Summary:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed the bill sponsored by Paw Project that would prevent landlords from requiring tenants to declaw or devocalize their pets.

Landlord associations supported this humane legislation.

Yet California Veterinary Medical Assn. lobbied strenuously against it.

Mass. Veterinary Medical Assn. lobbied equally vigorously against Logan's Law, which prohibits devocalization of cats and dogs, despite substantial evidence that devocalized animals face risks without any benefit; they're abandoned like any other.

Something needs to change. It's long overdue.

Everyone who cares about animals must hold veterinary associations and our own vets to a higher standard. Until that happens, helpless animals will continue to be subjected to painful, needless surgeries they don't order and can't refuse. All for someone's convenience, aesthetic pleasure--or profit.

So what can you do? It's easy.

Next time you see your vet, have a frank discussion. Politely tell him or her:

You expect the professional to whom you entrust your best friend's health to speak out against devocalization and declawing, ear cropping and tail docking--regardless of the position held by the veterinary association, which is charged with protecting members' business interests. If your vet performs these inhumane procedures, you have the option of taking your dog or cat to one who doesn't believe in subjecting animals to medically unnecessary surgery.

Vets need to understand that performing, sanctioning and lobbying against legislation to prevent convenience and cosmetic surgeries is unacceptable to the majority of their clients. That means people like you.

Your business matters to your vet. So should your concern that animals not be cut to modify innate behavior or to achieve an artificial breed aesthetic.

The buck stops with you--and every other veterinary client who cares about animals.

Please use your voice to protect them.

Thousands of dogs will soon enjoy a better life -- and they have you to thank.

Missourians voted YES! on Prop B, and chose to save dogs suffering in Missouri puppy mills.

You made this victory happen. Whether you donated to keep our TV ads on the air, spent your nights phone banking for Prop B, hit the pavement with leaflets, gathered signatures from registered voters, or engaged your friends and family in Missouri -- you helped show millions of Missouri voters what Prop B would mean for dogs.

We are grateful to the citizens of Missouri for voting to crack down on puppy mill abuses and establish common-sense standards for the care of dogs at large scale facilities. Finally these creatures will have relief from being crammed into small and filthy cages, without veterinary care, exercise, or human affection. If we can do it here in the nation’s largest puppy mill state, we are more likely to see similar reforms enacted in other states, where the industry is not nearly as strong and entrenched.

Dogs should be treated like family pets, not like breeding machines or a cash crop. We look forward to working with commercial breeders to transition to more humane systems and setting a new high bar within this industry. Missouri lawmakers and state officials should heed this message from the people, and immediately step up enforcement efforts to crack down on inhumane breeding operations.

How dogs are treated is so important to all of us -- and even more important to the dogs who have been suffering every day in Missouri’s puppy mills. Together, we fought for a better life for puppy mill dogs, and together, we won.

Thank you,
Barbara Schmitz
Campaign Manager
Missourians for the Protection of Dogs / YES! on Prop B

P.S. For the latest news and next steps, please continue to visit YESonPropB.com.

CAPS did an extensive investigation of Jeff Blustein, a USDA licensed broker whose company, Rare Breeds, was importing Hungarian puppies with fraudulent pedigrees. He sold these puppies to pet shops in New York and New Jersey. CAPS received a number of complaints from consumers who purchased European Kennel Club (EKCH) puppies. CAPS President Deborah Howard appeared on TV news in Hungary and worked closely with reputable Hungarian breeders who verified that the pedigrees produced by the bogus kennel club were fraudulent.

We presented our documentary evidence to the New York Attorney General's Office in 2005. CAPS had two lengthy meetings in the Manhattan and Nassau County Attorney General offices to discuss the case. The Attorney General reached a settlement in March 2007. Rare Breeds agreed to discontinue importing dogs from Hungary with pedigree documents from EKCH or any other kennel clubs with which Bela Musto (the exporter and creator of the pedigrees) is affiliated. Rare Breeds also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $20,000. CAPS will continue to monitor Hungarian puppies in pet shops.

For more information: Attorney General Announces Settlement with Queens Pet Broker that Sold Puppies with Inaccurate Records

Excerpt: The sale of dogs, cats and other small animals at pet stores would be banned in Fort Collins under a proposal that might be headed to the April 2011 municipal ballot.

