California Governor Brown signs wildlife-friendly SB 1221 and pet-friendly SB 1229 into law

California Governor Brown signs wildlife-friendly SB 1221 and pet-friendly SB 1229 into law

September 28, 2012 – By Francis Battista – ( 6 Comments )

It’s been a good few days for the animals in Sacramento, California, this week. Governor Jerry Brown has signed two important pieces of animal-friendly legislation, which Best Friends supports, into law. Many thanks to our members and friends in the Golden State who responded to our Action Alerts on these bills and helped to move them through the various stages of the legislative process.

The first, Senate Bill 1221, which ends the routine practice of using packs of dogs to hunt big game, was introduced by State Senator Ted Lieu.

Hounding, as the practice of chasing game with radio-collared dogs is known, has been used in California primarily to hunt bears and bobcats. It is a cruel activity that employs the dogs’ natural chase instincts to terrify and exhaust the target animal who finally seeks escape by climbing a tree. The barking dogs surround the tree, and the hunter just follows the sound of the dogs or the collar-radio signal transmission to the location of the tree and takes an easy kill shot from below.

Not only is hounding unconscionably cruel to wildlife, the dogs are themselves victims. Many are injured through encounters with predators, and some literally run themselves to death from exhaustion and dehydration. Others become lost, and almost all of them end up in shelters or otherwise disposed of when their useful hunting life of just a few years is over. Likewise, many dogs from backyard breeders and mills who don’t make the cut as hunters land in the pound as hard-to-adopt-out young adults with few social skills, obsessive barking behavior, and a predilection to take off in pursuit of any interesting scent that wafts by.

On another front, Senate Bill 1229, introduced by State Senator Fran Pavley, makes it illegal for a landlord to require that cats be declawed or dogs be debarked as a condition of renter tenancy. Both declawing and debarking involve painful surgical mutilation of the animal that inhibits natural behavior and causes numerous undesirable side effects that often result in the declawed or debarked animal being surrendered to a shelter.

SB 1221 and SB 1229 are wins for the animals, wild and domestic, so cheers for Senators Lieu and Pavley, Governor Brown, and the many individuals and organizations who advocated for their passage and worked hard to see them become law. And, of course, cheers to you for making your voice heard in Sacramento.

Francis Battista

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Tags: animal welfare, Best Friends Animal Society, Best Friends blog, Francis Battista, Legislation

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  Jean
  
  
  
  

  
  

  This wonderful news. Thank you to the Senators, and to Governor Brown.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  Anonymous
  
  
  
  

  
  

  More good news. Thanks.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  Dr. Cartel
  
  
  
  

  
  

  Dear Francis,
  Nice work. Is Utah in your “sights” as the next “big game?”
  Best Wishes, Dr. Cartel

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  wigopa
  
  
  
  

  
  

  I am not sure that you got your facts right about SB 1221 as a hounds woman I have hunted for sometime now, and California does not allow radio collars or as you call it packs of dogs. GPS was already not a option when this was put on the table, as well as you could only use one dog per bear tag, which means it is one dog per bear or 4 dogs per people in a group. As for it being cruel researchers such as National Geographic, Animal Planet and others who track life cycles and such of large predators use this tactic in the states with the only exception being big game predators of Africa. I find your excitement about this upsetting. The bill also states that any “hound” which could be your Lab, Golden, or any other type of dog could end up being shot, while you are out hiking, camping or anything else in the woods and a bear or bobcat gets to close and they decide to chase it. The game warden has the right to shoot on site and you will be notified in 72 hours with a payment that must be made to the state of $ 40,000. You tell me who is going to loose. In the bill it also says that the government officials can use hounds to do the same thing this forbids. So why the two way street? Re-read the bill it applies to all dogs and people.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  bob nelson
  
  
  
  

  
  

  The deer herds in california are at a all time low and that is from the top predator the mountain lion. Now the two more predators are on the list. Without hounds your chances of getting a bear or bobcat are very slim. Now all wildlife populations are in jeapordy due to political morons that know nothing about wildlife management. Look on you tube shark finning Ted lieu supports this. You talk about cruel they cut the fins off and throw the shark overboard to die a slow death.

  
  

  
  
  
  


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  http://twitter.com/fallcoon Jerry Faulk
  
  
  
  

  
  

  I love how people who live in the urban ares are telling the rural people how the can live. With all the problems California has this is what our lawmakers want to hang their hat on .Pretty sad.