1/20/07
Backyard Breeders Want - TO BREED!
Just when it seemed there
were some responsible breeders who didn’t fall in the “breed a lot, adopt a few,
kill the rest” group, here comes HB3091. It is a bill patroned by Del. Tommy
Wright which exempts the “occasional breeder” from being classified as a dealer.
HB3091 proposes to legitimize backyard breeding and makes the very act
of producing excess pet populations legitimatized by legislative action in
Virginia.
This bill is a mirror of the bill Del. Mark Cole patroned last
year.
Last year, Del. Orrock’s House Ag Subcommittee did not support the
Cole bill, but there is no guarantee that the same thing will happen this year
with the Wright bill.
This bill, as of Saturday morning, 1/20/07,
appears to be headed to the full House Ag Committee on Wednesday, 1/24/07, the
hearings to start at 8:30 am.
THIS IS WHAT WE WANT YOU TO DO:
If your delegate is Tom Wright, it is critical to reach him today and
say you are a constituent and want him to pull this bill – HB3091.
Write/call members of the House Ag Committee in addition to contacting
your own delegate and senator. Tell them to oppose HB3091. Tell them there are
already more than enough dogs and cats in Virginia – in fact, there are so many
that 121,000 are killed by Virginia annually because they can find no homes, and
well over 150,000 are killed by irresponsible Virginians because they are too
big or too loud, didn’t get sold, or hunting season is over - whatever.
Plan on coming to Richmond on Monday early, on Wednesday morning for the
above bill and probably the gas chamber bill, and on Thursday (7:30 am!) for the
House Ag Subcommittee hearings.
More detail about the activities of next
week later this weekend. For now, focus on opposing HB3091.
Thank you.
Lillian Clancy/Don Marro
Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare