This was sent to me and I felt it best to post it for all to see and stand together for:
We have a need for urgent and immediate action from
all dog show
enthusiasts and hobby breeders. A bill before the
General Assembly, HB
2927 re-defines breeders as "releasing agencies." The
inclusion comes from
the addition of "dealers", which is, unfortunately,
very poorly defined in
Virginia law - "dealers" are defined so as to includes
most reputable hobby
breeders.
This bill would apply to most hobby breeders and many
hunters. Based on my
conversations with approximately 8 counties, "dealer"
would be interpreted
as "anyone selling dogs on a regular basis". Selling
one puppy per year
would be considered "on a regular basis." This would
specifically include
hobby breeders who lose money every year and are not
trying to make a
profit. I called and asked.
"Dealer" does NOT mean USDA dealer. It means hobby
breeders too, even if
you lose money every single year and even if you have
no interest in making
money (which, let's face it, if you're doing it right,
you aren't likely to
make money.)
"For profit" is being interpreted as "selling
something", NOT as "actually
making a profit." Again, I called and ASKED eight
counties how this sort
of terminology is interpreted. EVERY SINGLE ONE would
consider a hobby
breeder, breeding once a year and not breaking even,
to be a "for profit"
breeder. EVERY SINGLE ONE. This is us, not just puppy
mills and back yard
breeders.
===============================================
What are the effects of this bill on our hobby
breeders?
The bill requires mandatory s/n of ALL puppies from
these breeders, without
an exemption, prior to sale or give away. You can only
keep a pup intact
if YOU keep it. You can't share your bloodlines with
others, and when you
die, your bloodline is gone.
This bill means folks breeding annually cannot sell a
show puppy if you
live in Virginia.
If you sell one puppy a year, you would be considered
a dealer.
As a dealer, you would have to have a business
license.
As a dealer, you would have to submit annual reports
of the disposition of
all of your animals to the State Veterinarian,
including the names and
addresses of all of your puppy buyers.
This is pretty much the Purebred Hobbyists Elimination
Act.
This is IMHO the MOST important bill we need to fight,
as fully as
possible. This would completely eliminate our sport.
To fight this bill, all we need is a little bit of
your time. Together, we
can make a difference. If you enjoy showing dogs, if
you hunt, if you have
a bloodline you've cherished and developed over the
years, please take a
minute and e-mail or fax the folks listed below, with
"Oppose HB 2927" in
the subject area. Please describe your involvement
with animals,
highlighting anything you've done to "give back"
(rescue, fundraising,
therapy dogs) and that you are a hobby breeder
unfairly included in these
definitions. Please feel free to use any of my points
listed above, using
your own words. Be sure to include your full name and
address. You MUST
include your name and address for your letter to
count. There are four
steps to complete.
=================================
Our Four-Step Plan to Save Our Sport -
1. Please write the patron of this bill and express
your opposition. You
may want to have your subject line as "Please Withdraw
HB 2927." BE POLITE
- we want to win his support, not alienate him and his
staff.
Delegate Terry Kilgore
(804) 698-1001
fax (804) 786-6310
[email protected]
2. The likeliest place for this bill to end up is the
Agriculture
subcommittee of the House Agriculture Committee.
Please take a minute and
contact the Agriculture committee members. Subject
line - "Oppose HB
2927." Important points -
a. Mention that "dealer" is poorly defined, and is
interpreted by the
counties as "selling something." The intent to make a
profit is assumed
with all sales, even if a breeder does not ever break
even.
b. Your concerns and opposition - use your own words.
Feel free to use
any points above that might be helpful, but do NOT
copy them word for word
- they check for form letters.
c. Be brief and be polite, no matter how angry you
are.
d. If you only have time to send a few letters, send
them to the
representatives that have an asterisk (*) by their
names - those are the
Agriculture subcommittee members and the Committee
Chair. If possible,
send notes to the whole committee.
e. Fax if you would prefer, to (804) 786-6310.
f. Please put a separate salutation ("Dear Delegate
Smith") and send a
separate note or fax for each delegate. Don't send one
email or fax to
everyone - that doesn't count as much, and this is too
important to
skimp. Fax number is (804) 786-6310
g. Include your full name and address - that's how
they weed out the
spammers and out of state folks.
Ag. Cte. Chair: Email Phone
*Cox, M. Kirkland
[email protected] (804)
698-1066
Membership:
Morgan, Harvey B.
[email protected] (804)
698-1098
Sherwood, Beverly J.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1029
Ware, R. Lee, Jr.
[email protected] (804)
698-1065
Louderback, Allen L.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1015
Wright, Thomas C.
[email protected] (804)
698-1061
*Orrock, Robert D., Sr.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1054
*Weatherholtz, Glenn
[email protected] (804) 698-1026
*Byron, Kathy J.
[email protected] (804)
698-1022
Suit, Terrie L.
[email protected] (804)
698-1081
*Saxman, Christopher
[email protected]
(804) 698-1020
Hogan, Clarke N.
[email protected] (804)
698-1060
*Cline, Benjamin L.
[email protected] (804)
698-1024
*Scott, Edward T.
[email protected] (804)
698-1030
*Plum, Kenneth R.
[email protected] (804)
698-1036
Van Yahres, Mitchell
[email protected]
(804) 698-1057
Amundson, Kristen J.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1044
*Shuler, James M.
[email protected] (804)
698-1012
Miles, Floyd H., Sr.
[email protected] (804)
698-1074
*Stump, Jackie T.
[email protected] (804)
698-1003
Eisenberg, Albert C.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1047
Shannon, Stephen C.
[email protected]
(804) 698-1035
h. If you have time, consider calling as well.
3. Finally, contact your own delegate at the House of
Representatives, and
express your opposition to HB 2927. To find your own
delegate, use the
link at
http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
To call, you can also use the constituent hotline at
(800) 889-0229 -
Message is "Please oppose HB 2927".
If you call the constituent hotline, please also email
your opposition if
you possibly can.
4. If you can possibly visit the General Assembly for
the subcommittee and
committee meetings for this bill, please let me know.
We need as many
people at the actual meetings as possible.
Our sport is on the line here - please, take a minute
and make sure the
sport of purebred dogs survives in Virginia.
Like i said this was in my email this morning and I feel this is a very bad bill Lets do what we can do to get this stoped