Re: Anyone know what happened yesterday in Illinois legislation?
Yesterday, the only thing that was taking place was a bill that would ban cropping/docking - calling it torture (and including removing dew claws). That legislation was being heard in committee - below is the report from the Belle-City Kennel Club's legislative liaison. The Breeder bill is supposed to be heard today in the state senate committee (forgot which one it is) - I'll be going up there today - meeting is at 3 pm.
Here's the crop/dock bill info:
"The hearing on SB 139 went pretty much like we'd heard it might. Senator Link shelled the bill about a half hour before the hearing, which means that the bill is stripped of all the language it originally had and can either be withdrawn or submitted with new language for a second reading. Many of the Senators were displeased with this tactic and stated this with a request for a roll call, which basically lets everyone know that they would have voted no on the bill.
Several of us spoke to the chairman of the committee, Senator Frerichs, who said that he would not let this one linger and that there would be new language or it would be gone. He understood our problem of attending these sessions, taking off work and then having it end as it did.
We had around 40 people in attendance for the opposition. Thank you to all who drove several hours to attend and will be there again tomorrow. There were no proponents read at the hearing, although I did see some in the audience. A HUGE THANKS TO STEVE AND KAREN FOX!! They came all the way from Louisville, KY to support us in our fight against this bill. We need to remember this and return the effort when KY is faced with it's next legislative problem."
Re: Anyone know what happened yesterday in Illinois legislation?
Well, I went today - there were over a hundred opponents to the bill as compared to about 10 proponents. It was quite amazing to see. Oddly enough, it was also IGOLD day - we drove up to see over a thousand people on the state capitol steps at a rally - well IGOLD is Illinois Gun Owner Lobby Day - these were all people that were happy to support our rights to breed dogs as well as own guns, so we got along really well!
Anyway, back to the hearing. 3 people from each side got to speak - the proponents of the bill had a gal from the ASPCA (who wrote the bill in the first place), a so-called breeder, and a vet. On our side was a vet who represented the Illinois Veterinary Medical Association, a breeder, and a gal who represented the sporting dog clubs in Illinois. Suffice it to say, it was obvious from the crowd that the bill was not well-received. The senators asked questions and several of them suggested the authoring senator pull the bill. Well, it was shelled instead - which means the bill is "empty" - it goes forward, but with nothing in it, so if the parties can get together before the end of the session and craft something both sides agree to, then it can go to a vote.
Our lobbyist was doubtful that this would happen - which is a good thing. But it just means that it will be back in the next session.
This is turning out to be a $$$ thing - the HSUS/ASPCA have lots of money, and they are trying to outlast the dog fancy. Right now we have 3 good lobbyists working for us - one in the Chicago area, one from down-state, and one working for the commercial pet store people. I think we're going to have to pull of a lot of fundraisers to keep these guys working for us, but it's worth it in the end.
It was gratifying to see such a large turnout - all of us wearing blue dog-show ribbons on our lapels.
