Ear Cropping A Deliberate ‘Catch 22’ Pennsylvania - Page 1

The Sleazy Side Of New PA Animal Cruelty Legislation
Ear Cropping A Deliberate ‘Catch 22’

by JOHN YATES
American Sporting Dog Alliance
http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org

HARRISBURG, PA – Animal cruelty legislation sponsored by Rep. Thomas Caltagirone (D – Bucks County) attaches bans or partial bans on tail docking, caesarian sections and surgical “debarking” to an existing law about ear cropping. It also would empower dog wardens to enforce those provisions of the law in some places.

When viewed in context, there is nothing accidental about this combination. It is a thinly veiled, unprincipled and dishonest attempt to close down many Pennsylvania kennels and cite many law-abiding dog owners for purely technical “violations” of the animal cruelty law.

It is political sleaze, pure and simple.

Ears traditionally are cropped on dogs of several popular breeds, including boxers, great Danes, doberman pinschers, miniature pinschers, schnauzers, bouviers des Flandres, and American Staffordshire terriers.

The issue of ear cropping is inherently controversial, as is all elective cosmetic surgery on animals or humans.

However, we categorically oppose the way the law is written to create a series of “Catch 22” situations that would expose thousands of Pennsylvanians and visitors to our state to devastating animal cruelty charges even when they follow the law to the letter. Animal cruelty is a very serious criminal offense, and a conviction even for a purely technical violation results in a lifetime prohibition against holding a kennel license.

The way the law is written also is a de facto ban on adopting a dog with cropped ears from an animal shelter or rescue program, as veterinary proof usually cannot be obtained for dogs of unknown origin. Hundreds if not thousands of innocent dogs will face euthanasia if this law is enforced.

Thus, the American Sporting Dog Alliance is calling for the repeal of the section of the animal cruelty law dealing with ear cropping, and the scrapping of the Caltagirone amendments.

Our problem with both the law and the legislation is that anyone who owns or is in possession of a dog with cropped ears has only two ways to be protected against being charged with animal cruelty. He or she must either have a certificate from a veterinarian, or have an official certificate from a county treasurer affirming that the work was done prior to the law’s enactment. The ear cropping amendment was enacted in May, 2001, according to the Humane Society of Lebanon County website.

Thus, for any dog born after May, 2001, a veterinarian’s certificate is the only acceptable defense against animal cruelty.

For many people who own a dog with cropped ears, those requirements represent a “Catch 22” because they have no way to prove that they did not break the law. The burden of proof is on the dog’s owner, and not on the state, which is constitutionally required.

In many cases, a dog’s owner has no idea who cropped the animal’s ears. The fact that the dog’s owner did not do it or authorize someone else to do it is not a defense against animal cruelty in the law. The dog’s owner is required to prove what he or she cannot prove.

This provision will directly affect anyone who acquires an older dog with cropped ears, buys a puppy from an out-of-state kennel, or who obtained a puppy in the past and no longer is able to contact the breeder to provide proof.

This provision also will affect almost every dog with cropped ears that finds an owner through an ani

This provision also will affect almost every dog with cropped ears that finds an owner through an animal shelter or rescue program, as few if any of these dogs will come with a veterinarian’s certificate or a county treasurer’s affidavit. In fact, the way the law is written makes it illegal for a shelter or rescue group to even possess or take in a dog with cropped ears, in the absence of proof.

The law will make these dogs “unadoptable,” which translates into a death sentence.

The current law actually would require the shelter or rescue group to be cited for animal cruelty for not having these acceptable proofs for dogs in their possession, as these groups are not exempted from the law.

If the law is enforced “by the book,” we can see no alternative for a shelter or rescue group to escape prosecution except to immediately turn away or euthanize any dog with cropped ears, if proof is not available. Humane Society animal cruelty police officers could file animal cruelty charges if they do otherwise.

Even private citizens could file criminal or civil charges against a shelter or rescue group before a magistrate (this is permissible in Pennsylvania).

Also, if the Caltagirone legislation passes, dog wardens could file charges and revoke a shelter or rescue program’s kennel license. Unlike Humane Society police officers, state dog wardens do not need a search warrant to inspect a kennel or a privately owned dog.

If enforcement is not done “by the book,” or if the law is applied unequally to different parties, the result would be a mockery of justice and the destruction of the credibility of Pennsylvania animal cruelty laws.

The Caltagirone legislation would expose every licensed kennel owner - and also every dog owner – who raises, owns, breeds, trains or boards dogs that have cropped ears to prosecution by dog wardens during kennel inspections or routine spot checks to see if privately owned dogs are licensed and vaccinated against rabies. Wardens do thousands of these spot checks every year.

If the current law is enforced as it is written, it also would mean that people who move here from out of state, people who are passing through Pennsylvania with their dogs, and people who come to Pennsylvania to compete in dog shows or other events would be subject to animal cruelty prosecution.

These people cannot comply with the law, and many of them have no way to even know that the law exists if they are not Pennsylvania residents.

It would have an especially detrimental impact on dog shows, obedience events and other kinds of canine events, which annually draw thousands of nonresidents to Pennsylvania. No one who owns a dog with cropped ears would knowingly attend an event in Pennsylvania if there is a possibility that they would be cited for animal cruelty for something that is completely legal in their state of residence, or simply because they cannot provide proof of their innocence.

This has the potential to cause many economic losses to Pennsylvanians, as dog events are important to gas stations, restaurants, motels and other businesses in the state.

Please contact Rep. Caltagirone as soon as possible to express your opinion about this legislation. Here is a link for contact information: http://www.pahouse.com/caltagirone .

It is urgent to contact members of the Judiciary Committee, which can block this legislation. Here is a list of committee members and officers (click on their names to locate contact information): http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...ives_sc.c

It is urgent to contact members of the Judiciary Committee, which can block this legislation. Here is a list of committee members and officers (click on their names to locate contact information): http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...ives_sc.cfm#24 .

Also, please contact the reported cosponsors of the legislation. They are Reps. Bennington, Biancucci, Buxton, Capelli, Carrol, Cassorio, Conklin, Dally, DiGirolamo, Fabrizio, Frankel, Goodman, Hanna, Harhai, Harkins, Josephs, Kortz, Leech, Lentz, Maher, Mahoney, Marshall, McIlvaine-Smith, Mench, Moyer, Mustio, Nailor, M. O’Brien, Pashinski, Payne, Preston, Rubley, Santoni, Scavello, Shimkus, M. Smith, Solobay, Swanger, True, Watson and Youngblood. This link provides email addresses for each of these legislators: http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...ist.cfm?body=H .

The American Sporting Dog Alliance represents owners, hobby breeders and professionals who work with breeds of dogs that are used for hunting. We are a grassroots movement working to protect the rights of dog owners, and to assure that the traditional relationships between dogs and humans maintains its rightful place in American society and life. Please visit us on the web at http://www.americansportingdogalliance.org. We also need your help so that we can continue to work to protect the rights of dog owners. Your membership, participation and support are truly essential to the success of our mission. We are funded solely by the donations of our members, and maintain strict independence.

 WTF!!! Thats nuts!!