Source: coloradoan.com
Date: Dec 09, 2010
Read the full article: www.coloradoan.com/article/20101209/NEWS01/12090366/1002/CUSTOMERSERVICE02

Animal Wise Radio meets Carolyn Resnick, a horse person's graduate teacher. Known among horse lovers as one of the finest, she will share some of her method and own evolution in her learning about connecting with horses for the best possible partnership. Deborah Howard, founder of the Companion Animal Protection Society will also join us to talk about the USDA and puppy mills. How does a convicted puppy mill operator continue selling to pet shops? We'll talk about a Minnesota case study. And Nathan Winograd discusses grass roots, no-kill efforts in Cumberland, MD.

For more information visit: http://itunes.apple.com/no/podcast/animal-wise-radio-podcast/id74172441

Former "Good Morning America" and CNN consumer correspondent Greg Hunter has picked "CAPS vs. Bauck" on Vimeo as one of his favorite sites on his website, www.usawatchdog.com. CAPS did a story with Greg in 2006 about Celebrity Kennels (aka Wizard of Claw) in Florida, who obtained puppies from the Hunte Corporation and sold through a store front and online.

CAPS protest against Barkworks at their Thousand Oaks location.
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHZEGFZJARk

by Leon Wagner
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=286351&;id=588612977&fbid=10150099169702978

David Feldman Comedy

Website: http://davidfeldmancomedy.com/audio/2011/04/03/liz-taylor-exposed
Artist: Carole Raphaelle Davis
Title: Liz Taylor Exposed
Genre: Comedy
Year: 2011

Animal cruelty in Beverly Hills exposed with Carole Raphaelle Davis from the Companion Animal Protection Society. Carole discusses Liz Taylor's unethical fundraising that resulted in the 'horrific abuse of animals' and her 'tacky and cruel' personal fashion choices." Plus Charlie Sheen's possible history of cruelty to animals. Along with Eddie Pepitone and Chris Pina.

Publication/Event date: 2011-04-08

Publication name: Star Tribune

URL for more info: http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/119516799.html

Summary:

It would become illegal in Minnesota to produce or distribute information about animal mistreatment or agricultural pollution under a bill introduced this week at the Legislature.

Animal rights advocates say the bill -- which resembles measures being pushed by legislators in other states, including Iowa -- amounts to an unconstitutional infringement on free speech that would have a chilling effect on whistle-blowers trying to bring attention to cases of animal cruelty.

Continue reading...

All Iowans must contact their state senator to oppose HF 589 / SF 431!!!

The Iowa Legislature

Update: HF 589 / SF 431 has passed in the House and is now in the Senate.

When puppy mill operators know they can't win, they try to change the rules. That's precisely what they did in Iowa. A new bill, introduced by Rep. Annette Sweeney, provides unscrupulous breeders protections against undercover investigations.

Iowa House File 589 amends Iowa Code 717A, which relates to agricultural production including criminal penalties for animal facilities. The most troubling part of the bill pertains to the prohibition of producing, possessing, and/or distributing undercover video and/or audio recordings of activities within an animal facility.

The bill has some big name supporters like Monsanto, DuPont/Pioneer and several Iowa agricultural associations. While no big puppy mill facility in Iowa officially supported the bill, they will reap the benefits now that it passed. The final tally for the House vote was 66-22, with all the nays coming from democrats like Rep. Jim Lykam and Rep. Pat Murphy. The bill still needs to pass the Senate.

“The overwhelming majority of farmers and people that own breeding facilities and all that here in Iowa operate very reputable businesses and treat their animals well. That's how they make their money,” said Rep. Murphy. “But for that small percentage that has a problem with it, you've got to wonder what they want to hide.”

While livestock facilities are subject to state official inspections, companion animal mass breeders run their business with just occasional USDA surveillance. Without comprehensive legislation about the issue, even the federal government remains critically understaffed and powerless to handle the volume of work required to keep the industry in check in states like Iowa.

“Iowa is a relatively small state but ranks 3rd in the number of puppy mills, 2nd on the number of puppies sold, more than 74,000 a year and there's no state oversight of this booming industry,” said Emily Price in a special report for KCCI TV from Des Moines, Iowa.

In the absence of effective government processes, organizations like CAPS followed up on complaints and performed undercover investigations. In some cases, like Kathy Bauck, the evidence collected was crucial in stopping unlawful animal cruelty. Without undercover video and audio, these organizations would lose a critical weapon in the fight against mistreatment of innocent animals.

The website Iowa Voters for Companion Animals showcased in their website how CAPS gathered incriminating undercover footage from three separate Iowa locations. The graphic images represent a stark reminder of the necessity of such measures and the ineffectiveness of the overworked USDA inspectors.

For more information about puppy mills go to CAPS' website and for ways you can help fight HF 589 go to the Iowa Voters for Companion Animals website.