PetPAC Leads Fight to Oppose AB 1634, Mandatory Pet Sterilization Bill
Author Levine Attempts to Revive Defeated Bill
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PetPAC, a grassroots organization of
pet owners, today announced opposition to California Assembly Bill 1634
following an announcement by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine that he will once
again attempt to pass the mandatory pet sterilization measure in 2008.
"AB 1634 failed because proponents deceived state legislators, mislead the
public, and betrayed well-intentioned supporters through their use of
misinformation, phony statistics and emotional manipulation," said Bill
Hemby, Chairman of PetPAC.
"AB 1634 will create a convoluted maze of government permits, hefty fees and
punitive fines that will not save the state money or save animals' lives. It
will, however, take scarce funds from caring for animals to pay for an
overreaching bureaucracy that will be expensive to administer, impossible to
enforce, and is guaranteed to fail."
Desperate to find a new hook to promote AB 1634, author Lloyd Levine has
pounced on the State's expected budget deficit to repeat financial
statistics that were clearly proven false in the Senate committee hearing
where the bill was defeated last July.
Testimony heard in the Senate Local Government Committee proved that after
Santa Cruz County enacted a similar mandatory spay/neuter law in 1995,
animal control expenses have more than doubled - up 109% - and shelter
intakes have dropped less than the statewide average.
PetPAC believes that the decision to perform a serious surgical procedure on
a family pet should be a choice made by pet owners in consultation with
their veterinarians - not dictated by a one-size-fits-all statewide mandate
overseen by a government bureaucracy. The California Veterinary Medical
Association came to the same conclusion, and reversed their support for AB
1634 earlier this year.
