URGENT - Call to Action - Missouri

M Stout wrote:

URGENT Call-to-action!
We need your help!

Help pass this vital piece of legislation on behalf of dogs and responsible dog owners!

Missouri Senate Bill 886 to be heard in committee.

On Wednesday, February 20, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. the Senate Economic Development, Tourism and Local Government committee will hear and discuss MO SB 886.

SB 886 Allows any municipality to adopt ordinances, orders, or regulations to control dangerous dogs, provided that no such ordinances, orders, or regulations are specific to breed.

Read the full bill here...SB 886

Breed-specific laws don't work.

Kansas City Dog Advocates DOES NOT support laws that discriminate against dogs based on breed, but instead supports laws that focus on the behavior or an individual dog and its owner.

Laws that regulate dogs based on breed unfairly impact responsible dog owners and their dogs. Furthermore they create a false sense of security while providing no real increase in safety to the public.

Cities that have laws that address dangerous dogs based on the behavior of an individual dog waste less time and money because they are able to focus resources on dogs who actually display threatening behavior, which includes dogs of all breeds.

We need your help!

Please contact the bill sponsor and members of the Senate Economic Development, Tourism, and Local Government Committee and tell them, "I support SB 886 as originally introduced."

There is outside pressure from HSUS and other animal organizations to amend the bill to allow for breed-specific mandatory spay/neuter.

While Kansas City Dog Advocates supports voluntary spay/neuter, we DO NOT SUPPORT MANDATORY SPAY/NEUTER of any breed because it only results in an increase in the number of animals killed in the shelters. Low-cost spay/neuter programs that promote VOLUNTARY spay/neuter have a track record of being the most effective way to reduce the number of animals killed in the shelters.

Because of outside pressures, it is important that you stress your support of the bill as originally filed without any amendments.

Act NOW!

At the hearing, committee members will either vote to move the bill on for debate or kill the bill altogether. It is important that you let committee members know how you feel before the hearing on Wednesday.

See the column on the right titled "Who to contact" for phone numbers and email addresses of committee members.
Friends and family can help too!

Please forward this call-to-action to friends and family and ask them to voice their support of SB 886. Without a strong show of support SB 886 may not make it out of committee.

Use the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of this email to send this call-to-action on to friends and family. You'll have a chance to include a personal note about why this bill is important to you.

Thank you for your help! Your action could help save the lives of many dogs, spare many responsible dog owners from heartbreak, and make your community safer too!

Sincerely,

Who to contact:

Please call, email, and/or fax your support of SB 886. If you can make the time, phone calls are best.

All it takes is a simple call to say, "I support SB 886 as originally introduced with no amendments. I do not support mandatory spay/neuter."

Then follow up with a fax or email if you want to give more details about your position.

Bill Sponsor:

Sen. Jolie Justus
OFFICE: (573) 751-2788
FAX: (573) 751-9776

**Please ask Sen. Justus not to amend SB 886.**
Senate Economic Development, Tourism, and Local Gov. Committee Members:

John Griesheimer, Chair
OFFICE: (573) 751-3678
FAX: (573) 526-2609

Tom Dempsey, Vice Chair
OFFICE: (573) 751-1141
FAX: (573) 522-3383
E-Mail: tom.dempsey@senate.mo.gov

Jason Crowell
OFFICE: (573) 751-2459
FAX: (573) 522-9289

Kevin Engler
OFFICE: (573) 751-3455
FAX: (573) 522-9318

Jack Goodman
OFFICE: (573) 751-2234
FAX: (573) 526-9808

Carl Vogel
OFFICE: (573) 751-2076
FAX: (573) 751-2582

Victor Callahan
OFFICE: (573) 751-3074
FAX: (573) 751-4551

Harry Kennedy
OFFICE: (573) 751-2126
FAX: (573) 522-2465

Chris Koster
State Capitol Building
OFFICE: (573) 751-1430
FAX: (573) 751-9751

Ryan McKenna
OFFICE: (573) 751-1492

Wes Shoemyer
OFFICE: (573) 751-7852

if your not from missouri do not call we are taking care of it and we dont want alot of attention to it cuz then there will be peta and crap organizations getting in to put dumb amendments on the bill