I'm pretty much politics illiterate and just curious what lobbying and such that the AKC does to maintain the rights of breeders. Not just say they're trying to do this or that, but truly getting involved in the politics of it all. The NRA has been fighting for the rights of the general public for years and is always on top of things; is the AKC?

GOOD QUESTION!! I'm curious too.

I believe (not a for sure fact) that AKC is waking up to the facts that the world of "animal rights" is becoming more threatning (maybe bad word usage). Animal rights is completely different than welfare.
I was told that AKC took down the PAWS endorsement because the language was unfriendly towards breeders and "pure breeds".
The "other" lobbyist actually have more MONEY then the NRA or AKC put together. Sporting entusiasts are trying to rally animal lovers together and put up a united front. I wish I kept my links to all that.... Does anybody have it out there to share?
We really need to stay alert to what is going on and support organizations we have thoroughly looked in to and also educated the general public!
Ughhh like we did not have enough on our hands!
But does that mean AKC is actively lobbying and fighting for us... dunno... just know they want what is right for purebreeds and to keep the club open.
We might have to put pen to paper, make calls and wake up those who pass bills.

This was just in my inbox.

> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Daisy Okas Date: June 11, 2007 Phone:
> 212-696-8343
>
> From American Kennel Club
> Ron Menaker, Chairman
>
> Last month in my Chairman's Report I reported on a pending threat to
> purebred dog ownership in California: Assembly Bill 1634 would require the
> mandatory spay or neuter of dogs 4 months or older unless an intact dog
> permit is purchased through local authorities. Should this bill become
law,
> I fear it could be a catalyst for other states. As the old saying goes,
"As
> California goes, so goes the nation."
>
> As many of you know AB1634 passed by one vote on Wednesday in the full
> Assembly. Despite this recent set back, it's important to note that this
> vote was not strictly along party lines. Through our continuing efforts,
we
> were able to convince 6 Democrats to abandon their majority party to vote
> against this bill in this Democratic controlled body, just as we were able
> to convince other democrats to vote against it in the May 16th hearing
when
> the Assembly Committee on Appropriations voted 10-to-6 in favor of the
bill.
>
> I want to sincerely thank the more than 600 dedicated fanciers who
attended
> the Appropriations Committee hearing, all the California AKC-Affiliated
> Clubs and their hard-working members who have diligently been advocating
> against this proposed law, and all people across the country who sent
> letters, faxes and e-mails to California legislators.
>
> The next step for the bill is in the State Senate where it will go through
> several committees and possible revisions before a vote. Should this bill
> pass in the Senate it would then go back to the Assembly for another vote,
> before it heads to the Governor. As you can see, this is going to be a
long
> process. It took 3½ months just to pass in the Assembly. And while we have
a
> long fight ahead of us, we are encouraged by those whose vote we have
swayed
> to the side of reason.
>
> It is vital now that California dog owners and breeders contact their
State
> Senators as well as the Governor to express their opposition to this bill
as
> it continues its journey through the California statehouse. Contact
> information for all California State Senators, along with sample letters
and
> talking points to oppose this bill are available on the AKC web site at
the
> CA Spay/Neuter Action Center at:
> http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/CA_action_center.cfm.
>
> While the sponsor of AB 1634 has amended the bill five times since its
> introduction, none of the amendments make this bill an acceptable piece of
> legislation. AKC vehemently opposes AB 1634 and will continue our strong
> opposition until this bill is defeated.
>
> As you recall, I also announced last month that AKC was pursuing the
> possibility of starting a Political Action Committee (PAC). I am pleased
to
> report that this endeavor is underway. In today's political climate,
having
> access to lawmakers is critical. Establishing a PAC will allow dog lovers,
> responsible owners and dedicated breeders to support what they believe in
as
> well as give AKC another tool for battling the continuing threat of
anti-dog
> laws in California and across the country.
>
> In the meantime, we have received inquires from individuals and dogs clubs
> as to how the purebred dog community can support AKC's efforts to combat
> ongoing negative canine legislation. Individuals or dog clubs can send a
> non-tax deductible contribution to our Canine Legislation Department. For
> details visit our website at:
> http://www.akc.org/canine_legislation/donations.cfm.
>
> The AKC/Eukanuba National Championship is scheduled to be held in Long
Beach
> in December 2007 & 2008. Although we have considered making Long Beach the
> permanent home, I have communicated to both the Mayor of Long Beach and to
> Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that enactment of AB 1634 would make that
> impossible.
>
> While AKC is a national organization leading the way in opposing proposed
> anti-dog laws, it is important for fanciers to also establish regional
> organizations, both statewide and locally, to oppose flawed legislation.
> This must be done on a continuing basis and not just when negative canine
> legislation is introduced. An established and adequately funded
organization
> that is active year-round can make the biggest impact with lawmakers by
> communicating with them prior to damaging legislation being introduced.
All
> clubs must now include active involvement in our legislative challenges on
> their agendas.
>
> One of the pillars of our opposition to AB 1634 is that we believe the
best
> weapon in combating irresponsible pet ownership is education. We put those
> words into action every day of the year through dog shows, community
events,
> seminars, brochures and much more. Each September we have a special
> opportunity to demonstrate our incredible strength in numbers and to
> increase our ability to address issues in our local communities by
> participating in AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day. Now in its fifth year,
> this initiative has hundreds of AKC clubs and other like-minded
> organizations holding free public events all over the nation. We call on
all
> California fanciers and clubs to show solidarity by signing up to hold an
> event at: http://www.akc.org/clubs/rdod/index.cfm.
>
> While the events will take place in September, we are currently enrolling
> clubs and will be announcing how many are scheduled to be held statewide
in
> the coming weeks. We hope to be able to use the number of California
events
> as a tangible example of our commitment to public education.
>
> Demonstrating our commitment to public education is critical to defeating
AB
> 1634. I believe we can best accomplish this by having all our "hands" on
> deck to demonstrate our opposition to the bill and the positive effects of
> public education in our local communities.
>
> Sincerely,
> Ron Menaker
> Chairman

