Thanks TDHA guys and gals

Thanks, these bills will effect us all. If you could get a lot of hunters to call in Monday morning it would be a great help.

SB 634 by Sen. Kel Seliger is up in Criminal Jurisprudence in the Senate next Tues. If you remember, this bill would eliminate all tethering or tie-outs, and would require 150 sq ft kennels statewide. Cities already have the authority to make these laws.

Sen. Seliger is a friend!! We do not need to send out alerts or start a campaign, but do need for folks around his Amarillo Senate District to call or fax and express their concerns in a nice way. I think if the Senator hears from your group and a few folks in his District, he will leave this pending. His office number is 512/463-0131, and fax is 512-475-3733. TWA and the Texas Dog Hunters Assoc have already called and the Senator may just take another few nudges to kill it. If you know the Senator, live in his district, or have members that do, or just acting as the representative of a group that has members with dogs and kennels, please let them know your concerns. Your individual circumstances will have the greatest impact, but also here are other talking points.

* Most ranches and hunting camps have extensive kennels for multiple dogs and the cost to retrofit statewide would be enormous.

* Most of these landowners, trainers and hunting camps have very expensive and highly trained dogs are well-cared for and are being unintentionally targeted by the bill.
* This bill is detrimental to many hunting kennels particularly in rural Texas, which have always used tethers to safely confine their working dogs.

* The standard size for off-the-shelf kennels is 100 square feet, making 150 square foot kennels an unreasonable burden. Low income people and the elderly, who do not have the means to build new fences and kennels, will be unfairly targeted by this law.
* A 10 foot long tether provides 314 square feet of space, which is superior to the 150 square foot kennel specified in SB 634 and HB 2001. A tether provides vastly more space than an indoor airline kennel-type crate.

* The state animal cruelty law passed in 2007 already requires safe and humane tethering practices. In addition, cities can and do pass tethering ordinances if unsafe tethering practices are a problem in the city.
* Each dog is an individual, and a few are escape artists. Most urban areas have a problem with dogs running at large, so why take away a method that can keep dogs safely confined?.

A few call saying they are opposed to SB 634, that it could impact them or a hunting operation they know, is sufficient. Faxes should be individually crafted. Monday morning is the best time to have an impact. Again, a few well placed phone calls or faxes that are friendly but state opposition to SB 634 will work best. If they ask what they think, they can either tell the staff or refer them to you and you can advise the staff we have discussed this at TOP meetings and this just has too many unintended impacts.