From NoPitBullBans.com
Louisville Metro Council Passes Ordinance Unfairly Targeting Quality Breeders
December 21, 2006 at 9:34 pm · Filed under Mandatory Spay/Neuter
While the original breed-specific ordinance before the Louisville Metro Council, which would’ve severely strictured “pitbulls” (defined as several bully and Mastiff breeds), didn’t pass, a provision in the ordinance penalizing breeders did pass. As this article in the Courier-Journal shows, a back-door mandatory spay/neuter ordinance was passed by the Louisville Metro Council yesterday. I say “back-door” mandatory spay/neuter because that’s exactly what legislating an unaltered dog license does. It forces good breeders to stop breeding and to eventually spay/neuter their dogs since they cannot afford the exorbitant licensure fees. And it’s a penalty that only responsible breeders will be forced to pay since backyard breeders will ignore and have ignored such ordinances. Worse, mandatory unaltered dog licensure violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment because such a measure targets all breeders for what only backyard breeders do. As such, the only breeders left will be the backyard breeders who produce what is often characterized as specimens not conforming to breed standards, thus potentially perpetuating the very problems the ordinance claims to be eradicating.
But the worst part about the original very severe Louisville ordinance and the final ordinance that passed, which was a dilute version of its original, is what went on in the shadows to get the original proposed and the final ordinance passed, and just what that portends. The original ordinance brazenly targeted other breeds of dog besides just the usual big three: American Pit Bull Terriers, American Staffordshire Terriers, and Staffordshire Bull Terriers. But the ordinance which passed targeted all dog breeds for mandatory unaltered dog licensure which is tantamount to a fine on the law-abiding since again backyard breeders will not comply to the ordinance and will continue to backyard breed, as they always have, and responsible breeders will be forced to pay the penalty amount per dog to responsibly breed quality breed specimens. Hmm, I wonder who could be behind such a measure? Could it be the animal rights groups who have openly stated that their agenda is to eradicate all animal domestication (including the farm animals we rely on for food).
So when people ask me what it means when animal rights groups spend millions of dollars each year lobbying and contributing to politicians’ campaign funds, this is what it means: Lobbying special interests and political favor-trading are behind all this breed-specific legislation (BSL) and mandatory spay/neuter/microchipping. This is also what we mean when we say that BSL and mandatory spay/neuter/microchip laws are a result of shady, back-room deals which wholly negate democracy since thousands of constituents typically write their council person or state legislator and ask them NOT to pass BSL and mandatory spay/neuter/microchip laws. The animal rights lobby, and other special interest lobbies like them, have hijacked democracy with votes now going to the highest bidder, the Louisville Metro Council being only the most recent example of such policking. And as ever, favors are traded behind the scenes, yes, even on the local level, and the constituency seldom has any idea that their representatives are not representing them but rather the lobbyist who can contribute the most to their campaigns or maneuver a councilman, just as an example, into the council presidency.
Perhaps the original ordinance was meant to be unacceptably severe so that when the breed-specific section of the ordinance was taken off the table, dog fanciers would sigh with relief at their specific breeds not being targeted and would more easily accept breeding strictures. Who knows? Breeding strictures could quite possibly have been the original intent of those behind the Louisville ordinance in the first place. So here is a caveat to all those who are relieved when specific breeds are not targeted: Such an ordinance, and the mechanization by which it came about, foreshadows a further barrage of legislation that doesn’t just target one breed or even a handful of breeds, but your right to own and/or breed domestic animals at all, and indeed your right to your property and your privacy.
For more information check out the AKC update on Louisville here and call or write your respectful e-mails to Louisville Mayor Abramson at the following address/phone number:
Mayor Jerry Abramson
Phone: 502.574.2003
Email: mayor@louisvilleky.gov
See Louisville AKC Website for more info
