CFA Legislative ALERT
Last Updated: 7/25/2006
Riverside County Ordinance 630.10, Riverside County, CA
June 1, 2006
Riverside County, California has announced a proposed mandatory spay/neuter ordinance. We believe this may be similar to the recently passed Los Angeles County mandatory spay/neuter law, which applies only to dogs. This one includes CATS!!
The Director of Animal Services has planned a series of open forums and will provide a survey. It is imperative that breeders attend these forums to provide input. The draft ordinance is not yet available. The Los Angeles County law had strong backing of animal rights activists and organizations throughout the State who are working to stop all breeding of dogs and cats or make it very expensive and restrictive. Don't let this happen in Riverside County.
BACKGROUND - The Los Angeles County law goes into effect June 3, 2006
In the unincorporated LA County - All dogs over 4 months of age must be microchipped and spayed/neutered unless their owner purchases an intact animal license. To be eligible for this license a dog must be a law enforcement dog, assistance dog or a "competition" dog registered with a valid registry AND meet other requirements -
**Competed in at least one dog show/event in the past year
**Earned a title from a recognized purebred registry
**Owner must be a member of a purebred dog club that maintains and enforces a code of ethics.
Los Angeles County already has a law requiring a $250 hobby breeder permit for dogs and cats (only 1 litter per year per animal).
Sacramento County is finalizing a similar draft mandatory draft ordinance with breeder permits.
TAKE ACTION -
**Attend one or more of the Riverside County Forums - See the announcement below and go to the website for more information.
**Let me know forums you can attend - JMillerArt@aol.com
**Read CFA's Guidance - "Breeder Permits and Extinction" so you will know about the issues and ramifications of mandatory spay/neuter/permit laws.
**Contact your District representative on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors to express your concern.
SUGGESTED POINTS -
**Studies show that 85% to 87% of all owned pet cats are already altered. Unaltered cats do not make suitable pets. Most who have not altered believe their kitten is too young; some need financial or transportation assistance; others are simply procrastinating and need incentives not punitive laws.
**Breeder permits are not the solution to the community problems of feral/unowned cats - the County needs a strategic plan with broad based support not spay/neuter mandates.
**Breeders of pedigreed cats should not be forced to go through bureaucratic exemption applications, provide proof of showing, registration or other criteria and then pay high fees as a deterrent to breeding activity. Preservation of the beautiful breeds of cats has value and should be encouraged in the County not made burdensome
Be prepared to speak out for the sake of the cat fancy in California.
Riverside County California
Proposed Mandatory Spay and Neuter
Riverside County Department of Animal Services will hold four open forums to allow the community members to share their thoughts and learn more about the proposed Spay/Neuter Ordinance. It is the department’s intent to provide a forum for communication to ensure that the proposed ordinance benefits the community as a whole. Surveys will be provided to attendees at the various forums.
Animal Services open forum dates:
Saturday, June 3, 2006 10 am
Riverside County Administrative Center,
4080 Lemon Street, Riverside
The following forums were postponed. Please see revised schedule of open forums
Wednesday, June 7, 2006 6 pm (postponed)
Beaumont Civic Center
550 East 6th Street, Beaumont
Thursday, June 8, 2006 7 pm (postponed)
Murrietta City Council Chambers
26442 Beckman Court, Murrieta
Saturday, June 10, 2006 10 am (postponed)
Coachella Valley Association of Governments
73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 200, Palm Desert
Please note: A draft form of the proposed ordinance will be available for review at the open forums listed above.
Message from the Director:
We have received many inquiries about a pending proposed ordinance related to mandatory spay and neuter of pets in Riverside County.
Please be advised that at this time the ordinance is in a draft form awaiting approval from County Counsel and not yet available for public review. We are holding public forums prior to finalizing a date to bring the proposed ordinance to a County of Riverside Board of Supervisors Agenda. At this time, we expect this will take place in July. Please note that a proposal for mandatory microchipping will be handled separately and at a later date.
We invite those who would like to learn more about the proposed mandatory spay/neuter ordinance to attend one of the open forums listed on this page. We strongly encourage both those who would like to express their concerns and those who would like to express their support to join us.
Robert Miller
Director of Animal Services
951-358-7387 or 888-636-7387
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS:
To find your representative on the Riverside County Board of Supervisors please go to http://www.tlma.co.riverside.ca.us/gis/gisbasicquery2.html
Supervisor Bob Buster - DISTRICT 1 (Chairman)
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street, 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1010
district1@rcbos.org
Lake Elsinore Office
2499 East Lakeshore Drive
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
(951) 245-3330
Supervisor John F. Tavaglione – DISTRICT 2 (Vice-Chairman)
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1020
district2@rcbos.org
Supervisor Jeff Stone – DISTRICT 3
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1030
district3@rcbos.org
Supervisor Roy Wilson – DISTRICT 4
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1040
District Office
73-710 Fred Waring Drive, Suite 222
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 863-8211
district4@rcbos.org
Supervisor Marion Ashley – DISTRICT 5
County Administrative Center
4080 Lemon Street - 5th Floor
Riverside, California 92501
(951) 955-1050
district5@rcbos.org
District Office:
14375 Nason St. Suite 207
Moreno Valley, CA 92555
Desert/Pass Office:
50290 Main St.
Cabazon, CA 92230
To correspond with the CFA Legislative Committee, please send email to legislation@cfa.org
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