Publication Date: 2008-05-07
Author: John Yates
SANTA BARBARA, CA – Dog owners from Santa Barbara County joined
together Tuesday to push back an all-out assault by the most
powerful people in the animal rights movement. Their efforts sent a
proposed mandatory spay/neuter ordinance back to the drawing board,
and possibly to the trashcan.
Reacting to local concerns and interference from major national and
statewide animal rights organizations, the county Board of
Supervisors voted 4-1 to shelve the proposed ordinance and set up a
commission of local residents to look at pet population issues.
Dog owners and local organizations that represent them had been shut
out of deliberations about the ordinance, which was drafted by
animal rights activists. The ordinance was presented to the
supervisors on Tuesday, but died on the table when a majority on the
board put the brakes on the process.
Animal rights groups threw their \"top guns\" into this fight, as well
as considerable financial resources. The supervisors were flooded
with letters from animal rights activists, almost none of whom
reportedly live in the county.
Humane Society of the United States President Wayne Pacelle visited
Santa Barbara County to rally his troops in the days leading up to
the meeting, and on Monday published a lengthy statement of support
for the ordinance in the local newspaper. HSUS is the most powerful
animal rights group in America. Judy Mancuso, an out-of-county
activist who gained fame for spearheading a failed statewide effort
for mandatory pet sterilization, also threw the weight of her entire
organization into this battle.
But local dog owners stood up to these powerful groups and stopped
them in their tracks.
Tuesday\'s hearing was packed. A strong contingent of local dog
owners and representatives from local organizations that represent
them voiced strong opposition. American Sporting Dog Alliance (ASDA)
activists Susan Sakauye and Allison Iwamoto, both from Santa
Barbara, played major roles in rallying local opposition to this
ordinance, as did Diane Jones of the Channel City Kennel Club.
ASDA directors from California lent their assistance, as did Cathie
Turner of Concerned Dog Owners of California and Bill Henby of Pet
Pac. However, Santa Barbara residents deserve the greatest credit
for this defeat of major animal rights groups. Their dedication,
sincerity and love of dogs was apparent in everything they said and
did. Members from all four county-based kennel clubs also spoke out
in opposition.
Local support for the ordinance was mostly from people who expressed
concern about feral cats. However, Dr. Ron Faoro, a local
veterinarian and key figure in statewide animal rights groups,
addressed the supervisors, and proudly announced that he was
accepting an appointment to the board of directors of the HSUS, a
radical animal rights group that is trying to advance an agenda in
stages leading to the eventual elimination of animal ownership.
A motion to proceed with the ordinance failed.
A second motion, which passed 4-1, shelved the ordinance and called
for the formation of a study commission. Each supervisor will
appoint two local residents to the commission, and the chairman will
appoint three. The supervisors expressed a desire to make sure the
commission was balanced between people who favor and oppose
mandatory spay and neuter ordinances.
The idea of a commission was proposed by the American Sporting Dog
Alliance last week.
Supervisor Brooks Firestone said he was concerned that an ordinance
would be an unreasonable intrusion into people\'s lives, and
expressed opposition to it. Firestone expressed doubts about
possible benefits of an ordinance, and also about the probability of
lawsuits. The City of Los Angeles was sued last week for its new
spay and neuter mandate.
Another strong opponent was Supervisor Joni Gray. Gray said she grew
up on a ranch and never had less than 15 dogs, for hunting, herding
and as pets. She said her main concern was with dog owners who break
the law by failing to license pets and allowing them to roam. She
also said the issues of dogs and feral cats should be separated.
Gray called for making any ordinance \"mandatory for the
irresponsible,\" but not mandatory for responsible pet owners. Some
municipalities have considered a \"three strikes, you\'re out\"
ordinance for strays that repeatedly wind up at an animal shelter.
After three strikes, sterilization is ordered.
Supervisor Joseph Centeno agreed, saying that 90 percent of the
people take excellent care of their animals and are very
responsible, and that laws should concentrate on the few people who
are not responsible. He said laws should not penalize responsible
dog owners. He also said he regrets spaying his own favorite dog,
and wishes he had been able to get a puppy from her.
\"I would really like to concentrate on the people that are causing
this problem and let\'s not be punitive to the great law abiding
people,\" Centeno said. \"Those animals are their property and they
should be able to decide with their veterinarian in terms of spay
neuter…We have lost our will to be free and I utterly oppose that.
I am suggesting that we find some kind of a solution that does
something to the violators while not being punitive to the great law
abiding citizens of our county.\" \"
Supervisor Salud Carbajal initially supported the ordinance, but
later in the meeting conceded that the problem was that it is
mandatory. He asked people in the audience if an ordinance for
voluntary pet sterilization would be acceptable, and they said the
issue was the word \"mandatory.\"
Supervisor Janet Wolf said she didn\'t see any point in having an
ordinance that was not mandatory. Wolf said there were several
things she liked about the ordinance, and said she favored going
ahead with it through a process of further hearings and possible
amendments.
Centano stressed that the study commission should be the work of the
people, not animal services staff members, who controlled the
process prior to Tuesday\'s meeting.
The American Sporting Dog Alliance played a supportive role to local
residents. Our research showed the true statistics of the Santa
Barbara animal shelter program (which actually is one of the best in
America – we know of none better), medical issues and research that
shows growing concern about the health effects of sterilization
(especially at a young age), a strong influence by animal rights
groups in the process and the exclusion of dog owners, and the large
influx of dogs into the county from other states and countries to
meet the demand for pets.
Please contact the Santa Barbara County supervisors to express your
appreciation of their courageous stance on Tuesday. They can be
contacted at:
• lst District: Salud Carbajal, Chair - Phone: 805.568.2186,
Fax: 805.568.2534, E-mail: SupervisorCarbajal@sbcbos1.org
• 2nd District: Janet Wolf -Phone: 805.568.2191, Fax:
805.568.2283, E-mail: jwolf@sbcbos2.org
• 3rd District: Brooks Firestone - Phone: 805.568.2192,
Fax: 805.568.2883, E-mail: bfirestone@co.santa-barbara.ca.us
• 4th District: Joni Gray - Phone: 805.737-7700 or
805.346.8407, Fax: 805.346.8498, E-mail: jgray@co.santa-barbara.ca.us
• 5th District: Joseph Centeno, Vice Chair - Phone:
805.346.8400, Fax: 805.346.8404; E-mail: jcenteno@co.santa-
barbara.ca.us
The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, hobby breeders
and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for
hunting. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights
of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships
between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American
society and life. Please visit us on the web at
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. We also need your help
so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners.
Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to
the success of our mission. We are funded solely by the donations of
our members, and maintain strict independence.