The California state legislature has passed an enabling act that opens the door to discriminatory ordinances, to the detriment of dog breeders in the state. Senate Bill 861 will allow local governments to enact breed-specific ordinances pertaining to mandatory spay/neuter programs. Permitting cities and towns to require spaying and neutering of "potentially dangerous breeds" unfairly targets all responsible owners, regardless of whether or not their dog has ever behaved aggressively. Furthermore, because SB861 permits mandatory/spay neuter ordinances for any breed, the bill could affect thousands of purebred fanciers who participate in conformation dog shows and responsible breeding programs.
The final text of the bill is here:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/bill/sen/sb_0851-0900/sb_861_bill_20050901_enrolled.html
AKC indicates they sanctioned nearly 1400 events in California last year which drew hundreds of thousands of people from both within and outside of the state. Approximately 185,000 dogs were entered in those competitions. In addition to affecting the fancy, restrictive ordinances passed under this legislation could have a deleterious effect on weight pull sporting competition in California.
Weight pull events in California appear to be the most frequent and competitive in the U.S. (much to the envy of those in other IWPA regions). This law has the potential to devastate these events. Alaskan Malamutes are often lumped in as a dangerous breed (although details seem to indicate misidentification blames them for wolf-hybrid issues) and vulnerable to this legislation, as are other popular weight pulling breeds such as pitbulls and rottweilers. Alaskan Malamutes are definitely one of the targeted breeds of this legislation.
Many national breed clubs voiced opposition to this law, but the AMCA (American
Malamute Club of America) appears to have been silent on the issue.
Another effect of the California legislation is that insurance companies that do not have a 'list of banned breeds', but write homeowners insurance on an individual basis, may now have that ability taken away from them based on local ordinances.
Local breed organizations are encouraging members to monitor their city council and county agendas to see if their local governmental agency is going to pass
breed-specific legislation. The AKC has good points to address when dealing with government individuals and departments concerning BSL (breed specific legislation):
http://www.akc.org/news/index.cfm?article_id=2598
Laws passed in California have a tendancy to spread throughout the rest of the U.S., so all concerned should keep an eye on this situation.
(Our thanks to Sheryl Franklin for this submitted article!)
Posted by jjeffrey at October 12, 2005 01:45 PM