It's a tough position to be in. We need and like the AKC because they are a governing body for our sport. The AKC has been under great scrutiny ever since they vehemently backed the proposed PAWS legislation. They are bleeding money and registrations. then they tried the partnership with Petland and got blasted for that.

Recently they have hired more staff in the legislative department, but haven't had as big a presence as some would like to see in the California situation. Plus they haven't actually committed to cancelling or moving the Eukanuba National Dog show in Long Beach and many are mad at that. They are trying to do more but it's a slow process. Keep in mind that they rely on their legislative liaisons from the clubs to alert them to local legislation. I've received notice of introduced legislation from other sources way before the AKC has sent an alert.

I also got this this monring in my inbox about what the AKC legislation department is doing and how the politics work in this game:

The American Kennel Club wishes to address some recent comments that are circulating stating that AKC's opposition to AB 1634 ceased with the adoption of amendments which provide an exemption for dogs traveling to California for competition. These comments are completely without merit.



AKC continues to oppose AB 1634 and our commitment to working to defeat this ill conceived legislation has never wavered. Chairman Ron Menaker and President Dennis Sprung specifically address this issue in their letter to the Appropriations Committee. The full letter is on our website at the link below, but the relevant portions are cited below. http://www.akc. org/pdfs/ canine_legislati on/CA_action_ center/Joint_ Letter_to_ Appropriations_ Committee051807. pdf



We understand that Assemblyman Levine has amended the bill to provide an exemption to residents from other states that travel to California with their intact animals. While we appreciate the practical implications of that exemption, passage of the bill will negatively impact attendance at California dog shows. Show participants do not want to spend money in a state or jurisdiction that has adopted anti-dog or anti-breeding legislation. A perfect example of that occurred at our Kentuckiana Dog Show Cluster this year.



In January of 2007, the Louisville Metro Council adopted a new animal control ordinance that includes severe restrictions on the keeping of intact animals, extreme differential licensing and a requirement that any breeder with more than one intact animal purchase a $300 license. The reaction of the dog fancy was dramatic.



The Kentuckiana Cluster, the largest cluster of dog shows in the United States, is held in Louisville . In 2007, entries in the cluster were down 40% from where they should have been. Additionally, the Louisville Kennel Club conducted a survey of exhibitors and vendors who did attend the show and found that almost 60% of the exhibitors said passage of the ordinance had a negative affect on the show. Seventy-one percent of the exhibitors refused to stay in Jefferson County (thereby denying the county hotel sales tax revenue) and 14 out of 15 vendors at the show said their sales were down and blamed the ordinance. Seventy-five percent of the money spent on the show was intentionally spent outside of Jefferson County. Dog show attendees clearly demonstrated a desire not to provide tax revenue to a county government that so clearly attacked their animals.



Even if California shows experienced only a thirty percent drop, the state and local governments would lose significant tax revenues and local businesses such as hotels, restaurants and shops will lose millions.



