Tune into Channel 9 this Wednesday at 10 p.m. for Cheryl Mercedes' story on pet injuries at grooming facilities and the possibility of licensing groomers in Louisiana. Complaints of pet injuries at grooming facilities is on the rise and there is a national debate on whether licensing groomers could help. Tune into Channel 9 April 30th at 10 p.m. for details.
Last summer, Paris Hilton brought home a new Chihuahua and Britney Spears a Yorkie -- both purchased from Pets of Bel Air, L.A.’s pet boutique to the stars.
At Pets of Bel Air, staff members perfume and coif their tiny puppies for sale, creating an illusion of perfection. That illusion fooled Paris, Britney, and many others -- showing that even the rich and famous believe what pet store clerks tell them about the puppies they sell.
The HSUS's undercover investigation revealed that many of the puppies sold at Pets of Bel Air come from puppy mills in the Midwest including Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma. At these large-scale factory farm operations, HSUS found hundreds of breeding dogs living in barren wire cages where they are treated like production machines. Some had untreated injuries, were pacing frantically, and were housed in overcrowded cages that reeked of urine.
Each mother dog at these mills is sentenced to a miserable life in a cage so her puppies can be sold at pet stores across the country. In addition to the lifetime of neglect their parents will suffer, the puppies are also much more vulnerable to illnesses and disease due to the conditions in which they were born -- with many falling ill or dying within days or weeks of purchase.
Source: Humane Society of the United States. Click to watch their exclusive undercover video
Michael Vick, ex-quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, was sentenced to 23 months in prison this week for financing "Bad Newz Kennels," his dogfighting operation, and viciously killing dogs that his kennel used in fights. He was also ordered to pay more than $928,000 for the care of the 54 dogs seized from his property. The sentence exceeds the 12-18 month sentence recommend by the U.S. Attorney, and it takes into account the cost of care for the dogs rescued from Vick's fighting operation.
Source for Post Animal Legal Defense Fund. Click to find out how you can help fight dogfighting.
Technorati Tags: pet law
The Humane Society Legislative Fund has released its 2006-2007 Louisiana Humane Scorecard. See how your state legislators scored on animal protection issues during the past legislative session. The scorecard tracks key votes on important animal welfare bills. It is designed for animal advocates like you to assess the performance of your Louisiana state representative and senator. Check it out before you head to the polls this Saturday
Click here for the scorecard.
Tail Wag: Humane Society Legislative Fund
According to the The Richmond Times-Dispatch, Michael Vick’s remaining co-defendants in his dog fighting case are pleading guilty and have agreed to testify against him in exchange for leniency in sentencing.
Tail wag: meowbarkblog
Technorati Tags: pet law
I get calls on this subject every month. I'm glad to see Wisconsin attempting to address the issue of pet custody. Wisconsin legislators have introduced a bill to govern how divorcing couples and the courts should handle pet custody battles. The measure would let couples specify, among other things, physical custody, visitation and the right to move pets out of state. This is a big step forward. Traditionally, courts have considered pets as property, so the issue was who owned the pet without regard to emotional attachment or who might be the better caregiver.
The law's author, representative Sheryl Albers said her husband and his ex-wife bitterly fought over who should care for the family's Labrador, Sammi. The kids wanted to keep Sammi, but neither parent wanted the dog full time. According to Albers and court documents, a judge ordered that Sammi should split her time between mom and dad just like the other three children. The experience convinced her that the law needed to change.
Source for Post: latimes.com
If you think your pet has been affected by any of the foods recalled, here are some practical steps to take:
Source for post Animal Legal Defense Fund
The Louisiana House Committee on Agriculture finally approved legislation to ban cockfighting! This is an enormous step, but unfortunately the bill allows a phase out of this cruel sport. Please encourage your representatives to support an immediate ban on cockfighting. Louisiana is the last state to allow the sport and President Bush just signed a federal law making interstate cockfighting a felony. It's time for Louisiana to step up to the plate.
For more information on making a call to your representatives and for a list of representatives, click here.
I encourage you to sign up for the National Pet Foundation Pet Food Recall list. The recall list is still growing.
The latest email (5/3/07) contains this information:
Over 200 cat and dog food item were added to the recall list today.
Please forward this information to any family or friends that have pets.
Some of these are new brands and some are extended recalls
(within already recalled brands). This is the largest recall since the
initial FDA findings that pet food was killing dogs and cats. (emphasis added)New Dog Recalls:
http://www.nationalpetfoundation.com/foods/0307dog.htmlNew Cat Food Recalls:
http://www.nationalpetfoundation.com/foods/0307cat.htmlGet notifications within the hour of new recalls and save your
pets life. Sign your family and friends up for the free pet alerts at:
http://nationalpetfoundation.com/pet-food-recall.html
Technorati Tags: pet law
