Austin Residents, Please Read!!

[jls41]

TX-RPOA E-News
>From RPOA Texas Outreach and
Responsible Pet Owners Alliance
"Animal welfare, not animal 'rights'
and, yes, there is a difference."
Permission granted to crosspost.

May 10, 2010
Austin pet owners are under attack again and need our help. What passes in
Austin will be in your city next. Our Austin members need to attend the
meeting below. Everyone else: Please email Austin city officials below:
Lee.Leffingwell@ci.austin.tx.us
Mike.Martinez@ci.austin.tx.us
Chris.Riley@ci.austin.tx.us
Randi.Shade@ci.austin.tx.us
Laura.Morrison@ci.austin.tx.us
Bill.Spelman@ci.austin.tx.us
Sheryl.Cole@ci.austin.tx.us

Tell them politely:
1) Please OPPOSE the new Proposed Ordinance on the Austin Animal Advisory
Commission's Special Meeting Agenda this Wednesday, May 12th, BANNING RETAIL
SALES OF COMPANION ANIMALS..

2) Austin will be added to the list of Anti-Pet Cities in Texas if they
continue to listen to the radical "animal rights" extremists who want to end
all use, breeding and ownership of animals including pet ownership.

3) Nathan Winograd's No Kill Philosophy is based on programs and
services -- not legislation which results in more animals being relinquished
to animal shelters and rescuers because of oppressive costly legislation.

4) Pet ownership is an economic generator and brings millions of dollars in
tax revenue to the city of Austin. Our taxes pay for animal control, police
and fire department services.

5) State law mandates that local animal control departments be formed for
the control of Rabies, nearly always fatal to humans - not to ensure that
pets are sterilized. That is an educational issue.

Background information:
Austin already has a new "Pet Trader" ordinance which became effective March
10, 2008 but we have no data on enforcement yet. A Pet Trader is defined as
anyone who exchanges for consideration more than 15 dogs or cats, or both,
in a year; excluding an animal shelter or a person who makes an exchange
that is not for profit. The Pet Trader pays an animal processing fee of $50
now unless the dog or cat is spayed/neutered. We assume this is per animal.
The fee can be changed anytime.

However this law isn't good enough for the Austin "animal rights" zealots
who work in incremental steps for their agenda to eliminate all use,
breeding and ownership of animals. So they're back! If you ever think they
are through with us, think again!

An AGENDA ITEM on next Wednesday's Animal Advisory Commission Meeting is to:
DISCUSS AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION ON PROPOSED ORDINANCE BANNING RETAIL
SALES OF COMPANION ANIMALS.

San Antonio also has a proposal on the table to make it illegal to sell an
"intact" (not spayed/neutered) dog or cat in the city and to spay/neuter all
animals. Animals isn't defined.

We urge all our Austin members to attend this very important meeting
Wednesday night to register your OPPOSITION! Contact George Armstrong,
chairman of the Austin RPOA Advisory Committee, if you can attend:
sundownms@att.net .

SPECIAL MEETING: 6:00 PM, Wednesday, May 12th
Waller Creek Center
625 E 10th Street, RM. 105
Austin, TX 78701

[uglydog]

Looks like San Antonio area residents are fixing to have the same thing happen to them too.

[TrueBlueLacys]

What exactly is the law they are trying to pass? The way I read "ban on retail sale of companion animals" is "puppy mills cannot hawk their wares in pet stores" which I am all for. I definitely understand the slippery slope argument, and I know this comes close to that slope, but the milling industry has gotten absurd. Not to mention the fact that it makes legitimate breeders that much easier to vilify.

I actually saw a Catahoula puppy, beautifully marked with blue eyes of course, in a tiny cage with the rest of the mill pups at a pet store a couple months ago. Of course I turned around and walked away as fast as I could, but people have been talking with their feet for years when it comes to mills and pet stores, and it doesn't appear to have changed anything. To me it would be like getting leash laws passed and enforced rather than banning dangerous breeds. Throw the irresponsible people under the bus so the rest of us can live in peace.

Has RPOA given any more explanation as to why people should fight this law?

[jls41]

Here's a link to the agenda for the meeting.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/agenda/boards_comms.htm

Click on the "Animal Advisory Commission, Special Called Meeting, May 12, 2010" link and the agenda is in Acrobat Reader.

I understand and am against puppy mills as well, but as you stated with regards to the "slippery slope", once these get bills get passed into law, it is easy to change the verbage in amendments and really put the screws to legitmate breeders.