As we mentioned in our previous letter, the Long Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau estimates that our AKC/Eukanuba National Championship generated $21.7 million for the local economy. The show is currently scheduled to return to Long Beach in December of 2007 and in 2008, but passage of AB 1634 would make that very difficult, even with an exemption for out-of-state participants.



Additionally, the allegation that AKC ceased lobbying against the bill is patently untrue. AKC's lobbyist has continued to meet with legislators and their staffs over the past few weeks to educate them about the bill and the reasons for AKC's strong opposition.



Since the Appropriations Committee vote in mid-May, the AKC Canine Legislation department has been concentrating efforts on particular members of the legislature who we felt were key to the bill's defeat. We worked directly with their constituents to educate them about the bill. The effectiveness of this strategy is borne out by the fact that the representatives who were targeted were the ones who either voted No on AB 1634 or abstained during the first vote. It then took the author approximately 10 hours on the floor and behind closed doors in the private caucus to convince those members who abstained to change their votes. It is truly rare for that many members of the majority party to vote No on a bill sponsored by a majority party member . The fact that the bare minimum of votes needed for passage is all that was provided should be viewed as a reflection of our hard work and effectiveness.



The American Kennel Club will continue in its unwavering effort to oppose AB 1634 as it moves forward in the legislative process. For updates about the bill's status, sample letters, talking points and flyers please visit our California Action Center at http://www.akc. org/canine_ legislation/ CA_action_ center.cfm.

And one more:

AKC Delegate Body Passes Resolution Opposing CA AB 1634
Posted : Wed, 13 Jun 2007 20:22:00 GMT
Author : American Kennel Club
Category : PressRelease
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NEW YORK, June 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A resolution proposed by the
American Kennel Club(R) Board of Directors opposing California Assembly Bill
1634 was unanimously adopted by the AKC(R) Delegate Body at its quarterly
meeting, held Monday, June 11, 2007, in Las Vegas. The bill would require
all dogs and cats over the age of four months to be spayed or neutered
unless the owners qualify for and obtain an intact animal permit. The AKC
Delegates, who represent 599 member clubs out of the nearly 5,000 AKC
affiliated clubs nationwide (more than 460 of them in California), issued
the following resolution on Monday in response to proposed Assembly Bill 1634:
"Be it resolved that the Delegates of the American Kennel Club declare that
the enactment of AB1634 in the State of California would 1) be detrimental
to the sport of purebred dogs; 2) fail to achieve the humane results it
purports to espouse; and 3) cost the State of California and its communities
tens of millions of dollars in lost revenues.
"Be it further resolved that the Delegates of the American Kennel Club urge
the Governor, the Senate and the Assembly of the State of California to
defeat AB1634."
"This resolution represents our steadfast opposition to this bill and any
others which unfairly target the responsible breeders that make up our
constituency," said AKC President and CEO Dennis Sprung. "We are deeply
concerned about the problems irresponsible dog owners, irresponsible
breeding, and inadequate animal control can cause a community; however,
mandatory spaying and neutering has proven to be an ineffective solution
because it fails to address the heart of the issue -- irresponsible
ownership. The AKC and its clubs support non-discriminatory, fair, effective
and enforceable legislation that addresses the pertinent animal issues in
the community. "
The American Kennel Club, founded in 1884, is a not-for-profit organization
which maintains the largest registry of purebred dogs in the world and
oversees the sport of purebred dogs in the United States. The AKC is
dedicated to upholding the integrity of its registry, promoting the sport of
purebred dogs and breeding for type and function. Along with its nearly
5,000 licensed and member clubs and its affiliated organizations, the AKC
advocates for the purebred dog as a family companion, advances canine health
and well- being, works to protect the rights of all dog owners and promotes
responsible dog ownership. More than 20,000 competitions for AKC-registered
purebred dogs are held under AKC rules and regulations each year including
conformation, agility, obedience, rally, tracking, herding, lure coursing,
coonhound events, hunt tests, field and earthdog tests. Affiliate AKC
organizations include the AKC Canine Health Foundation, AKC Companion Animal
Recovery and the AKC Museum of the Dog. For more information, visit
http://www.akc.org/.
AKC, American Kennel Club, the American Kennel Club seal and design, and all
associated marks and logos are trademarks, registered trademarks and service
marks of The American Kennel Club, Inc.
CONTACT: Daisy Okas of American Kennel Club, +1-212-696-8343 American Kennel
Club
CONTACT: Daisy Okas of American Kennel Club, +1-212-696-8343
Web site: http://www.akc.org/