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North Carolina Residents: The Animal Protection Act Needs Your Help!
An important bill—currently known as the Animal Protection Act—will soon be introduced in the North Carolina Legislature. If passed, the bill will—among other things—give the state much-needed oversight of government-run animal shelters, require that animals adopted from shelters be sterilized, require training for people who supervise or perform euthanasia, and establish a low-cost spay/neuter program for qualifying residents, which would be funded by a small assessment on dog and cat food. It’s good stuff!
Without your immediate support, this bill won’t make it. Hunters and breeders are screaming bloody murder and trying to squash this protective bill. Your representatives are listening, and they must hear the animals’ side much, much louder than that of the animals’ enemies, or the animals will lose.
Please, without fail, write, call, and visit your representative, and get at least five friends, family members, and coworkers to do so, too. We must multiply our efforts or fail. Personal visits are the most effective, then calls, then letters. Please only send e-mail messages to your legislators if you absolutely cannot visit or call and write. They are not as effective as other forms of communication.
The current legislative session will probably adjourn by the end of June. If the bill is not heard by the committees to which it is assigned by the end of May (it must be heard and voted on several times by different bodies), it will die. We can’t let that happen. North Carolina’s animals—many of whom spend their last days in hideous facilities like the one in Yadkin County—have been suffering for years.
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It is vital that all communication with legislators be brief and polite. Please see the links below for information on being the most effective advocate for animals:
- http://www.helpinganimals.com/pdfs/angel-workingwlegs.pdf
- Find your representative
- For general information about the legislative process
- Read the Animal Protection Act
History
The creation of the House Interim Committee on the Prevention and Disposition of Unwanted and Abandoned Companion Animals was announced on August 13, 2003, by Co-Speakers of the House Jim Black and Richard Morgan. The committee was formed following public outcry prompted by a series of articles in the Charlotte Observer about euthanasia rates and other animal control-related issues in the state of North Carolina. The press release stated, “The purpose of the committee is to study the operations of public and private animal shelters, adoption programs, current laws regarding animal shelters, ways to reduce the number of unwanted companion animals in the state through spay and neuter programs, and humane euthanasia.” The committee of 28 was composed of 16 members of the House of Representatives (seven plus a co-chair appointed by each speaker), a professor from the North Carolina State University School of Veterinary Medicine, two representatives from rescue/shelter programs, a law-enforcement agent who works directly in the area of animal control, a representative from the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association, two local government representatives, a representative from a county animal control facility, and four citizens who are companion animal advocates. Three subcommittees were eventually formed: the Subcommittee on Reduction of Overpopulation, the Subcommittee on Companion Animal Control Policies and Standards, and the Subcommittee on Housing/Funding of Companion Animal Agencies/Programs. The committee gave final approval to its recommendations on April 22, 2004, the date of its last meeting.
To read the expose that spurred this legislation, please visit http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/news/special_packages/pets/.
You can improve the lives of dogs and cats suffering from cruelty and neglect.
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