“Legislative bills seek to protect Texas' pets - MySanAntonio” plus 1 more |
| Legislative bills seek to protect Texas' pets - MySanAntonio Posted: 31 Dec 2010 10:42 PM PST AUSTIN — People convicted of felony animal cruelty offenses would have to register just like sex offenders do under a proposal being pushed by Houston Rockets owner Les Alexander. Alexander's one of the advocates hoping lawmakers take time to focus on animal welfare in the upcoming legislative session despite a plate filled with a massive budget shortfall, redistricting and other volatile issues. "A predator is a predator, if it's against a human or it's against an animal," said Alexander, who in 2007 put muscle behind toughening Texas' animal-cruelty law. The registry proposal hasn't yet been filed. Four Houston lawmakers plan to carry it: Democratic Senate Criminal Justice Committee Chairman John Whitmire, Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson and Republican Rep. Beverly Woolley. Among other pet-related proposals is a revival of the so-called puppy mill bill, which would create a state regulatory program to license and set minimum standards for commercial breeders. The measure's still being drafted. Thompson plans to carry it as she did in 2009, when it died after being opposed by veterinarians and a group including hobby breeders. This time, the Texas Veterinary Medical Association has helped work on a new version of the measure, which is a priority of the Texas Humane Legislation Network. "I want to make sure the puppies that are being sold are healthy animals, that they are being treated in a humane way," Thompson said. A separate bill that's already been filed would allow pets to be added to protective orders in family violence cases. Some of the measures have been tried before, but the registry effort is new. Lobbyist Bill Miller, pushing the idea for Alexander, said no other state has passed it. A registry has been approved in New York State's Suffolk County. The idea would work like the Texas registry that makes information public about sex offenders, though it might be tiny in comparison. Texas has 62,971 registered sex offenders. Since the animal cruelty law was toughened in 2007, just 24 people have been sent to the Texas Department of Criminal justice for cruelty to nonlivestock animals. But that tally is incomplete. It doesn't include those simultaneously serving time for an animal-cruelty felony and another crime with a longer sentence. It also doesn't include those who receive deferred adjudication, who also would be required to register. Those figures couldn't be obtained Thursday. "A list has to start somewhere, with someone," Miller said. "It will be a deterrent and a valuable tool" for checking on potential pet owners. Backers cited a connection between animal abuse and violence toward people. "As a former prosecutor and judge, I am aware that those with a history of animal abuse may potentially commit future violent acts," Huffman said in a statement. In a bow to the tough fiscal times, it's envisioned as being funded by donations and gifts. Alexander said he'll "be chipping in big." Woolley in a statement called the registry "another step toward stopping some child predators. Studies show that child predators begin as animal abusers. ... To be the first state to achieve this, without using general revenue, relying solely on private donations, makes this bill a good way to usher good feelings into the Legislature." Jim Harrington of the Texas Civil Rights Project, however, called it "one of the more inane legislative ideas I've heard." "The idea of criminal justice is you commit the crime, you pay the penalty. Why do you have this ongoing punishment with the registry? It becomes like a high-tech scarlet letter," Harrington said. The so-called puppy mill measure would set up state licensing and regulation for commercial breeders. The U.S. Department of Agriculture currently oversees breeders who sell wholesale, but there's no regulation of those who sell retail. Skip Trimble of the Texas Human Legislation Network said the measure wouldn't affect hobby breeders and would apply only to those who have 11 or more breeding females and sell their offspring. Mary Beth Duerler of the Responsible Pet Owners Alliance voiced concern over what she called the "agenda" of those who have pushed the measure. "These extremists do not want you to use animals for any reason, whether you eat 'em, wear 'em or pet 'em," she said. Legislation • Legislation allowing pets to be added to protective orders has been filed as Senate Bill 279 and House Bill 323. • Other proposals, such as one to create a registry of people convicted of felony animal cruelty, will be assigned numbers when they're filed in the Legislature. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| Dog owners urged to protect pets from salmon poisoning disease - Sacramento Bee Posted: 31 Dec 2010 09:44 PM PST The California Department of Fish and Game is cautioning dog owners in the Feather River drainage area to keep freshwater fish carcasses away from their pets to protect them from potentially fatal salmon poisoning disease. Dogs can contract the disease by coming into contact with fish from infested waters throughout the Pacific Northwest, including the southern Cascades and northern Sierra to the Feather River drainage, according to a department news release. The disease is caused by a bacteria-like organism that is transmitted by a parasitic flatworm, or fluke. The fluke affects both trout and salmon in an area roughly north of a diagonal line from Sausalito to Chico, and west of the Sierra/Cascade mountain range. The Department of Fish and Game raises fish at three hatcheries where the fluke is present either intermittently or continuously: Darrah Springs, Crystal Lake and Mount Shasta. However, the department stocks fish from these hatcheries only into water where the parasites have been present for decades, according to the news release. Officials caution that all fish caught or originating from streams in Northern California, Oregon and southern Washington could be infected with disease-carrying flukes harmful to dogs. If a dog has eaten or is suspected of eating raw fish, owners are advised to watch for signs of the disease, which are similar to distemper and may include a rise in body temperature, loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, listlessness and/or rapid weight loss. If symptoms appear, the animal should be promptly taken to a veterinarian. Although the disease is relatively easy to cure if diagnosed in time, officials say it likely will kill a dog if left untreated. The parasite cannot survive in cooked fish, is not harmful to humans and does not affect pets other than canines. © Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.  Call The Bee's Cathy Locke, (916) 321-5287. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
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