sutton078

Courtesy Google images In my capacity as both your spcaLA President and as chair of the State Humane Association of California legislative committee, it has been my responsibility to draft, study, support, oppose, testify, and ponder new or amended legislation affecting the welfare of animals. As many of you know it can be a very taxing, confrontational and contentious business. That said, when all involved behave professionally, with integrity and without personal animus – a lot gets accomplished and our constituency benefits. Unfortunately, that is not always the case and it is very disappointing to see members of our animal welfare community conduct themselves in a sub-standard manner. It is common for  exogenous parties, out of state organizations, lobbyists, and public relations operatives with no knowledge of local laws or the industry to place bills with attractive and important captions before the legislators and the public, which, if read carefully, actually say something ...

I have been inside more "hoarding houses" than anyone should ever have to. They are scary, dark, smelly and exude anguish, sorrow and hostility. Junk is piled from floor to ceiling, and, if animals are also hoarded, covered in poop, pee, puss and puke. Dead animals lie in the debris mixed with live pets that are starving, sick and suffering. A "true" hoarder considers this a loving environment and neither seeks nor accepts intervention willingly. They often attack. Though the A&E Network series has generated awareness of this phenomenon which spans all socioeconomic classes, it has made the problem "cool". Cat lady action figures, board games, art projects and clothing have all populated the market place and people feel comfortable referring to themselves as 'hoarders" if they have a lot of shoes. It should not ever be "in" or "hip" to be a hoarder. Ironically, "true" hoarders think they are fine and become insult...

Courtesy Google Images It doesn't matter if you think an animal is a nuisance or a pet,  gratuitously injuring or killing her is a crime in California. Jose Chavez,  took a wooden stick to a fence outside his apartment where a mother opossum and her babies lay.   Chavez then struck the mom in the head, knocking her from the fence.  She attempted to escape, but Chavez took her, with babies attached to her, to and beat her until he killed her. Then, Chavez placed the dead mom and her live babies in a plastic bag and put them into a dumpster. Your spcaLA Humane Officers investigated after which Chavez was charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty where he ultimately struck a plea bargain. It doesn't matter that some animals may be characterized as nuisances, used for food, displayed in circuses or scare you for no reason. It does matter that they be treated humanely. It is simply shameful, particularly, as in this case the opossum was scared, protective of her litter...

Assembly Bill 2140 entitled the "Orca Welfare and Safety Act",  introduced by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, would ban holding whales captive in California for entertainment purposes, would create an orca retirement program and ban captive breeding programs among other things.  It is absolutely unacceptable that we, enlightened denizens of the 21st century should tolerate exploiting animals for entertainment purposes. Sticking a whale in a tank for his or her lifetime away from his or her social group, and sentenced to swim in circles and perform tricks is simply awful and certainly not the lesson we want to teach children. Are we mentoring respect for our animals and environment or are we teaching children how to be cruel and exploitative of our planet. SeaWorld is, of course, fighting to defeat this bill. Please locate and contact your representatives , urge them to support AB 2140 and spread the word!