HSUS Lobby Day info - March 12, 2019

This year's HSUS Lobby Day in TN will be held on March 12 in Nashville, TN.

As the District Leader from TN Congressional District 3, I will be attending with a small constituency from Chattanooga, along with my District Leader counterparts from all over the state.

The focus of this year's Lobby Day is to talk to our representatives about the Petland bill, H. B. 281.
This bill would take away the right of local governments to set standards for stores that sell puppies.

This bill protects Petland over other businesses, and would serve to allow them to continue their outdated business model. Similar bills have already been defeated in 2018, in every state where Petland attempted to gain favor-GA, FL, and MI.

Petland will have paid lobbyists in Nashville tomorrow.

Petland's issues are well-documented online. They sell sick puppies from well-known puppy mills. Outbreaks of Campylobacter, an antibiotic resistant infection, have occurred among people who bought puppies from Petland.

One of my primary concerns in going to speak on this issue is that while the local governments would no longer have any jurisdiction over the animals in Petland stores (read: our local animal control cannot check on these animals or respond to public complaints of neglect in the stores), it would be the burden of these same local government officials (shelters and animal control officers) to clean up the mess of their over-population, sick puppies, and potentially euthanizing excess animals.

Regulating pet stores is key in managing these issues.

The most profitable stores in the nation do not sell puppies. 

Stores selling poorly cared for puppies that originated in questionable conditions is an outdated model. Petco and Petsmart and many local, independent pet care stores hold adoption events and support their local shelters. They support rescue and offer space to help facilitate adoptions from those rescues.

Another point to consider is that responsible dog breeder clubs conclude that selling animals via stores is inhumane, and include a statement forbidding it in their own code of ethics.

Humane legislation is bipartisan. 

So, my first greeting on Lobby Day will be, "Hello, I am Mary Marr, one of your constituents, and I am here today to ask you to vote NO on the Petland bill. The number is HB 281."

If you would like to read the exact text of the entire bill: http://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default.aspx?BillNumber=HB0281

Petland Hires Consulting Veterinarian

Only two comments so far, both negative. Their reputation for sick puppies precedes them.

https://www.veterinarypracticenews.com/petland-retail-franchise-hires-consulting-veterinarian/?en_click=1&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=news

HSUS Takes Action to Challenge USDA's Removal of Abuse Records

We were so close to having our horse soring rules come to fruition, then last week a 'freeze' came out from the government, stating that all new rules would be reviewed first. A terrible blow to so many who have worked so hard to get this passed. Then, later in the week, word came out that the USDA (our partner in the recent horse soring campaign) had removed all records pertaining to animal welfare from their website. Needless to say, this has caused an uproar in our humane education and animal activism community.

I'm coming to the conclusion that we need to decide as a nation if we care about humane legislation or not. Why does it take years upon years, and then ridiculous setbacks, to simply create a society that doesn't abuse the most vulnerable? This is a terrible heartbreak for me and many others.

Do you feel the same? Please read on for ways to help.

HSUS Puppy Mill image

Today the HSUS sent a strongly worded notice to the USDA per their taking down all abuse records from their site last week.The notice outlines the ways in which the USDA's actions are in violation of our prior agreement. You can read the full notice here in PDF form (from the HSUS blog):

http://blog.humanesociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/2017-02-06-Notice-of-Violation_HSUS-v-USDA-No.-15-0197.pdf

Please share the link to the notice and help us keep the pressure up for these records to be returned to the public's view.

We also have a blog post that outlines the impact of these actions in easy to understand points:


http://blog.humanesociety.org/wayne/2017/02/hsus-challenges-usda-mass-removal-animal-welfare-records.html?credit=blog_post_020617_id8766

IF you are looking for ways to help, please sign the petition mentioned in the post and share these details with your network.

The petition link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/304/134/376/

I would like to publicly thank Laura J. Fox, counsel for HSUS, and also Kimberly D. Ockene, Senior Attorney for HSUS, for writing the notice and keeping us informed throughout the process. We have the best of the best taking this on, but we need support from citizens and animal activists.

