Urgent Petition: Don’t Repeal Hayden!

Simplicius | Wikimedia Commons

Source: Stars Give Back | Source: Stray Cat Alliance

Animal activists Ken Wahl and wife Shane Barbi, along with sister, Sia Barbi, are spokespersons for Stray Cat Alliance (SCA) – and are against the Hayden Law Repeal.

To cut the state budget, Governor Jerry Brown wants to revoke the Hayden Law for shelter pets in California, which currently gives 4-6 days to allow owners to find their lost pets, and to help injured animals receive donated medical attention, or to be available for a fostering or adoption opportunity.

1. Sign the petition, urging Gov. Jerry Brown to reconsider the Hayden Law Repeal.

2. Contact the following officials asking they do NOT repeal the Animal Adoption Mandate (Sample Letter below):

3. FAX your letter of opposition  (916) 558-3177


4. EMAIL the governor’s office at http://gov.ca.gov/m_contact.php (choose BUDGET as subject). LESS EFFECTIVE THAN A CALL OR FAX OR HANDWRITTEN LETTER


5. Click HERE  for access to free faxing from your computer.  No fax machine, registering, or credit card required.  Be sure to click the fax confirmation link in your email so your fax delivery will succeed.

PLEASE share this petition far and wide and send a CLEAR AND LOUD MESSAGE to Sacramento that Californians demand more, not fewer, protections for their shelter animals.

You may find your representative’s contact information at this link: http://www.legislature.ca.gov/legislators_and_districts/legislators/your_legislator.html


SAMPLE LETTER

VIA FAX (916) 558-3177 and U.S. MAIL: Click HERE  for access to free faxing from your computer.  No fax machine, registering, or credit card required.  Be sure to click the fax confirmation link in your email so your fax delivery will succeed.

The Honorable Governor Jerry Brown
State Capitol, Suite 1173
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: Proposed Repeal of Provisions of the Hayden Law, Governing Animal Shelters

Dear Governor Brown:

I write in strong opposition to your proposed repeal of certain provisions of California’s Hayden Law, which provide modest protections to California shelter animals. At a time when other states in the United States are enacting legislation to advance the protection of animals in shelters, California should not be stepping backwards by repealing such legislation.

While I understand that the provisions that are subject to repeal as part of your budget proposal have been suspended since 2009, there is a distinct difference between limited suspension and repeal. With repeal, the provisions will be completely removed from our laws, thereby forever denying shelter animals the chance to share in the future economic recovery of our state. With limited suspension, you achieve the same fiscal savings yet preserve the ability of shelter animals to share in the economic recovery of California that is within our grasp, as you stated most recently in your State of the State speech.

What is at risk in the proposed repeal? Permanent loss of the requirement to provide prompt and necessary veterinary care. Permanent loss of the requirement to hold animals for an extended period to increase opportunities for redemption and adoption. Permanent loss of the requirement to post lost and found lists. And, among other things, permanent loss of the requirement to provide care for animals other than cats and dogs, such as rabbits, hamsters, and other animals commonly kept as pets.

In your Budget Summary, you offer as rationale for the proposed repeal the premise that many of the activities required by these mandates have become “common practice and should not be mandated by the state.” As visitors to most animal shelters in California will tell you, nothing could be further from the truth. Moreover, even if many shelters have adopted Hayden Law principles, many have not. Just as we retain laws against murder even though few people commit murder, we need to retain the Hayden Law even if it is a minority of shelters that ignore principles of basic decency toward animals. As it is, is not possible to contend with any credibility that there has been a complete paradigm shift in animal sheltering in California. Animals continue to die in cages from untreated illness. Basic acts of kindness, such as providing donated blankets to animals in hard, concrete kennels or in extremely cold weather, are routinely and deliberately denied.

The public policy preference of California continues to be favoring life over death, and thus the adoption, rather than killing, of shelter animals. Let our laws continue to reflect this will of the People – do not repeal any provision of the Hayden Law.

Thank you for your consideration and your compassion. If possible, please provide me with a reply outlining your position on this issue.

Very truly yours,

[Name]

cc: [Names of local representatives]

please protect our strays
who did not ask for this fate
find love in your hearts
and lost the hate

Karen Lyons Kalmenson