Florida: SB 818: Animal Shelters and Animal Control Agencies and HB 527 Animal Control or Cruelty Ordinances
SB 818-Animal Shelters and Animal Control Agencies; Creating the “Animal Rescue Act”; requiring any animal control agency or animal shelter that euthanizes animals to maintain a registry of animal rescue groups that are willing to accept animals that would otherwise be subject to euthanization; providing eligibility criteria for rescue groups and persons desiring to be on the euthanization registry; providing criteria under which an animal control agency or animal shelter may reject an applicant for the euthanization registry or remove a participant from the registry; requiring that certain specified information concerning an animal rescue group be included in the group’s application for inclusion on the euthanasia registry, etc.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2012
HB 527-Animal Control or Cruelty Ordinances: Requires county or municipality enacting ordinance relating to animal control or cruelty to impose specified surcharge on civil penalty for violations of ordinance; specifies use of proceeds of surcharge to subsidize costs of spaying or neutering of dogs and cats whose owners voluntarily submit their animals for sterilization.
Effective Date: July 1, 2012
Both of the bills above have been touted in the latest headlines as relief for animal control agencies for controlling costs and reducing the euthanasia rates of adoptable dogs. Before I begin to sing the praises for the bills, I did a little research and have come to the conclusion they are not what they seem to be.
SB 818 will require a list of rescue groups who are willing to pull adoptable animals from county agencies who must be contacted before an animal is killed. This sounds positive except most agencies already have a list and they do call. The problem is most rescue groups, like the county agencies are full. The rescue groups are already pulling as many animals as possible. So all this would do to a county agency is increase the amount of time and paperwork associated with rescue groups without reducing the costs. I am all for saving animals, but don't believe this bill will decrease the kill rate at all.
The second bill, HB 527 will attach fines to unlicensed animals and fines for cruelty or neglect cases. This money would then be given back to the agencies to use for spay/neuter programs. This also sounds good, but all animal agencies, county and private alike, are required by state law to spay/neuter any animal which comes through the system. It doesn't address the manpower needed to find and process the people who don't follow the law. Because most animal control agencies are already understaffed and underbudgeted, the costs of investigating and prosecuting the abusers would not be offset by the fines.
My suggestion to both these legislators is to stop paying lip service to animals in order to pacify your animal loving constituents. Have some meetings with rescue groups and animal control agencies. Find out from them what they need to lower the euthanasia rates. Put some bite into the laws we have now for animal abusers. Raise the fines for cruelty and neglect. Begin regulating backyard breeders with a licensing fee and operating fee and then shut them down if they do not comply. Take that money and put it back into spay/neuter and educational programs.
Animal control agencies have a giant task at hand. The people who work at these agencies do not enjoy having to euthanize any animal. They get into this line of work because they love animals. We tie their hands by not providing them with the tools to do a better job.
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2012
HB 527-Animal Control or Cruelty Ordinances: Requires county or municipality enacting ordinance relating to animal control or cruelty to impose specified surcharge on civil penalty for violations of ordinance; specifies use of proceeds of surcharge to subsidize costs of spaying or neutering of dogs and cats whose owners voluntarily submit their animals for sterilization.
Effective Date: July 1, 2012
Both of the bills above have been touted in the latest headlines as relief for animal control agencies for controlling costs and reducing the euthanasia rates of adoptable dogs. Before I begin to sing the praises for the bills, I did a little research and have come to the conclusion they are not what they seem to be.
SB 818 will require a list of rescue groups who are willing to pull adoptable animals from county agencies who must be contacted before an animal is killed. This sounds positive except most agencies already have a list and they do call. The problem is most rescue groups, like the county agencies are full. The rescue groups are already pulling as many animals as possible. So all this would do to a county agency is increase the amount of time and paperwork associated with rescue groups without reducing the costs. I am all for saving animals, but don't believe this bill will decrease the kill rate at all.
The second bill, HB 527 will attach fines to unlicensed animals and fines for cruelty or neglect cases. This money would then be given back to the agencies to use for spay/neuter programs. This also sounds good, but all animal agencies, county and private alike, are required by state law to spay/neuter any animal which comes through the system. It doesn't address the manpower needed to find and process the people who don't follow the law. Because most animal control agencies are already understaffed and underbudgeted, the costs of investigating and prosecuting the abusers would not be offset by the fines.
My suggestion to both these legislators is to stop paying lip service to animals in order to pacify your animal loving constituents. Have some meetings with rescue groups and animal control agencies. Find out from them what they need to lower the euthanasia rates. Put some bite into the laws we have now for animal abusers. Raise the fines for cruelty and neglect. Begin regulating backyard breeders with a licensing fee and operating fee and then shut them down if they do not comply. Take that money and put it back into spay/neuter and educational programs.
Animal control agencies have a giant task at hand. The people who work at these agencies do not enjoy having to euthanize any animal. They get into this line of work because they love animals. We tie their hands by not providing them with the tools to do a better job.
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