To keep up with this situation, follow the HSUS on all social media. In addition to Wayne's blog linked above, you can find our TN Puppy Mill Awareness Task Force on Facebook.

Thank you. Any comments or feedback welcome, please post below.

Humane Lobby Day 2017

Met with our 26th district House Representative yesterday, Gerald McCormick, to ask for his support on this year's HSUS focus bill in TN: the commercial breeder act, a.k.a. the puppy mill bill.

We appreciate his taking the time to listen, ask questions, and support our efforts to make TN a more humane state!

P.S. I'm in the market for a good selfie-stick!

L-R:  The Honorable Gerald McCormick (TN), Maryann Davis, Mary Bowman, Mary Marr

In case you're unaware, there are currently unlicensed breeders in TN who are able to breed and sell puppies without any type of regulations. They get as little care as the breeder cares to provide and the breeder makes the money without paying taxes. This situation is wrong for the animal and also wrong for the unsuspecting consumer, who may be paying top dollar for a dog that may soon show signs of illness from unscrupulous breeding.

If you 'wish' someone would do something for these pets, comment below and I'll help you get started! There's things you can do from home, or out in the community, all you have to do is get started!

Legislating Better Conditions for Companion Animals Kept for Breeding

This morning I sent a "Letter to the Editor" of  The Chattanooga Times Free Press as follows below. I also sent the same letter to nooga.com, another local news outlet. 

I will keep you informed of any responses. As always, your comments  and questions are welcomed! 

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For the past two years I’ve attended Lobby Day in Nashville, meeting with politicians just as they are about to vote on various bills pertaining to commercial breeding facilities, commonly known as puppy mills. Perhaps you’ve seen photos of the conditions these breeding dogs and their offspring are kept in: either dark warehouses or outside in the elements, dirty wire cages, empty bowls, and no human contact most of their lives. Advocates have been trying to change their situation for some time now, through legal channels that would include requiring veterinary care, licensing of facilities, and basic standards of care and hygiene. Keep in mind, these dogs are not considered pets, they are kept alive solely for the purpose of breeding for money, and so their welfare must be regulated if our great state is to ever improve conditions for them.

I believe that humane education is the key to change for these companion animals. In communities where these conditions are brought into the light, the public outcry leads to healthier conditions for both the breeding animals and the puppies they sell. This year our state’s legislative session ended without passage of legislation to regulate commercial breeding facilities and help stop this cruelty. It’s past time for our elected officials to regulate these mills, and for the public to speak up and demand it.

TN Puppy Mill Awareness Task Force

My original post title was: Does the Thought of Fighting Puppy Mills Make You Feel Overwhelmed?

One of the reasons I blog about my animal welfare activities is that I hope to show how easy it is to find your niche. I know that not everyone is going to go to the shelter, or foster a dog, or give cash, or bottle feed tiny baby kittens. Meow.

But, I have good news! There's lots of ways you can become involved and be part of a movement in our society which is finally coming around to the idea of a more humane world.

In this little part of the world known as Tennessee there is a small but growing group of voices calling to end puppy mills in our state. There's literally NO excuse for the conditions these dogs find themselves in day after day, year after year. Breeding a dog over and over, without access to what a typical person would call humane conditions, should be and will be illegal. We can all be part of this reform by educating ourselves, and taking simple actions. One day it might be making a 1 minute phone call, another day it might be writing an email to a politician's office or the newspaper editor.

You can do this!

I was invited this week to join the TN Puppy Mill Awareness Task Force, which is the new initiative led by HSUS' Eric Swafford. He's already invited folks from across TN to join his FB page and become part of the process. You can join also, just by emailing him directly, telling him you want to be part of the task force and he'll share ideas and links with you: eswafford@humanesociety.org He's a great resource!

IF you do send him an email, let me know in the comments below. Feel free to also state why you joined, or what questions you have about puppy mills.