VA: Virginia: HB 281 amended to prohibit breed-based shelter euthanasia

[Vicki]

Virginia: HB 281 amended to prohibit breed-based shelter euthanasia
Posted on April 15, 2010 by www.stopbsl.com

HB 281 is almost ready for the governor’s signature. HB 281 summary and tracking page: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?ses=101&typ=bil&val=hb281&Submit2=Go

http://augustafreepress.com/2010/04/14/mcdonnell-amends-bill-on-breed-based-euthanasia-in-shelters/

McDonnell amends bill on breed-based euthanasia in shelters

Edited by Chris Graham
freepress2@ntelos.net
April 14, 2010 by afp

Gov. Bob McDonnell has amended a bill passed by the General Assembly to insert a prohibition banning breed-based killing of dogs in the Commonwealth.

McDonnell, as attorney general, issued in 2006 a formal opinion that public animal shelters could not euthanize dogs based solely on breed. A bill introduced this session to codify McDonnell’s opinion into state law, HB 429 patroned by House Majority Leader Morgan Griffith was narrowly defeated in the House Agriculture Subcommittee.

During the bill-review period the governor decided to take the language of Griffith’s bill and insert it as an amendment to HB 281, patroned by Delegate Dave Albo (R-Springfield), which was a successful bill increasing the penalties for animal cruelty in Virginia.

The Governor’s amendment will add the following language: “No pound may euthanize, or prohibit the adoption of, any dog based solely on breed…”

“No dog should be euthanized solely because of their breed,” McDonnell said today. “As attorney general I issued an opinion that this practice was not legal under Virginia law. However, there have continued to be questions regarding this matter. Therefore it is important that legislation be passed making it the clear law of the Commonwealth that no dog can be euthanized solely because of their breed. This is a humane amendment, and I urge the members of the General Assembly to accept it when they return next Wednesday.”

“The Virginia Federation of Humane Societies supports efforts to eliminate breed discrimination,” said Virginia Kilmer, president of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies. “If enacted into law, the amendment to HB 281 will compel the few remaining public shelters that kill solely because of breed to end the euthanasia of otherwise healthy, happy and completely adoptable animals and truly change the future for all sheltered animals in Virginia.”

Other groups that have publicly supported this measure are The Virginia Animal Control Association, the Virginia Dog Breeders Association, the Richmond SPCA, the National Federation of Humane Societies, Henrico Humane Society, Ring Dog Rescue, Animal Rescue of Tidewater, Loudoun Shelter Watch, Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, the Charlottesville SPCA, the Humane Society of Franklin County and the Floyd County Humane Society.

More from StopBSL.com...

 

[Vicki]

McDonnell pushes ban on breed-based euthanasia
By: Alana Goodman
Examiner Staff Writer
April 19, 2010

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell is pushing for a ban on the breed-based killing of dogs in Virginia animal shelters, in an attempt to reduce the number of pit bulls that are killed in the state.

McDonnell tacked an amendment onto an animal cruelty bill declaring that "No pound may euthanize, or prohibit the adoption of, any dog based solely on breed." The revised legislation will be introduced before the General Assembly in a special session on Wednesday.

"If enacted into law, the amendment ... will compel the few remaining public shelters that kill solely because of breed to end the euthanasia of otherwise healthy, happy and completely adoptable animals," said Virginia Kilmer, president of the Virginia Federation of Humane Societies.

Loudoun County specifically has drawn criticism in recent years for euthanizing many of the pit bulls that enter the county shelter and for refusing to adopt out that breed of dog. In October 2007, Animal Rescue of Tidewater sued the county to change its pit bull laws, but the lawsuit was unsuccessful.

The Loudoun County animal shelter said it takes in about 100 pit bulls each year. Of those, about 50 percent of those dogs are killed; of the remaining dogs, about 40 percent are returned to their previous owners and 10 percent are transferred to other shelters.

Tom Koenig, director of the Loudoun County animal shelter, said the number of pit bulls put down by the shelter may not drop under McDonnell's proposed amendment. This is because the shelter no longer cites breed as a reason for euthanizing pit bulls. Instead, it names "medical reasons," "behavioral reasons," or "owner's request" as the factors behind its decisions.

Koenig said the shelter puts each dog through a program to test its "behavior, its aggression -- whether or not it would be suitable for adoption." If a dog does not pass, it will likely be euthanized.

"Many of the proponents that are supporting this bill don't even operate shelters," Koenig said. "They don't understand what the adoption industry has to go through ... we have the public safety issue at hand."

Read more at the Washington Examiner: http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/l...-based-euthanasia-91091769.html#ixzz0laeHMvFU