Is now on the Governer’s desk waiting to be signed into law. I have already been notified by three stellar (small) cat rescuers who have officially shut their doors due to the quick passage of this bill. I am amazed at how this flew through legislation-
Feral Cat Behavior
Blogging about feral cats and life in general
I just don’t understand how this type of bill sneaks through. I think it is a matter of the higher ups not really understanding the ramifications. Good luck!
Ironically, it was introduced by one of the Big Dogs here in Oregon. It is amazing to me that we must threaten these animal shelters to such a degree that they believe this Bill is really necessary. Two more small rescues have also shut down their doors. It is quite sad. Even when I called the House Representative, the aide answering the phone said she too was surprised at how quickly this Bill has passed and how much opposition it is drawing and has drawn in the last week- which is when the rescue groups got wind of it even existing! One of the Big Dogs responsible for this bill is bragging on FB about how this was passed. 🙁
How can bills pass so fast? when the money grease the wheels.. someone somewhere as alot to gain for it.. and paying his way to make it happen, no matter the cost!!
Well I did email the gov and asked him to veto it- but have a bad feeling that for some reason this bill was meant to be even before it was created. Will it force me to close my doors? I don’t know yet. I can’t quite bring myself to the point where the cats in my county will not have ANY help in the future if all of us shut down. The biggest drawback for us here is the added fees of licensing, the added paperwork and the fact that Big Brother could appear at any time without knocking first.
This came about as a result of Sharon Harmon and her personal associations with certain legislatures as a result of years lobbying (in 20112 over one half million spend by OHS lobbying (Per form 990 for 2012, OHS lobbying non taxable amount came to $509,331.00). Kitzhaber himself seems to choose to ignore this nightmare in progress and the damage it will actually do to retail outlets that work with the shelters and local rescue groups placing animals in caring homes.