Tools to Fight AB 1634
Many are opposed to this legislation including cat and dog clubs, farm organizations, service animal groups, sportsmen's groups, animal health organizations and, of course, many individuals.
Contact Lawmakers - Oppose AB 1634
We believe the bill is vulnerable because no rational person would argue there is any value to the State of California to eliminate all intact dogs and cats in the state. In reading the text of the bill and hearing the Senate Local Government Committee commentary on the legislation, none of the voting Senators (pro or con) stated any support for total abolition of intact animals. We believe that the Senators and their staff thought the bill uses sterilization as a punishment for repeat offenders of animal control laws. We think the author simply "pulled a fast one" and wrote the language so that the apparent intent was subrogated to his Animal Rights agenda of total elimination of pets in California.
This makes the bill vulnerable in a couple of ways. First, this time around the proponents have not made specific arguments demonstrating the need for this legislation. There is no apparent purpose for such a law. It will accomplish no goal that is the business of state government. And, it may put the state's citizens at greater health risk if people "go underground" and stop licensing their animals and, therefore, stop obtaining rabies protection for them. Therefore, the legislators should simply vote it down and move on to other things.
Second, there are many reasons why total, state-mandated sterilization of our dog and cat population is a bad idea. It is bad animal health policy, it is an infringement of our fundamental property rights, it will result in substantial fiscal costs to the state if all dog and cat shows are terminated, no more animals are bred locally and police and other emergency services can no longer obtain locally bred animals.
Finally, if legislators are intent on "doing something" and if they believe that forced sterilization is an appropriate punishment for miscreants, then they should be asked to clarify the language of the bill. First, it should be made clear the normal "due process" applies to this law and that if a complaint is deterimined to be false or unsupported, then the matter is simply dropped and the subject of the complaint suffers no consequences. Second, it should be made clear that "forced sterilization" is a punishment for repeat violation of animal control laws, not a violation of its own.
Call, visit and send written letters of opposition to each member of the Senate, to your own Senators and to the Governor. We have posted on this web site a Sample Letter with suggestions of what to say. Letters should be mailed, FAXed or dropped off personally.
It is very important that you also call the Senators' offices and either talk to the Senator or to a senior staff member who is knowledgeable about this legislation. They should be asked if it is really their intent that "merely being unsterilized" should be illegal in California. If they do not support the new crime of "being intact" you should encourage them to either oppose the legislation entirely or to at least push for revise language in the bill that clarifies their real intent.
Printable Sample Letter to a Senator
Sample Letter to a Senator-MS Word format
2008 Senators - Telephone & FAX Numbers
2008 Senators - Addresses, etc.
State Senators - Alphabetical (online)
Complete List of 2008 Assembly Members - FAX Numbers
Assembly Members - Alphabetical (online)
Find Your Senator or Assembly Member
Senate Appropriations Committee
Visit or Call Your State Assembly Member or Senator
Your are a voter and what you want is important to politicians who seek your future votes. Call or visit the local office of your Assembly Member or Senator and voice your opposition to this bill. You can find your representative Here.
Contact the Press
The popular press, television and radio have been nearly silent about the revised version of AB 1634. We need them to start talking about it and exposing the truth about the proposal to the general public. Please call, write and email to the editors of newspapers, to television and radio program directors and talk show hosts and ask them to look into what this legislation really does. Write "letters to the editor" and opionion pieces of your own and ask that they be published. Here is a link to an Op/Ed piece we wrote and have circulated to a number of media sources. Feel free to use it or modify it in any way to help our cause.
The proponents of AB 1634 have a well-funded, professional PR machine. They are running a powerful media campaign to get this legislation passed. We don't have the PR machine, so we must rely on individuals to help get a balanced review in the press. Whenever you see an unbalanced, pro-AB 1634 article or news story, please write a response immediately. These typically become "Letters to the Editor" and, if printed at all, get buried way back in the paper. So you should also make a request that the publication allow you to submit a full opinion article to provide a balanced presentation of the "other side" of the issue. We can arrange to have a complete article authored by one of the experienced professionals who is helping us oppose AB 1634. If you are a local resident you have a slightly better chance that your opinion will be published or that the paper will accept an article. If you would like assistance in responding please contact us and we will do our best to help.
Contact Your Veterinarian
As amended, AB 1634 requires mandatory sterilization of all dogs and cats in California. Besides all the other objections to such a law, it is bad health policy to sterlize many dogs and cats, especially when they are too young. Most veterinarians want the choices of when and whether to sterilize an animal to be made as a medical decision, not as a legislative one. Please ask your vet to write opposition letters to lawmakers. If your vet favors AB 1634, consider changing vets.
Get Your Club to Oppose AB 1634
If you are a member of a cat or dog club get your club to write letters of opposition, on club letterhead, expressing the club's opposition to AB 1634. We have the information you need Here.
