce euthanasia rates.

The Ventura County Animal Services Commission approved the proposal in January, sending it to city governments and county leaders for consideration in coming weeks.

The commission hopes each city council and the Ventura County Board of Supervisors will adopt the ordinance. If the proposal doesn’t win approval across the board, it will be difficult to enforce, said Monica Nolan, animal services director at the shelter in Camarillo.

Read more: http://www.vcstar.com/news/2012/mar/03/pit-bull-spay-proposal-drawing-mixed-support/#ixzz1oCO6Ipin