What do you think of the 'Animal Law' in NM??

[goldcupmom]

In Albuquerque, they are trying to pass a New "Humane and Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment" Law.

It includes :

All dogs and cats must be spayed/neutered unless the Guardian obtains an 'intact animal permit'.

Intact animal permits are $150/animal/year and you are limited to 4 intact animals per household/name/address.

$150 fee per litter, whether they survive or not.

All dogs & cats must be tattooed or Microchipped.

No animal may be chained or caged unattended for more than one hour per day.

Adoptable animals will be kept a minimum of 10 days including 2 weekends.

For any violation they have the option of removing the animal or fines up to $1000 for 1st offense.

I don't live in Albuquerque, but I live in a suburb and am afraid they will soon follow suit.

What do you all think??? This will be voted on on 5/15.

[Patti]

I think some of it is good but breeders must be able to do something other than 4 intact animals. Is there any consideration for a licensed kennel?

[Lacy's Mom]

Here in El Paso we have the mandatory microchip and a $125 per litter fee, but we do not have the mandatory spay/neuter or the extra fees for the intact registration.

[txshopper73]

I think it sounds pretty good. I can understand it's going to affect the breeder but it will also deter a lot of puppy mills.

[Enikuo]

Is crate-training considered "caging?" I wonder.

[elegntorchid]

i do not feel that this will make a difference on puppy mills, they do not register the animals anyway, it will though make it hard on the average person or small breeder. 150 per animal per year will add up quickly, you are limited to only four, this would be a problem for any breeder. You can bet that the already high prices for dogs such as yorkies would go up to cover all of these expenses. if this passes here it could very well start happening in other places. while i do believe we should have laws for animals protection, and certainly we have problems with mills and strays, this kind of law is getting close to not being american as are many things of late. we should all think about that, the more of our personal rights we give over the more we loose.

[goldcupmom]

That's what most people here think! The people who don't care for their dogs still aren't going to - if they don't chip them, how can they be traced back to the owner! A mill breeder can simply go out of the city for vet services and give a bogus address is needed. There's actually a pet shop that was in Abq now in Rio Rancho that was shut down by the city for being a mill and simply moved about 2 miles up the hill.

If you figure you can have an intact yorkie to breed 1x/year for 6 years before you spay, you've spent 1800 on the yearly fee and the litter fee. Plus this requires a breeder to spay/neuter puppies before they can legally sell them - even if going out of state!

And yes, the caging refers to training and caging/confining of any kind and gives the 'city' the right to enter any dwelling where there are pets to check on their welfare. I can't go to the meeting as I am about 3 miles from the city line, but it is concerning.

[SnowWa]

I'm in favor of passing the law -- Anyone who wants dogs or cats for pets should have them spayed and neutered.

This law just passed somewhere else also - with the remark that over 19,000 unwanted dogs and cats had been euthanized over the previous four years.

Tatooing and microchipping is the way of the future -- I'm willing to go there.

Keeping adoptable animals for ten days and two weekends - I assume this is in a shelter - I certainly agree with this. And - there is no doubt that spaying and neutering will help keep the shelters from being so full. One main reason so many animals are put to sleep so quickly is because there are no facilities able to house so many unwanted and lost animals.

***** It is always difficult when they put so many rules under the same law. The reason being, of course, that many people agree with part of the rules, but not all of them.

In the end - I would pass the law I'm not sure about some of it - but I agree so strongly with most of it that I would accept the rest.

Carol Jean

[prncssleah]

I agree with the spay/neuter part, but I'm not a breeder so I don't think I realize the full impact. However, my puppies are crated during the day while I'm at work. I go home at lunch to let them out, but I crate them for their own safety (and that of my house) than anything else. They're close to potty trained, but not house broken yet and they would get into everything with me gone.

I don't like that part of the law. I think more than anything they need to start enforcing regular animal abuse before putting new laws into place. No one will take it seriously if they don't enforce the animal rights laws in place now. I know that would be the biggest issue here in SC.

[Rockster's Mom]

I agree with the mircochipping and spay/neutering part of the proposed law. I personally think tatooing is to much for an animal. I am not a breeder so I would no know the effect on the fees for intact animails and litter fees, but it does seems a little much. I also crate Rocky when we are not home for his own safety and it gives the cat a break. I think they need to re-evaluate the crate protion because many trainers and vets suggest crate training you dogs, and I don't see anything wrong with crate training dog.

[Brandy101b]

I agree with the mandatory spay/neauter that is great.
I agree with the microchipping of all dogs/cats, it should be stated that they have to microchipped before leaving the breeder, or a contract should have to be signed that gives the new owner a certian amount of time to get the dog/cat fixed and chipped. If I were a breeder I would have my pups fixed and chipped before I sold them. The humane society fixes dogs/cats as young as 12 weeks so if every breeder did the same I think alot of overpopulation would be helped.
As for the caging, I have my girl Hannah in a play pen when i am unable to watch her or if I am gone, I think the hour thing is unreasonable. Some people work all day what are they suppose to do?
I would pass the law even with the parts I don't like because the other parts are just to important to ignore!

[goldcupmom]

Wow! They had another meeting and the content of many of the 'finer print' items came out, such as:

It is illegal to 'annoy or taunt your domestic animal'

You have to get a second, professional opinion before euthanizing an animal.

It is illegal to spray or squirt your domestic animal with water from any source, including 'hose, faucet, etc.'

You must keep your dog/cat groomed on a regular basis according to breed standards/guidelines.

If a domestic animal is out in inclement weather they must have the proper gear (I envisioned ducks with little raincoats!)

All domestic animals must have appropriate stimulating toys that are changed out at 'frequent intervals' so they do not become bored.

And there are over 40 other provisions in this including giving the 'city' the right to enter any home/facility at any time to check on the welfare of animals.

I was rather shocked at some of them. I think this has gone way beyond the intent of preventing so many strays ending up at the pound.

[Lacy's Mom]

It sounds like they are going overboard to me. That's a shame because some points are good, but I think very few would agree with them all. It reminds me of PETA the animal welfare group. Many of their points are very valid, but they seem to go overboard and turn people off. We knew an acquaintance that their infant received a primate heart years ago and they received tons and tons of hate mail from animal activists!

[Rockster's Mom]

OMG!! I think they have gone a little to far. Come on you cannot spray your animal with water? Rocky loves it when I am watering my flowers because I spray him with water a little bit, then he takes off running and comes back for more.

[DianaB]

I agree. I think that this is going too far. This is going to encourage people to have puppy mills outside of the city limit. There will be few litters taken care of at home because of the fees of having an unspayed/unneutered dog and also the fee of having a litter.

It's going to be hard to enforce all of those laws, so, of course, they're going to have to depend on tattlers. I don't believe in turning in another person, but I believe in communication and taking action. If we had those laws then, I guess, that I'd just have to be a law breaker because I wouldn't follow them.