Tag Archives: Mandatory Spay Neuter

Riverside County California is trying to pass breed discriminatory spay/neuter law

Posted on April 10, 2013 by krisdiaz9 | Comments Off

Riverside County California has been having some issues recently with dog attacks including a fatal attack that happened in February. As a response to these incidents officials have been given the go ahead to draft a mandatory spay/neuter law that would target pit bull type dogs.

The topic of mandatory spay/neuter is a tricky one. Spay/neuter itself is by no means a bad thing for several reasons.

The problem comes in when these laws are mandatory and targeted to one type of animal. A mandatory, discriminatory spay/neuter law by itself does nothing. What does affect pet over population is broad reaching community outreach initiatives, very much like the Pets for Life program. All the laws in the world will not get people to alter their pets but by providing inexpensive care and education on the topic more people are able to be reached.

It would be much better for Riverside County to implement a community outreach program to target under served neighborhoods than to pass a law that would target the owners of dogs who look a certain way. Breed discriminatory is breed discriminatory, no matter what the regulation, and always has a much larger impact on the community than expected. The only times these laws have been shown to work are when they are combined with the types of programs mentioned above. Which goes to show that it is not the law itself, but the outreach, that affects the community.

This topic has been covered extensively by Brent Toellner, KC Dog Blog, where he has taken a detailed look at mandatory spay/neuter laws in various locations. Here is a link to the category of postings on the topic of mandatory spay/neuter.

Find out more information on mandatory spay/neuter laws.

Riverside County residents: Officials are crafting a mandatory spay/neuter law targeting pit bull type dogs. Please reach out to urge the county to spend the resources on more effective education and community outreach instead. You can find you specific district here or contact all the supervisors whose information is provided below.

First District Supervisor Kevin Jeffries: district1@rcbos.org

Second District Supervisor John F. Tavaglione: District2@rcbos.org

Third District Supervisor (Vice Chairman) Jeff Stone: district3@rcbos.org

Fourth District Supervisor (Chairman) John Benoit: district4@rcbos.org

Fifth District Supervisor Marion Ashley: district5@rcbos.org

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Posted in BSL Proposed

Tagged breed specific legislation, breed specific mandatory spay neuter, BSL, Mandatory Spay Neuter, neuter, spay

Pasadena, CA – Councilman Wants Ban on Pit Bulls

Posted on October 21, 2012 by Fred M. Kray | 13 comments

According to the Pasadena Sun, Steve Madison, City Councilman for Pasadena believes a ban on pit bulls should be considered within city limits because he says the ‘powerful and sometimes aggressive dogs pose an inherent threat to public safety.”

Steve McNall, President of the Pasadena Humane Society and SPCA says that such a law would unfairly punish responsible pit bull owners.

“It’s a discrimination issue, to take somebody’s personal property, a family member, and kill it? The last time I checked, this is the United States, not Russia.” McNall said Council would not receive his or any other animal welfare leader’s support. The Humane Society provides the city with animal control services by contract.

The push for stronger “bully-breed” regulations started five years ago when Councilwoman Margaret McAustin, representing a neighborhood where a ‘group’ of pit bulls roaming at-large bit several people, said she would support stronger laws for Pasadena.

Under the current law, animal control officers can impound dogs that attack people or display other aggressive tendencies. Officer can also fine owners that do not license their dogs.

McAustin said, “We shouldn’t let up on our efforts to control dangerous breeds, but dogs are trained to be aggressive by people who want aggressive dogs. We have to get at that behavior, the problem we really have is irresponsible owners and if we can’t regulate the dogs, we have to regulate the owners.”

Due to California state law prohibiting cities from banning any specific breed however, the likelihood of a ban is nil. Instead, officials are considering that any Pasadena pit bulls be subject to mandatory spay and neutering, an ordinance structured on the current San Francisco law. You can read more about San Francisco’s breed ID check-list in our previous “Difficulty of Breed Identification Article”.

Please send your POLITE, RESPECTFUL and INFORMATIVE correspondence to:
Mayor Bill Bogaard – bbogaard@cityofpasadena.net
Councilwoman Jacque Robinson, 1st District via Field Representative, Tina Williams – district1@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 744-4444
Fax: (626) 396-7300
Councilwoman/Vice Mayor Margaret McAustin, 2nd District – mmcaustin@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 744-4742
Councilman Chris Holden, 3rd District via Field Representative Jacueline McIntyre – (626) 744-4742
Ph: (626) 744-4738
Fax: (626) 744-4774
Councilman Gene Masauda, 4th District via Field Representative, Noreen Sullivan – nsullivan@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 744-4740
Councilman Victor M. Gordo, Esq, 5th District via Field Representative, Vannia DeLaCuba – vdelacuba@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 744-4741 or (626) 831-8609
Fax: (626) 398-1836
Councilman Steve Madison, 6th District – smadison@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 744-4739
Councilman Terry Tornek, 7th District – ttornek@cityofpasadena.net
Ph: (626) 441-4802
Fax: (626) 441-4806

You may also include correspondence to City Attorney Michele Beal Bagneris by visiting the Pasadena City Attorney’s page and City Manager Michael J. Beck at the City Managers page.

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Posted in BSL, California, Whispers of BSL

Tagged breed specific legislation, BSL, California, city council, Mandatory Spay Neuter, Margaret McAustin, Pasadena, pit bull, san francisco, Steve Madison, Steve McNall

Sydney, AU – Victoria Dog Victim’s Family Back Breeding Ban

Posted on September 28, 2012 by Fred M. Kray | 1 comment

Lazor and Nick Josevski contributed to Ayen Chol’s death in 2011, according to Victorian Coroner Kim Parkinson.

Parkinson found the owners of “Rex”, an American Pit Bull, failed to follow existing laws requiring their dog be registered, desexed, microchipped and secured at their property.

Ayen died in her St. Albans home in 2011 when Rex escaped through an open door from his owners property. Rex attacked Ayne’s aunt and 5 year old cousin before turning on her.

In a statement released through their attorney, Ayen’s family said, “Ayen died because the dog owners failed to comply with the law.”

Coroner Parkinson has recommended that criminal sanctions apply to breeders of restricted breed dogs and that the onus of establishing whether a dog is classified as such rest on the woner rather than on authorities. She also recommended mandatory reporting by veterinarians of any restricted breed or suspected restricted breed dog which is unregistered, not desexed and not microchipped as required by law.

Ayen’s family asked the Government through their statement released by Attorney Ike Nwokolo, “I would encourage and ask on behalf of the family that the government put in place the recommendations.”

According to the coroner’s report, Zlate Lazarovski supplied Rex to his cousin Nick, therefore also contributing to Ayen’s death because he knew the dog breed was restricted and his breeding was unauthorized.

The Australian Veterinary Association did not support mandatory reporting of restricted breeds by Veterinarians, saying it is not possible to definitively identify a pit bull and stated the recommendations could discourage owners from seeking care for their animals leading them to suffer needlessly.

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=8540047