PetPAC Leads Fight to Oppose AB 1634, Mandatory Pet Sterilization Bill

Business Wire, Dec 4, 2007

Author Levine Attempts to Revive Defeated Bill

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- PetPAC, a grassroots organization of pet owners, today announced opposition to California Assembly Bill 1634 following an announcement by Assemblyman Lloyd Levine that he will once again attempt to pass the mandatory pet sterilization measure in 2008.

"AB 1634 failed because proponents deceived state legislators, mislead the public, and betrayed well-intentioned supporters through their use of misinformation, phony statistics and emotional manipulation," said Bill Hemby, Chairman of PetPAC.

"AB 1634 will create a convoluted maze of government permits, hefty fees and punitive fines that will not save the state money or save animals' lives. It will, however, take scarce funds from caring for animals to pay for an overreaching bureaucracy that will be expensive to administer, impossible to enforce, and is guaranteed to fail."

Desperate to find a new hook to promote AB 1634, author Lloyd Levine has pounced on the State's expected budget deficit to repeat financial statistics that were clearly proven false in the Senate committee hearing where the bill was defeated last July.

Testimony heard in the Senate Local Government Committee proved that after Santa Cruz County enacted a similar mandatory spay/neuter law in 1995, animal control expenses have more than doubled - up 109% - and shelter intakes have dropped less than the statewide average.

PetPAC believes that the decision to perform a serious surgical procedure on a family pet should be a choice made by pet owners in consultation with their veterinarians - not dictated by a one-size-fits-all statewide mandate overseen by a government bureaucracy. The California Veterinary Medical Association came to the same conclusion, and reversed their support for AB 1634 earlier this year.