Cruelty charge against ex-ACCT Philly employee dismissed
News and headlines for April 22 - 28, 2023
These are some of the stories making headlines in animal protection:
“Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have filed legislation this year to outlaw the declawing of cats, which many animal advocates and some veterinarians say is a cruel deforming of felines’ bodies and impedes their natural instincts to climb and scratch.”
This is good news. Studies show that declawed cats are at significantly greater risk for back pain, not using the litter box, aggression (scratching/biting), and excessive grooming (barbering). In addition, they would be at even greater risk for pain if bone fragments were left due to “poor or inappropriate surgical techniques,” which occurs in 63% of the cases.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, studies also show that banning the practice does not lead to cats losing their homes:
There was no statistically significant increase in cats relinquished to the provincial shelter system for destructive scratching behavior following the implementation of the ban” because “most owners who declawed their cat did so for prevention of, rather than in response to, destructive scratching behavior.” As such, “owners are able to manage normal scratching behavior and retain cats in their homes without needing to resort to onychectomy [declawing].
Bowie, a shy 12-week-old puppy, was killed by the Los Angeles County pound run by Marcia Mayeda, despite a rescue group willing to save him. Mayeda has long overseen a pound rife with mismanagement, neglect, abuse, and illegal killing. AB 595, Bowie’s Law, was introduced to ensure that animals like Bowie, who have a place to go, are not killed again.
Bowie’s Law would require California shelters to notify rescuers before killing an animal. And given that such notifications are possible through shelter software already used by these facilities or available for free, complying would require nothing more than a stroke on a keyboard: one click to notify rescuers that a life needs saving.
AB 595 is such a simple, commonsense law it is astonishing that anyone opposes it. But it is being opposed by every shelter in the state, the National Animal Control Association, the ASPCA, Best Friends, the Teamsters, and others.
A complete list of opponents is here.
Because of their opposition, the bill came to a screeching halt in the Appropriations Committee, where it was sent to the suspense file. The suspense file is where bills that cost more than a threshold amount to implement are sent.
Although Bowie’s Law would have cost next to nothing to implement and would have brought in revenue, the opponents falsely claimed expenses of more than $100 million per year, an absurdity.
My letter, on behalf of The No Kill Advocacy Center, challenges these claims.
While Bowie’s Law author Representative Bill Essayli negotiates with the Appropriations Committee Chair on amendments, the Committee has until May 19 to send Bowie’s Law to the Assembly Floor, or it will die. And if it dies, animals will continue to die needlessly along with it.
“The city of West Hollywood this week banned the sale and use of rodent glue traps,” becoming the first U.S. city to do so. According to the Councilmember who sponsored the measure,
My council colleagues and I enthusiastically adopted this ordinance to prohibit the use and sale of glue traps within the city because these devices are sadistic and cruel.
They are cruel, as my own experience rescuing rodents off of glue traps attests.
The Councilmember called on people to use “more humane alternatives.”
To listen to a podcast about my experience with glue traps and how to humanely rodent-proof, click here.
The 16th anniversary of the raid on Michael Vick’s property came and quietly went.