I apologize for being absent for so
long. It's been a busy legislative session in Tennessee. Every year
there are always lots of bills relating to animals introduced and
it's important to analyze them to see how they impact pet owners,
breeders, animal businesses such as groomers, boarding kennels, and
others, and generally figure out if a bill is needed, stupid,
redundant, or downright harmful. Many bills are introduced by
legislators who have good intentions – often because it is
requested by a constituent who sees a real need in their district.
However, too often the bill only looks at one side of an issue or the
problem is so particular that it's already covered under existing law
or it would be foolish to make a state law to cover it.
There was an article posted online yesterday that caught my
attention: Series of pet protection bills die in TN legislature According to this article, our House Ag committee is a black hole
where good animal protection bills go to die.
From the article:
One proposal would have placed animal cruelty convicts on a registry for two years. One member of the House agriculture committee said it would endanger bird dog trainers, and the bill died.
Another proposal would have continued inspections at puppy mills. And a third would have required Tennesseans who tie up their dogs outside to give them at least 10 feet. Those bills aren't moving forward.
Supposedly, bills die as the result of
some kind of “good ol' boy network.” Hogwash. I remember when I
was new to legislation and the actions of legislators and committees
seemed cruel and mysterious. I also thought things happened because
of some good ol' boy network that was lined up against me and my
friends. Well, maybe there is some of that at work in legislatures.
People are only human and friendships probably play a role. But I can
also say that what happens in the legislature happens because of hard
work, study, and lots of communication.
Here's what happened to the bills
above, for example. The animal abuser registry bill has been
introduced in Tennessee repeatedly, and defeated repeatedly, for
several years. It is pushed by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF),
one of the most left-wing animal rights groups in the country. They
seek to give animals legal status as persons and animal abuse
registries – which have never been legalized by any state – are
one of their pet projects, so to speak. While this particular bill
may have been instigated by a local constituent group, it serves the
same purpose. While many people think that animal abuse is a gateway
crime to becoming a serial killer and other serious crimes, there is
contradictory evidence. When legislators were given this information, they killed the bill.
The “puppy mill” or commercial
breeder law in Tennessee was set to expire in June of this year. A
bill was introduced that would have removed the sunset provision and
made the law permanent. However, the commercial breeder law,
established in 2009, was nearly $1 million over budget. The law was
based on figures from HSUS that stated Tennessee would sign up 500
breeders by 2014. The state signed up 20 breeders. The program was a
complete failure and it would have been incalculably irresponsible
for legislators to allow the program to continue when it was based on
inaccurate fiscal data from HSUS and losing $300,000 per year.
The tethering bill that would have
required people to keep dogs on tethers at least 10 feet long was,
frankly, a disaster of a bill. First, tethering is already covered in
Tennessee's cruelty statutes. Second, this bill was opposed by dog
trainers, hunters, and groomers. Why? Because the way the bill was
written, it would have affected all of these people who use short
tie-outs for dogs in the normal course of their training and work. A
dog groomer keeping a dog in place with a grooming noose on a table
could have been included in this bill – that's how slippery the
language was. A dog trainer keeping a dog in place on a short leash
could have been included. (Ever worked with a clicker trainer who
tries to teach a dog the “quiet” command?) Hunters keeping dogs
on a “chain gang” would have become criminals. That's why this
bill was defeated. Not because of a “good ol' boy” network or
because the House Ag committee is a black hole for legislation. It's
because the House Ag committee actually has some common sense when it
comes to dogs.
People may call these “animal
protection” bills and bemoan the fact that they didn't pass but
there were darn good reasons why all of these bills deserved to die.
Just because something sounds good or makes you feel all warm and
fuzzy doesn't mean it's really good for animals or animal owners.
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