Registration Isn't Everything
April 6, 2007
The April 9th Mock-Up of AB 1634 does
not specify any particular registries. It does still require dogs be
registered to qualify for an intact permit. Which registries are accepted
is at the whim of your local animal control agency. A local animal
control agency can end all dog breeding in a jurisdiction—except
by puppy-mills—by accepting no registries. No law would be passed.
No public hearing held. No elected official accountable.
AKC
The AKC Legislative Committee has been active in
fighting against mandatory spay/neuter laws like AB 1634. Even
though AKC is the registry most likely to be accepted for getting
an intact permit, the AKC
opposes
AB 1634.
UKC
The UKC has come out in strong opposition to AB 1634. They have sent
this letter
(scroll down a bit) to all Assembly Members. UKC has traditionally been
a strong supporter of dog owners' rights.
ADBA
ADBA is an all-breed registry founded
for American Pit Bull Terriers. Although ADBA was included in the list
of registries eligible for an intact permit in the bill as introduced,
they strongly oppose AB 1634. ADBA is a Friend of saveourdogs.net
and sent the following statement:
The ADBA states, "From community alarm and panic, legislators and local
lawmakers are responding with hastily drafted, outrageous and punitive
restrictions toward specific breeds of dogs. The traditional Breed Specific
Legislation we have seen across the country lists up to 53 different breeds
depending on the bias of the local lawmaker or the latest headline in the
local newspaper. A new twist in anti-dog legislation is the mandatory spay
and neuter ordinances of all dogs. We have seen this widespread in 2006 in
counties and large cities in California. This 'spay or pay' trend is being
proposed in numerous areas across the nation. Restrictions of this kind are
contrary to the rights of U.S. citizens, and are being challenged in courts
across the nation and in Canada."
The American Dog Breeders Association, Inc. is pledging monetary support to
the many groups across the nation engaged in the fight for dog owner's
rights. A portion of the registration fees paid by dog owners for the
registration of new dogs into the registry will go to the fight to safeguard
the rights of animal ownership and use.
The traditional view of dog ownership is being challenged across the nation
and this change is being felt at the legislative level. The American Dog
Breeders Association (ADBA) asserts that dogs are valuable property, and we
as human beings are animal owners and not mere guardians. As property,
animal ownership is a constitutional right and a lifestyle that is worth
preserving. Dog ownership denotes rights as well as responsibilities. Our
lives as human beings are richer and more meaningful with our canine
companions. They also assert that dogs live happier more fulfilled lives
when participating in legal roles for which they were bred and all dogs need
socialization, training and exercise, to fulfill their function as
companions and working dogs.
Other Registries
The owners of dogs registered with AKC or UKC have the best chance
of having their registration accepted, but that is far from a sure
thing. Even if the registration is accepted there are still two other
ridiculous requirements before getting an intact permit. Under
AB 1634 all dog owners will get to watch the populations of
their dogs go extinct in the state of California. Wiped out by a state
law that says their dogs aren't worthy of being continued into the future.
- Australian Shepherd Club of America (the worldwide parent breed club of the Australian shepherd breed)
- International Sheep Dog Society (the worldwide parent club of the border collie breed)
- American Border Collie Association (the American breed club for the working border collie and who register 10 times as many border collies as the AKC)
- Royal Dutch Police Dog Association (the single biggest source of working police dogs worldwide)
- National Stock Dog Registry
- English Shepherd Club Registry
- Animal Research Foundation
- Jack Russell Terrier Club of America
- American Rare Breeds Association
- North American Hunting Retriever Association
- International Shiloh Shepherd Registry
- Society for the Perpetuation of Desert Bred Salukis
- National Greyhound Association
- NVBK (working Belgian Malinois)
- Field Dog Stud Book
- North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association
Other Dogs
In addition, the state would be mandating the eventual extinction in
California of the tens of thousands of unregistered dogs who grow up to
be working police dogs, working stock dogs, working SAR dogs, working
terriers, working hunting dogs, working explosives detection dogs,
working narcotics detection dogs, etc. The language of AB 1634
makes it appear that it gives an exemption to a small subset of
working dogs. But it really does not. That's because under AB 1634,
a puppy – a future working dog prospect –
would have to be
appropriately trained and meets the definition of guide dog,
service dog, or signal dog, as set forth in subdivisions(d), (e), and (f)
of Section 365.5 of the Penal Code
or else
appropriately trained and actively used by law
enforcement
by 4 months of age to qualify for a spay/neuter permit.
But there's no such thing as a 4 month old working dog.
The future working dog would have to be spayed or neutered at
four months of age because he or she would not yet be trained or used
as a service dog or police dog as required by the law for a permit.
Without a permit the dog must be spayed or neutered.
Spay/neuter cannot be undone so the exemption is meaningless.
Breeders have been carefully maintaining bloodlines of these working dogs
for decades, in some cases centuries. But under AB 1634, the state of
California would be saying these working dogs need to go
extinct.
To put this in a commercial perspective, AB 1634 is the equivalent of
saying we can still buy cars, as long as they are Fords. We cannot buy
trucks, and we cannot buy cars from any other manufacturer. The State of
California is inviting a class action lawsuit on equal protection grounds
under the US Constitution if AB 1634 passes.
The notion that dogs from only three registries are worthy of being bred,
with all other dogs slated by state law for eventual extinction, is
extraordinarily ill-informed in regards to where good dogs have come
from, and where they still come from. It would devastate working dog
breeding and harm the state of California.