CRITTER CORNER: An unusual legislative sessions for animal issues

The 2010 legislative session in Virginia was a rather unusual one for animal issues.

It resulted in some strengthening of animal protection and also led to the formation of a new group that will protect animals in the commonwealth and provide a voice for open-access shelters.

The penalty for a violation of the minimum standards of care for companion animals (animal neglect) is now a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. Up until July 1 it had been a Class 4 misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $250.

The penalty for abandoning an animal becomes a Class 2 misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000. In the past, it had been a Class 3 misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum fine of $500.

The penalty for animal cruelty remains a Class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by up to 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. However, a conviction will now require a mandatory minimum of five days in jail and a prohibition on the possession and ownership of companion animals.

Those are very good additional protections, and we thank our local legislators who voted for the bills. We also need to thank them for voting against a proposed bill that was seen as very dangerous for all open-access shelters, whether public or private.

The proposed bill, HB429, seems rather harmless at first glance. It would have prohibited “any adoption or euthanasia decision to be based solely on breed.” However, th4 wording of the bill would have prohibited municipal shelters from having any breed specific adoption policies. For instance, we do not allow poodles, yorkies, chihuahuas, dachshunds and others to be adopted as outside dogs. Other shelters do not allow huskies to go into homes where there are young children or cats.

The bill was proposed by rescue groups and limited access shelters who felt that too many pit bulls and other “bully” breeds are being euthanized. One group sued a municipal shelter in Northern Virginia because their policy stated they do not adopt out pit bulls, but they transfer them to groups who do. The judge found in favor of the municipality, so the rescue groups decided to introduce a bill.

However, regulated shelters (public and private open-access shelters) felt that the unintended consequences of the bill would have put shelters at risk of lawsuits. We were contacted by a couple of women who are heavily involved in legislation and asked if we could go to Richmond to testify before the House Agriculture Sub-Committee.

We testified that shelters can be held accountable for many things, but not for the numbers of animals that are received, the breeds of dogs received and the breeds of dogs that more people want to adopt.

The patron of the bill even testified that shelters could be sued. The judge would then look at the numbers of dogs euthanized for, perhaps, a six month time period, and if determined more pit bulls than dachshunds were euthanized, the shelter could be found in violation of the law.

Thankfully, the bill was defeated in sub-committee. However, the supporters of it re-worded the proposed bill (not changing the meaning or intent) and brought it up the next week in the House Agriculture Sub-Committee. We went to Richmond again, and it was defeated again. The supporters became angry and posted comments on blogs about how the opponents of the bill should find other jobs, or how we should have been in charge of the Nazi death camps. They persuaded Gov. Bob McDonnell to amend the anti-cruelty bill to include the prohibition against any adoption or euthanasia decision being based on breed. The Speaker of the House ruled that it was not germane to the anti-cruelty bill and the bill died.

As a result of HB 429, several open-access shelters formed a group and named it the Virginia Alliance for Animal Shelters. All open-access shelters, whether public or private, are being invited to join. The open-access shelters are responsible for the vast majority of unwanted companion animals (reaching into the tens of thousands each year), and needed an organization that supports that vital work.

It was an interesting legislative session in 2010, and we suspect the 2011 session will be equally as interesting.

• Dean is the director of the Danville Area Humane Society.

• Critter Corner is co-sponsored by the Register & Bee and the Danville Area Humane Society. Questions or comments should be directed to Critter Corner, P.O. Box 3352, Danville, VA 24543 or e-mailed to dahsinc@yahoo.com.