A problematic bill that would be detrimental to the rights of animal owners has overwhelmingly passed the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and been assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee. This bill could force owners to permanently relinquish their animals when they are accused of cruelty, regardless of whether the charges are ultimately dismissed. Read AKC’s previous Legislative Alert for more information on House Bill 2409.
Responsible dog owners in Pennsylvania are strongly urged to contact both the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and their State Senator, and ask them to not support House Bill 2409 as currently written.
Please tell everyone you know in PA (breeders, puppy buyers, dog owners)to contact their legislators before it is too late!!!!
This should be of concern to PA animal owners.... dogs, cats AND horses.
Read the Bill... no where did I read that the Defendant had to have in fact been found guilty for the court to order the transfer of animals (as in transferring ownership). Actually, on one of the horse forums, following a seizure in Nevada where ownership was granted to a horse rescue BEFORE the owner was formally charged or found guilty. If you're up for some reading (be prepared, 208 pages to the thread so far... you don't need to be a member of that forum to read):
Here's the Bill:
http://legiscan.com/gaits/text/665466
And quoted from the Bill:
"Nothing in this act shall apply to animals used for activities undertaken in a normal agricultural operation."
So is this a loop hole for the commercial and/or puppy mill operators since PA dog law falls under regulations of the PA Dept. of Ag and they could be considered an "agricultural operation"? Yet the non-commercial hobby breeder and average pet owner would be subject to this Bill.
For now, this Bill is dead. Since it would have affected horse owners as well, I wrote the PA Equine Council. Here is the reply I just received:
"Thank you for your e-mail concerning House Bill 2409. Please understand that this is a Pennsylvania House of Representatives bill and Senators Casey and Toomey have no influence over it. The bill provides for actions for cost of care for seized animals and not cruelty charges or transfer. That is addressed in another statute. You make a good point that it should be clear that a petition for costs be predicated on a guilty verdict.
Although this bill passed the House, it was not offered for a vote in the Senate. This two year session is over and you will be pleased to know that, therefore, this bill is dead. If it, or one like it, is introduced next year, it will have to go through the process again. If you are interested in any Pennsylvania State legislation, you can research a bill by going to this web site - http://www.legis.state.pa.us .
We hope this information is helpful and please don’t hesitate to contact us. We truly appreciate input from out members.
Sincerely,
PEC Legislation Committee"
