Please read this article on so-called pet rescues who are buying directly from breeders.
Cavalier King Charles dogs are arguably cuter than pit bulls. Does that mean that a pet “rescue” should spend thousands of dollars to “protect” a spaniel from a breeder while thousands of pit bulls still go to the gas chamber.
California has already passed a law that prohibits pet stores from selling animals born and raised in mills. And other states are following suit.
Many cities have also enacted laws that protect animals from the cruelties of the pet trade. You can find a list of cities that have implemented laws that force big box pet stores, like Petco and PetSmart, to sell only rescued animals here: Cities that require pet stores to sell rescues.
These laws are important because they will put puppy mills out of business. And puppy mills need to go. Many breeders do not provide adequate care for their animals. And, if an animal doesn’t sell, they dump it on a rescue organization or kill it.
Recently, in the Midwestern United States, a Siberian Husky puppy was surrendered to a rescue because it didn’t have enough blue in its eyes, for example.
While putting puppy mills out of business is worthwhile, even more important is cracking down on the trade in wild animals.
Parrots continue to be taken out of their nests as babies and transported to pet stores and other markets.
The United States has many laws that prohibit import of wild animals as pets. But the consumer will never know, exactly, where an animal really came from.
For example, when you buy a snake or turtle at PetSmart, you may hope it came from a responsible breeder.
But turtles, lizards, and snakes are sitting ducks and far too easy simply to trap and sell. Why would a breeder take all the trouble of mating two animals and hoping they make babies when he can simply go into the woods or swamps and pick up some red-eared turtles?
In crafting legislation to save pets and wild animals from suffering, state and city legislators need to be careful to restrict the sale of ALL live animals.
Making pets of wild animals is morally irresponsible. Reptiles are far too vulnerable to poaching. The sale of reptiles should be stopped altogether.
Parrots seem like wonderful pets, and they do bond with people. But before you buy a parrot, consider that it was probably pulled from its nest as a chick. It has been removed from its habitat, where it would have flown free.
It has been deprived of its family. And it has been deprived of the opportunity to mate and raise babies of its own.
The same thing is true of other tropical birds, snakes, lizards, and turtles.
Don’t buy animals that belong in the wild. Cats, dogs, pet rabbits, and guinea pigs are domestic animals that exist in abundance and are often destroyed for lack of a home. Adopt those animals.
If you must have a bird, adopt a muscovy from a rescue organization. Be aware that, if you get a male and female muscovy, you will soon have twenty.
Please sign this petition asking the US Congress to just make sale of live animals that aren’t rescues illegal at all pet stores:
And please also sign this petition which specifically asks PetCo and PetSmart to stop selling wild animals:
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/645/429/588/
Ask the mayor or a council member of your town to enact laws that require all pet stores to sell only rescue animals. Or ask your state legislature to enact state laws.
The following states need laws that protect animals from being bred or stolen and sold in pet stores:
Alaska
Alabama
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Delaware
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Missouri
Montana
North Carolina
Virginia
Wisconsin
When I walk the streets of east Louisville, Kentucky, I see a town that loves its dogs. Dogs and their humans are everywhere: in the Morton Avenue Dog Park, in the dog friendly wine shops, at street festivals, at the patios of bars and restaurants.
On Nextdoor.com, my neighbors religiously track and return lost dogs and cats, sometimes before the owners even post the loss. My neighbors may or may not like me, but this is know: If I lost one of my dogs, they would form a dragnet to find her.
If my dogs were the only consideration, I would choose Louisville over a lot of cities, especially Denver and Miami where anti-pitbull laws are still in place.
Is she or is she not a pitbull? If I lived in Denver, inexpert dog catchers would decide.
So it was something of a shock to learn that Kentucky has been rated dead last in protecting its critters by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF).
It’s important to note that this poor ranking is not based on the way Kentucky families and farmers actually treat their animals. Kentucky’s poor showing is because of its laws.
When it comes to animals, Kentucky has committed some sins of omission. Sure, we have laws on the books that protect an animal from cruelty and fighting.
But we have no laws that protect animals from abandonment, neglect, and sexual assault.
Should we worry about our laws when, all around us, dogs and cats appear to be cherished?
Yes, we should. Because, at the end of the day, there’s no way to measure the total love for pets or the sum of care for livestock in any state. We are stuck with laws as a metric.
Perhaps even more troubling is a law on Kentucky’s books that prevents veterinarians from reporting cruelty to animals when they see it.
People who are abusing dogs, cats, and bunnies are unlikely to seek veterinary care. The obvious victims of this law are Kentucky’s horses.
Does this gag law exist to protect someone who hurts his own racehorse for the insurance pay off?
Even if your heart doesn’t melt every time you see a puppy on Youtube.com, you should care about this issue. A state whose reputation is largely based on horses cannot afford to be the worst state on the AlDF’s list. Kentuckians need to reach across the isle and forge laws that better protect our non-human friends and family members.
UPDATE: The Animal Rights Channel thought that Britain’s Animal Welfare (Sentencing and recognition of sentience) bill was a no brainer, but it seems Britain’s Parliament did not. Members have now told Prime Minister Michael Gove that the new bill goes too far.
They don’t agree that the law should recognize animal sentience.
I think we all know that animals feel pain and pleasure, or we should know that. If you’re still waffling, take your neighbor’s dog for a nice long walk. You will quickly see that animals have a range of feelings and sensations.
If you live in the UK, would you please sign this petition and the one below it:
If you live outside the UK, but you are counting on Great Britain to lead the way on recognizing animal sentience, please sign this petition to save the animal sentience part of Gove’s proposed bill: https://www.thepetitionsite.com/985/563/883/throw-the-book-at-dog-fighters-in-britain/
Great Britain’s Michael Gove has admitted that animals can feel pain and “enshrined” that into law, according to all major UK news vehicles.
Gove, the UK’s environment secretary, has been widely photographed with a white fluffy dog in his arms.
This happened because animal rights advocates got a whiff that British Parliament was getting ready to jettison a European Union law that recognizes animal sentience.
Admittedly, the European Union law is foundational for preventing animal cruelty, but it does almost nothing to protect wild animals from loss of habitat.
Nevertheless, animal rights champions should support the new bill while continuing to ask for more stringent protections of animals.
What you can do
UPDATE: You can still read the bill, but the comment period on this bill has been closed. Did anyone in Parliament read the comments? And where is the comments summary?
Read the bill here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/666576/draft-animal-welfare-bill-171212.pdf
Sing this petition:
https://www.thepetitionsite.com/985/563/883/throw-the-book-at-dog-fighters-in-britain/
Great Britain’s Michael Gove has admitted that animals can feel pain and “enshrined” that into law, according to all major UK news vehicles.
Gove, the UK’s environment secretary, has been widely photographed with a white fluffy dog in his arms.
This happened because animal rights advocates got a whiff that British Parliament was getting ready to jettison a European Union law that recognizes animal sentience.
Admittedly, the European Union law is foundational for preventing animal cruelty, but it does almost nothing to protect wild animals from loss of habitat.
Nevertheless, animal rights champions should support the new bill while continuing to ask for more stringent protections of animals.
What you can do
Read the bill here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/666576/draft-animal-welfare-bill-171212.pdf
Write to the team who are taking public comment on this issue. Here is the snail mail address:
Animal Welfare Team, Area 5B, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London, SW1P 3JR
If you live in the UK, please take this survey to support the Animal Welfare Bill: 2018:https://consult.defra.gov.uk/animal-health-and-welfare/consultation-on-the-animal-welfare-bill/
Animal Rights Channel 