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Daily Activity at the 2012 State Legislature |
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Written by Theresa Bruner
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Thursday, 12 January 2012 03:46 |
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Sylvia Shafer who is the main lobbyist for Charleston Kanawha Humane Society & also the Associate Director of FOHO WV Legislative Action is again at the Capital providing us with first-hand reports on what is occurring in Charleston.
You can read any of these bills by going to left menu on this site 2012 WV Legislature/Search...click on bill status and then enter the bill number. Find your legislator and their contact information using that legislative search, go to bottom right of site and enter in your zip code.
You will read Sylvia's daily log of activity and then occasionally you will note a FOHO WV Legislative Action comment.
Jan. 25
SB 421 - Creating Cervid Farming Act was introduced today. The purpose of this bill is to place cervids on deer farms under the control of the Dept. of Agriculture. This would place the deer under the heading of livestock. DNR would still control deer as wildlife that are not on a deer farm. The reason that I list this bill is that Humane Officers would investigate cruelty the same as if they were horses or cows. I do not have an opinion on this bill. This bill first goes to Senate Agriculture and then to Judiciary. Sylvia
Jan. 24
Good news today. SB 406 was introduced this morning. This is the Kennel Bill or what is sometimes called the Puppy Mill Bill. The purpose of this bill is to regulate the Commercial Dog Breeding Operations. This has been much needed for several years and a person would have to own at least eleven breeding dogs to be considered commercial. This bill has a single reference and that is Judiciary. Please contact Senator Palumbo on 304 357-7880 or email
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Please tell him that you support this bill and to please place it on the Judiciary Committee Agenda. If you have Senators on the Judiciary Committee, please ask them to support the bill. You can find that out by following the directions above. Thanks, Sylvia
*FOHO WV Legislative Action note: If you want to know more about ‘puppy mills’ and their existence in West Virginia, please read the article ‘Puppy Mills -- much worse than you thought by Ginnie Maurer on this website. We need to pass this legislation this session!
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 January 2012 19:35 |
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West Virginia - Open for Criminals? |
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Written by Jo Staats
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Wednesday, 23 November 2011 14:24 |
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This article was written by Jo Staats during Legislative Session 2011 in support of of a bill to make it illegal to participate in a dog fighting event. We anticipate a bill will be re-introduced into the 2012 session on this again. Jo is the founder of WV Pit Bull Haven which is a Rescue Group that sees the results of this horrible practice of dog fighting. Jo is also a board member of FOHO Legislative Action and is passionate on this topic.
Jo Staats --
Animal-fighting…a ‘sport’ that most of us find repulsive, but a small margin of West Virginia residents partake in yet, today.
According to Senator John Pat Fanning of McDowell County, animal-fighting is the God-Given-Right of West Virginian’s…his reason for voting against SB 334, a bill that would have made participating in animal-fighting a misdemeanor. This means that those that attend and bet on animal fights are not committing any crime. Unfortunately, this much needed bill did not pass the WV Senate after it was amended to a misdemeanor.
Animal-fighting is cruel, most of us will agree with this statement. What many fail to recognize is the level of criminal involvement attached to the ‘sport,’ especially dog-fighting. Every dog-fighting bust nationwide has included charges of drugs, weapons, gambling, and other felonious crimes. Virginia included dog-fighting in their Organized Crime bill which allows prosecutors to charge abusers under the RICO Act. Many states are working toward similar bills as a result of the significance of the criminal element involved in dog-fighting.
My question is simple, “Is this really the message we want to send to the criminal element? WV, ‘Open’ for Criminals…”?
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Puppy Mills -- Much worse than you thought |
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Written by Ginnie Maurer
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Friday, 25 November 2011 16:53 |
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This article by Ginnie Maurer of Animal Advocates and FOHO Legislative Action shows that ‘puppy mills’ do exist in West Virginia. We need to tell our legislators to support legislation in the 2012 session to regulate these large commercial breeders.
Ginnie Maurer
In August 2008, almost 1,000 puppies and adult dogs were rescued from a puppy mill breeding facility tucked away in the backwoods of West Virginia.
Two national animal rescue organizations, Best Friends Animal Society and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), along with the Humane Society of Parkersburg and Wood County law enforcement officials, worked in 90+ degree heat amid the stench of feces and urine to rescue these dogs from the Whispering Oaks Kennels.
According to news reports, the owner of the kennel turned over the animals and signed an agreement barring her from operating another breeding facility. She was not charged with animal neglect because of this agreement.
Two years later, in August 2010, almost 100 dogs were seized from Yip Yip Kennels, Martinsburg, West Virginia. The owner, Leonard Woods, Jr., pleaded guilty to 20 counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and fined $300 for each count plus court costs. He is barred from owning or possessing any animals for five years.
Several months later, in December 2010 in Falling Waters, West Virginia, 114 dogs were relinquished from a puppy mill. With the swift action of Berkeley County Animal Control and the support of Animal Advocates of West Virginia, all puppies and adult dogs were either adopted or transferred to rescue organizations in less than 24 hours following their seizure. The owner of the dogs, Paulette McGraw, was charged with one count animal cruelty and fined $1,000 and court costs.
By no means are these few instances isolated examples of puppy mill activity in West Virginia. Since there is no reporting or registration of puppy mills required by law in the state, no one has an exact number of the mills operating here.
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Animal Hoarding -- Too much of a good thing |
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Written by Ginnie Maurer
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Wednesday, 23 November 2011 06:00 |
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This article written by Ginnie Maurer appeared in one of our recent newsletters. It is a thought provoking article on hoarding, a problem which shelters face in West Virginia. Ginnie is the founder of Animal Advocates, an eastern panhandle animal welfare group as well as a board member on FOHO Legislative Action.
Ginnie Maurer --
The scene: sickly, fur-matted, flea-ridden, parasite-infected animals living in filth; floors covered inches deep in feces and urine; unbearable stench; the yard covered in broken down appliances, tires, and shards of detritus.
When the story hits the press, neighbors are shocked, horrified, mystified, saddened. “How could this happen?” “She seemed so nice.” “He really loves animals.” “I had no idea.” Another hoarder is exposed.
“Animal hoarding exists in virtually every community. Based on the estimated national animal shelter population of six million, there are about twelve hundred to sixteen hundred cases per year, and based on the human population served, six hundred to two thousand cases per year in America with 60% being repeat offenders.” (Patronek 1999) (Inside Animal Hoarding: The Case of Barbara Erickson and Her 552 Dogs by Arnold Arluke and Celeste Killeen, Purdue University Press 2009)
While cats and dogs are the most commonly hoarded species, any species can be hoarded from exotic and dangerous animals to farm animals, from wildlife to guinea pigs.
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Last Updated on Wednesday, 11 January 2012 16:45 |
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