EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

>From Responsible Pet Owners Alliance Texas Outreach Crossposting is
>encouraged!
October 12, 2013

Houston, Texas, Heads Up!
The "Animal Rights" Brigade continues their march across Texas to end all
use, breeding, sales and ownership of animals for any reason, including pet
ownership.
RPOA just received the Houston ordinance proposal yesterday and we're still
digesting all 66 pages! (Ordinance link is below)

Since any Houston dog or cat breeder who speaks out publicly regarding the
new proposal will immediately receive a knock on the door from BARC, it will
be up to all of us elsewhere who vacation and attend Houston area dog and
cat events to protest for them!
Since only 5% to 7% of shelter dogs and less than 1% of shelter cats are
purebreds according to the American Humane Association, banning all
purposeful dog and cat breeding will have little effect on Houston's number
of impounded animals. Surely being a licensed "commercial" breeding
facility would violate all zoning laws.
For the time being, email Mayor Annise Parker at mayor@houstontx.gov with
your comments. We'll have more later. Please read Sherry's comments below
and thanks to all of you for keeping RPOA informed!
________________________
Crosspost with permission from:
Sherry Wallis, Akita Club of America Delegate in Houston. sherry@sherob.com
.

*** Here's the short part--The City of Houston is getting ready to make all
breeding of dogs and cats illegal. It has already made it illegal to sell a
dog or cat (although I'm only using dog here), just one, without a
commercial breeders permit. The end of this application asks you to assert:
"The above applicant hereby states that he/she is in the business of
breeding or selling dogs or cats on the above property, in the City of
Houston, Texas" So the HOA in your neighborhood could easily force you out
even if the city permits you, especially if the city permits you.
The existing ordinances also make it illegal to sell any unsterilized dog
or cat without a permit. So if you bought a dog from someone and resell it
without a permit, you are subject to whatever penalities the city has for
this offense.

Their new proposal will further extend the restrictions, making
non-commercial breeding illegal. What is that? Any breeding at all. You
can't even breed an animal and keep the offspring. And there are NO permits
for non-commercial breeding. This is a great Catch-22.
Does anyone besides us care? The person speaking on behalf of BARC at the
presentation that's online doesn't seem to think this is an issue. (RPOA:
See links below) He says he doesn't see any reason for anyone to breed dogs
or cats in the city when the shelter has so many coming in.
I talked to BARC today, to Jarrad? I asked how I could find out who held
breeder's permits in the city and he told me that information was only
available if I filed a request thru FOI, and even then, he didn't think I
would get it because it would have to be reviewed by the legal dept. I
asked him how many had been given out, and he said that in the 3 yrs he'd
been there, it was only three at the most. He also expressed his opinion
that no one should be breeding and that anyone who wants a pet should come
to BARC or another shelter. This begs the question of what happens after
the one generation is gone or the extinction of many breeds.
Clearly permits aren't effective in curbing the problem, so why penalize
all responsible breeders and owners who want a pure-bred dog because of the
irresponsible ones? This merely provides a tool for harrassment and is
clearly unreasonable.
The mayor is running for reelection and she clearly doesn't see us as a
group with which she should be concerned. This is her regime, these are her
people, and so, this is probably something she supports anyway. She's
undoubtedly going to win another term, so the only shot at fighting this or
affecting any change for the betterment of Houston dog owners and breeders
is to start trying to work through the city council people.
This is something the people who live in the city will have to do. Those of
us in dog clubs who live outside the city or in other cities have no way to
influence these people. We're stakeholders only to the extent that we
participate in an event that brings a huge amount of money to the city.
If y'all want to know more about this, you should visit the city of
houston website for BARC. You can locate the new regulations there and also
watch the online presentation. There is another meeting next week which
people should not only attend but should also sign up to speak.

The last round of changes went though without any notice and that's when the
commercial breeder was introduced without our being able to say a word.
This time, they've not been so successful at sneaking this in, and we might
well have a chance to make some changes for the better. One thing is for
sure, if you don't do anything, this is going to go right through without so
much as a mention, so none of us has anything to lose by speaking out.
*** End of Sherry's quotes.

For more information, check out
http://www.houstontx.gov/barc/cac_municipal_code_overview.php

In particular, read the following and note sections 6-1 and 6-120
http://www.houstontx.gov/barc/chapter6draft.pdf

In addition, here are the links to the YouTube videos of the Oct 1 meeting
BARC held on the revisions.

Stakeholders Meeting part 1:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PitN9AZb5mg&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxDQbrMBRsZno5jnDg7kHyw

Stakeholders Meeting part 2:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWHKEd8RDbM&feature=c4-overview&list=UUxDQbrMBRsZno5jnDg7kHyw