Did you hear about California's AB 1634 mandatory spay/ neuter Law they are trying to pass?

Question

It is A Mandatory Sterilization at 16 weeks for all kittens and puppies.
It will allow charges of very high fees and Fines for all pets found intact.
There is NOT an exemption for visiting animals into California.
If you are unable to pay the government will they take your pet away????? Quite Possible!
Early Sterilization can KILL your tiny baby pets or leave them with health problems.
I'm not against Spaying/Neutering but I am against the GOV'T mandating.
Have you heard about this? What have you done to keep your dog and cat from being subject to California law? Isn't this kinda like abortion??? I know the difference between humans and animals, but when do pets get rights? Many of our pets we poisoned recently, but pets are considered to be objects you own, not living family members as most good pet owners believe they are.

I too agree that people need to be more responsible with thier pets and get them fixed. But I do not believe the State should be the one telling people to do it, and then being able to prosicute those that don't. I am not a breeder, i fix all of my pets. I adopt from rescues, because that is what I believe in. I just do not think it is a correct move for this mandatory fix. It is the first step to 'No Dogs Aloowed' Ferretts are not illegal in CA, but you cannot sale them??? Is this what we want for our pets?

Blacksheep - you are looking at the brief descriptions. Please look further into the actual restrictions, and the actual guidelines. As for those showing dogs you must show your dogs before 4 months, many 4 month old dogs are not showable... just to answer one of your "from the site" quotes. The measure attempts to look graceful, but the underlying fact is, only the rich will be able to have pets in the near future for CA. And who knows whats next for the state. Personally I would feel more the need to not register my pets, fixed or not!

So I did think about this a bit further. Would it not be a good idea for the government to go after the owners of animals rather then animals???

Answer 1

I agree with you 100%. Animals shouldn't get neutered when they are tiny babies.

Answer 2

First, 4 months is not too young to spay/neuter. In fact, considering I know of a lot of shelters that spay/neuter at 8-10 weeks, 4 months is a good age.
Second, anyone with a pet can afford spay/neuter. There are low cost clinics in every area that will do free or very cheap spay/neuter ($30-50).
Third, I am soooo glad that the government is stepping in to help the animals. This is a huge step for animal rights. The only problem I have is that they probably won't enforce the law. So we may still have backyard breeders, but at LEAST they will now be illegal, so we don't have so many animals to eutahnize in shelters. As someone that has worked in animal rights, and in actual animal shelters, I feel that this legislation is moving in the right direction, although it may need some tweaking.

Answer 3

Great law. I approve. I would rather see this law then read that my city euthanized 26 thousand dogs and cats last year. This figure is actually down from a high of 37 thousand about ten years ago. I would be delirious to see it at zero. I'm very much a conservative but on this I have to lean to the liberals. The public doesn't get it and it is about time. Have you ever walked through a shelter and looked into the faces of dogs and cats that will never see the sun rise on the morning? This doesn't have to happen just so many irresponsible pet owners can have intact pets. I like this law, make them get their pets neutered. My city a few years back changed the yearly licensing fee from $10 for all dogs to $10 for neutered (neutering can apply to both male and female) to $100 for an intact dog. It worked and that is why the number of euthanized dogs had slowly been dropping every year.

Saying that there is a possiblity of taking your pet away if you can't pay the fine for altering your pet is irrational. That is not going to happen. Dogs can be sterilized at 8 weeks of age without any increase of risk or health problems. You should not use lies to advance your position as it discredits you.

Answer 4

It's good in theory but not likely to work on a statewide scale. People will continue to get pets that they cannot afford to spay or neuter and will turn them onto the street when they realize that they cannot pay for the surgery or the fine. Animals will continue to breed no matter how strict the laws are, b/c after all, they are animals and they will always do what is natural.

Answer 5

This is a very touchy subject, but for the most part, it will help do some good. I currently work for the SPCA and we get TONS of dogs and cats every year...some only a few days old. If animals were spayed/neutered it would help with the over population of animals. Also, it will help with breeders sending out animals to people who can barely take care of themselves. Its almost like immigration, the more people around, less jobs are going to be available...get what I'm saying? But I also, read that you will have to have a special license in order to have breeding rights. If they are expensive or not to have one, it shouldn't matter. People that cant afford anything shouldn't be able to breed out animals. I'm not saying that low income people wouldn't love the animal(s) they are breeding, but they couldn't financially take care of them. On top of that, we wouldn't have to worry about all these sick puppies at puppy mills. I hope this helps some.

