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AKA “Buck’s Bill”
The Pet Safety and Protection Act (PSPA) Passes U.S.
House of Representatives!
The Few Remaining “B” Dealers Are Running Scared From
LCA!
Your help is now needed to pass the PSPA in the U.S. Senate
and stop, once and for all, the supply of stolen pets to
research laboratories!
Thanks to your letters, e-mails, phone calls, and donations
to Last Chance for Animals (LCA), The PSPA was passed by the
U.S. House of Representatives on July 26, 2007 as an
amendment to the Farm Bill. This crucial LCA-endorsed
legislation now moves on to the U.S. Senate.
The PSPA, which strengthens federal protections for
companion animals, was attached to the Farm Bill in the U.S.
House of Representatives as an amendment by Rep. Steve
Israel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.). LCA thanks
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.)
for accepting the Israel-Doyle amendment as part of the Farm
Bill.
The PSPA prevents
stolen companion animals from being sold into
research. The PSPA was introduced as a direct response to
recent Last Chance for Animals
investigations of "Class B" dealers who
traffic in family companion animals for
research
The PSPA is so close to passing because of the intense
nationwide attention focused on pet theft by the
Emmy-nominated and Genesis Award winning film “Dealing Dogs”
- the HBO documentary of LCA’s undercover investigation and
bust of the nation's most notorious Class “B” dealer, C.C.
Baird. To purchase your own copy of “Dealing Dogs” directly
from LCA, thus contributing to future LCA animal cruelty
investigations,
click here.
Next Step – Help Pass The Pet Safety and Protection Act
In the Senate!
The Pet Safety and Protection Act (S. 714) was introduced in
the Senate by Senator Akaka (D-HI). The Senate is now
considering whether to follow the lead of the House by
including the PSPA in the Farm Bill. Please
write/call/fax/e-mail your own two
Senators, and the members of the
Senate Agriculture Committee, and urge them to keep
The Pet Safety and Protection Act, as passed by the House,
in the Farm Bill.
Urge your Senators to keep our companion animals from being
kidnapped for laboratory experiments! Educate them (and
yourself!) by visiting the website dedicated to HBO’s great
documentary,
www.DealingDogs.com.
Background of The Pet Safety and Protection Act - AKA
"Buck's Bill"
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Buck, after rescue from Baird's facility.
The PSPA is also known as “Buck’s Bill.” Buck was one of
the many animals rescued by LCA during a 2003 raid of the
nation’s most notorious Class “B” dealer, C.C. Baird.
Extremely ill on the day of his rescue, Buck struggled
with Stage 3 heartworm disease, Rocky Mountain Spotted
Fever and parasitic pneumonia. His heart was paper-thin
due to the heartworm. After his rescue, he was in such bad
shape that he stayed at the vet clinic for seven months.
When he was well enough, he went to a foster home where he
lived until he died a few months later from internal
hemorrhaging. All who knew Buck fell in love with him.
“Buck’s Bill” serves to honor Buck and
all the dogs and cats who die due to
inadequate care and abuse at the hands of Class “B”
dealers. |
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Buck at Baird's facility - before being rescued.
The PSPA clamps down on the unscrupulous animal dealers who
steal companion animals for research. The PSPA prohibits the
use in research of so-called “random source” dogs and cats
obtained from Class B Dealers, who sell animals acquired
from a variety of sources. Such random source animals are
often stolen companion animals or those acquired
fraudulently through "free to good home" ads or deceptive
shelter adoptions, and include 18,000 to 19,000 dogs and
cats per year. |
What is a Class B Dealer?
The PSPA will amend the Animal Welfare Act to ensure that
all animals used in research are obtained legally by
prohibiting USDA licensed Class “B” Dealers (like C.C.
Baird)
from supplying cats and dogs to research facilities.
Class “B” dealers are licensed to purchase and sell animals
to research. The law has unfortunately allowed B Dealers to
obtain animals for re-sale from other “B” dealers, shelters
and from persons who have bred and raised the animals
themselves.
However, as LCA proved in our historic undercover
investigation, “B” dealers routinely violate the law by
acquiring animals from
fraudulent sources and abusing and neglecting
them, as documented in HBO’s “Dealing
Dogs”. These
animals are often stolen pets, strays or animals obtained
under false pretenses and deception through “free to good
home” ads. It is virtually impossible to know the true
history of an animal acquired by a Class “B” dealer, this is
why the PSPA is vital! Each time a Class “B” dealer sells an
animal to a research lab, a strong possibility exists that
he or she is a lost or stolen family pet.
There are 15 random source Class “B” dog and cat dealers
left that sell animals to research facilities. This is a
fraction of what existed decades ago but still 15 too many.
Please help to get rid of these remaining Class “B” Dealers.
Your Help is Needed to Pass Buck’s Bill!
To help ensure that Buck’s Bill, The Pet Safety & Protection
Act, passes the U.S. Senate, please:
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Contact your two U.S. Senators by phone, e-mail, fax and
mail – URGE them to keep The Pet Safety and Protection Act
in the Farm Bill, as passed by the House. Call
1-888-VOTESMART or
click here for senator contact
information.
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Contact the members of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Links to all 21 members of this Senate committee can be
found here:
http://agriculture.senate.gov/sen.htm. Urge
them to vote for The Pet Safety and Protection Act as part
of the Farm Bill.
Sample letter/phone call
Please make your calls and letters short and polite. Here is
a sample:
“My name is (your name) and I’m (calling/writing) from (your
city and state). As a constituent of (Senator’s name), I
urge (Senator’s name) to vote for The Pet Safety and
Protection Act (S. 714/H.R. 1280), which has been passed by
the House as part of the Farm Bill. The bill calls for
animal research facilities to obtain their animals legally,
and not from Class “B” dealers. Class “B” dealers routinely
violate the Animal Welfare Act by fraudulently obtaining
animals and abusing and neglecting them. The Senate should
follow the lead of the House by incorporating this bill into
the Farm Bill. Thank you.” Suggest they visit
www.dealingdogs.com for further
information.
Make yourself a better activist for animals!
Educate yourself about the PSPA and pet theft by visiting
www.dealingdogs.com.
Finally, donate to LCA
here and
help us continue our battle against animal cruelty!.
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