Staffordshire Terrier Club of America - Legislative Committee

Region 3 Representative, Kristin Tresidder, was invited to attend an Anti-BSL conference hosted by AKC and held at the North Carolina State University Veterinary School on November 2nd 2009.  The purpose of the event was to educate Veterinary students about the dangers and pitfalls of BSL as they entered their new, and influential careers.

Here is the official write up of the event from the AKC website:

http://www.akc.org/news/blocks/print_article.cfm?article_id=4002

Bill Name: SB554
State: Alabama
Date of Proposal: 4/2/09

A bill recently proposed in Alabama seeks to implement a statewide mandatory spay/neuter policy for all dog over the age of six months. Similar in design to California’s AB1634, SB554 would:

• Make it illegal to own an intact dog over the age of 6 months, unless the dog met a certain set of requirements for exemption such as:
  • The dog is actively showing or competing and has competed in at least one show or sporting competition hosted by or under the approval of a recognized registry within the last two years
  • The dog is a puppy in training for such shows and competitions.
  • The dog is trained or in training for use in law enforcement, military, or rescue activities, or has been titled in the past in a sport
  • The dog has a note from a veterinarian specifying health reasons why it cannot be altered.
• Subject those owners found to be in violation to $50-$100 fines
• Result in forced mandatory sterilization of dogs found to be in violation upon a 3rd offense

Please contact your STCA Legislative Liaison to find out how you can help.

Bill Name: H626
State: North Carolina
Date of Proposal: 3/18/2009
STCA Legislative Contact: Al Bincarousky & Kristin Tresidder

A bill recently proposed in North Carolina seeks to implement a statewide limit on the use of tethers to confine dogs. Specifically, A7218 would:

• Make it illegal to tether a dog for more than 9 hours out of 24.
• Require all tethers to be at least 15 feet in length.

The STCA Legislative committee has written to NC state officials expressing our opposition of the proposed law and our support of the current animal cruelty laws, which cover the “issues” raised in support of anti-tether legislation.

Please contact Al or Kristin to find out how you can help.

Bill Name: A7218
State: New York
Date of Proposal: 4/7/2009
STCA Legislative Contact: Peggy Doster

A bill recently proposed in New York seeks to implement a statewide ban on the docking of tails. Specifically, A7218 would:

• Make all instances of tail docking unlawful, except those deemed necessary by a duly-licensed veterinarian to protect the life or health of the dog.
• Make anyone exhibiting a dog with a docked tail subject to a misdemeanor charge, punishable by a fine of up to $500.
• Allow any New York animal rights organization to sue a violator for declaratory judgment, via a private right of action, to obtain redress for a violation.

STCA Legislative Liaison, Peggy Doster, has spoken at all breed club meetings about this bill, and is working hard with other New York dog breeders to prevent the passage of this bill, which would impact over 50 breeds of dogs currently shown in the state of New York.

Please contact Peggy to find out how you can help.

An Italian newspaper recently announced that Italian officials intend to remove the last seventeen dogs from their list of banned breeds in April.  The Italian breed ban list once included ninety-two breeds, but was whittled down to the following: American Bulldog; Yugoslavian Shepherd Dog (Cane da pastore di Charplanina), Anatolian Shepherd (Cane da pastore dell’Anatolia), Central Asian Shepherd Dog (Cane da pastore dell’Asia centrale), Shepherd Dog of the Caucasus (Cane da pastore del Caucaso), Estrela Mountain Dog (Cane da Serra da Estreilla), Dogo Argentino, Fila brazileiro, Perro da Canapo Majoero, Presa Canario, Perro de Presa Mallorquin, Pit bull, Pit bull Mastiff, Pit bull terrier, Portuguese Mastiff (Rafeiro do alentejo), Rottweiler, Tosa inu.

According to Italian Health Undersecretary Francesca Martini, “This is a historic day because we have established for the first time the responsibility of the owner or the person who is momentarily in charge of the animal…The measures adopted in the previous laws had no scientific foundation. Dangerous breeds do not exist. With this law we have overcome the black list, which was just a fig leaf (over the larger problem), and we have increased the level of guarantees for citizens.”

The new Italian laws will emphasize owner responsibility, such as the use of leashes, education, and the owner’s awareness of their individual dog’s behavior.

Following on the heels of the overturned Dutch breed bans, this is a major step forward for the defeat of international breed bans.