Answer 6

People are up in arms over this and if it passes here in CA other states will follow. This started to stop puppy mills and pet stores to stop selling puppies & kittens. There are exceptions, service dogs, show dogs and if your vet says in writing that your pet is too ill to be spayed or neutered. What most people are worried about is it will hurt the reponsiable breeders. It's just sad to think it has come to our goverment is telling us what we can and can not do. My animals other than my show dog are spayed and neutered and no-one told me I had to have them done. As soon as my show dog becomes a champ, I'll have her spayed too. I'm just not that keen about having puppies. Been there done that, not for me. She would be spayed now if you could show them, but you can't. So if you're up set about the bill let it be known. There are sites were you can write to. But get your facts first because there are exemptions and if you are from out of state you're okay as long as you can prove that you are only visiting CA. It still has not passed but it is getting close.

Answer 7

Problem is that people have been shown time and time again to be irresponsible when it comes to pets. Just take a look around here (on Yahoo! Answers) and you'll find proof. It's BYB after BYB after "I bought from a pet store" after "I need a boxer for under $200" after "My cat is about to have kittens" and "My cat just had kittens." When the public can't be responsible, the gov't has to step in.

If people would have been responsible, then the state wouldn't have had to resort to this type of measure.

WIth 2-4 million pets being killed in shelters annually, this may be a step in the right direction. I'm not saying that I agree or disagree with the intracacies of this law, but, being a rescue worker, I sure do understand where it's coming from.

Right now the dog I'm fostering was from a BYB that was broken up by animal control. He's a year old, terrified of people standing up, blind in one eye (probably from abuse or neglect), loaded with scars, about 20% underweight, not potty trained, only newly neutered by rescue, and generally a mess. Yet, he's an amazingly loving dog who loves to curl up with me while I'm sleeping, loves to play with my dog, and who is just a real sweetie. I look at him, and look on this site, and I completely understand why this bill came into existance.

Answer 8

LMAO you def. got your info from a bad source. I have asked Sac county AND been to the official site. Plus Rhode Island doesn't have a problem with it.....

Taken from the site itself. (FAQ page)

-If you currently breed, show and sell animals in California, you will be able to obtain an intact permit under AB1634 for a nominal fee, and continue breeding and selling animals as you do today. This fee is set by the local jurisdiction and is not "hundreds of dollars" as some breeder groups have been stating.

- Early spay and neuter surgeries performed on cats and dogs before the age of sixteen weeks has been safely and effectively practiced in the United States for over 25 years (1). The nation’s highest esteemed veterinary medical health professionals all advocate early spay and neuter in cats and dogs to combat pet overpopulation. These animal health leaders include the American Veterinary Medical Association (“AVMA”), the California Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, HSUS, ASPCA, UC Davis Veterinary College and other respected veterinary colleges.

If you feel that your animal is too young for spaying/neutering, the law provides for a delay, if approved in writing by a veterinarian. And, the bill provides an exemption if your vet feels that your animal is too unhealthy or old to be safely altered.

-The California Healthy Pets Act does not prohibit or regulate dog shows in any way. In fact, there is a specific exemption for show dogs from both California and out-of-state in Section 122336.2.

-n the best case scenario, the excess animals entering our shelters will be significantly reduced, but not eliminated, under a universal spay & neuter law.

There simply is no realistic scenario that leads to a shortage of animals or difficulty in obtaining an animal from either a shelter or a breeder. Cities and states with universal spay & neuter laws have been able to reduce the number of excess animals, but there has never been an instance where the law resulted in a shortage of pets or difficulty in obtaining pets.

-The enormous amount of excess animals in our state ensures that there will always be a large supply of mutts, regardless of the success of this law. The goal is to reduce the number of animals entering and euthanized in our shelters, not to eliminate mutts or any specific breed.

-The law provides an exemption for old or sick animals, if approved in writing by a veterinarian.

Also in the bill it states that your animal could be exempt if there is a good reason for it. This means if you are a breeder of not show dogs but working dogs then you are exempt and can get the license to breed. I highly doubt it is in the hundreds to get one. This means police dogs and other human service dogs will not disappear from the face of CA. Dunno where the police department or anyone else got it from. Probably because PEOPLE DON'T READ!!!! So I suggest before you have a solid opinion on something....read it through first!

EDIT:

and ferrets ARE illegal in CA. We cannot be in possesion of them. Dunno where you are getting your info from but it is wrong


ummm sweety....if you hold a breeding license it doesn't matter your dog's age. Plus if you have bred dogs before then you shouldn't have a problem with it right? AKC dogs on contract aren't very expensive. Around $200 and this is the price most people pay for byb puppies anyway.

Answer 9

Wouldn't we be better off if we spayed and neutered government officials?

Answer 10

YES!!!!!!!!!!!it is like abortion!!! they should have a right to have baby's its not like they re going to take over the planet!!! well i have Had a couple pets spaid but it was for a good reason my cat has had 4 litters with us and wear getting her spaid SOON! we have reasons!!! still that's NOT FAIR!!!!