Los Angeles County Title 10 Drafts, Revisions and Meetings
Quote from last public meeting:
There 's a word for you people who have 50 breeding animals
it s called a puppy mill.
You people are a drain on
society.
The Beginning The Media The BOS also directed
the L.A. County Department of Regional Planning s Land Use and Zoning division to review and propose regulations
that would control the location of kennels in the county. This became the beginning of a long 19 months. The following are
the steps taken before and after the newspaper announcement of the zoning departments plans to change zoning for
licensed kennels.
3/3/2009 Los Angeles
BOS Meeting. Supervisor Antonovich's motion. Click Here For Motion Talking
points for 3/4/10 Meeting with DACC. This document was prepared for the first meeting with Los Angeles Department
of Care and Control. This was prepared with the input of many kennel owners followed the reading of the first draft
of the proposed Title 10 (Animals) amendments by the kennel owners. Click Here to read
In late 2008, the Los Angeles County Dept. of Animal Care and
Control (DACC) raided one kennel near Lancaster, CA, and this kennel raid story was featured on the TV news. On
that newscast, extreme Animal Rights group Last Chance for Animals/LCA was interviewed and they labeled the Lancaster
kennel a "puppy mill." After the Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control (DACC) came to the
property and removed the dogs that exceeded the licensed limit, the groups began a series of undercover visits
to the few (6) commercial kennels that existed in Los Angeles County.
Their next step was to approach an L.A. County Supervisor
Michael Antonovich in whose district most of the dog kennels in Los Angeles County were located. Supervisor Antonovich called for a task force consisting of his office, DACC,
LCA and BF/Best Friends for Animals.
After
that initial contact, the animal groups then approached the full Board of Supervisors with comments that L.A. was
becoming the Puppy Mill Capitol of the West. During testimony, one of the speakers made the statement that one
of the puppy mills in Los Angeles County had the ability to create hundreds and hundreds and literally thousands
of dogs that have been coming out of the county of Los Angeles probably for the last 10 years. (Mark Goff , LCA
- 3/3/09 L.A. County BOS Transcript) Subsequent to the TV coverage, the LA Board of Supervisors announced to the
media that a "Puppy Mill Crisis" existed in LA County. The BOS then directed the DACC to review
Title 10, the ordinance covering animals in the county.
The Next
Step Zoning
On September
29, 2009, Los Angels County decided that they were going to ban people who had been living on their property, properly
licensed and permitted, from continuing to engage in their livelihood of boarding, training and breeding dogs and
cats. By doing so, they would also effectively decrease the value of those properties by potentially hundreds of
thousands of dollars. A public announcement in a small newspaper was the first the kennel owners/breeders heard
of the Task Force, the motion to review Title 10, or even any need for that review.
I received a notice of this serendipitously. The effrontery of the County and those involved in the process created
a backlash among kennel owners. I am not a breeder nor a kennel owner, but the brashness of the public officials
hit me hard as well. I started compiling the names and email addresses of all licensed kennel owners in the county
and soon others were helping me contact the kennel owners. The grapevine grew and the kennel owners activated,
with the result that 28 days later, the L.A. County Planning Commission completely dismissed the proposed zoning
ordinance.
The Commissioners redirected the problem of the kennels to DACC. The many kennel owners attending the meeting noted
grumpy, frowning faces on the supporters of the ordinance, and felt gratified that their logical and polite arguments
persuaded the commissioners as to what a farce the proposed ordinance was.
When I started researching the issue and became aware of the real back story. I learned that the BOS had already passed, without public comment, an amendment
that changed the name of all kennels, catteries and others, to facilities. Understandably, this continues to anger
some kennel owners, who take pride in calling themselves a Kennel Owner.
At that point, the kennel owners realized that those who, because of their agenda and philosophy, wanted to end
all breeding of dogs or cats would not stop at this. Indeed, an email received by one from the kennel owner group
showed that that agenda was still being pressed full force.
The next obvious step was to organize and legitimize the kennel owners. On November 12, 2009, a meeting was held
in Canyon Country, near Santa Clarita, Ca, where the group met and began their first steps in creating an organization.
The attendees discussed various means to contact local politicians, media and to raise public awareness.
The name of the groups has been finalized as the Kennel and Breeders Association of Southern California/KBASC.
The association plans to focus on the freedom and right to own and breed dogs and cats personally or as a business.
There is an open invitation for other groups in southern California to join in a coalition with the kennel owners
aimed at halting those who are attempting to use the political arena for their own extremist agendas.
The kennel owners, in order to gain expertise and insight, arranged various meetings with AKC, NAIA and lawyers
between the meetings with DACC and L.A. County officials.
As often happens, the organizing is still in its infancy, but is moving toward a 501 incorporation. In the meantime,
meetings have been held between the kennel owners/breeders and L.A. County officials.
The Meetings
Los Angeles Board of Supervisor Meeting, Change in Title 10 suggested by Best Friends Animal Society/Last Chance
for animals. Pages 40 through 42 - Click Here for Transcript
9/29/2009 Zoning changes published in local papers, AKC notified.
10/28/2009 L.A. County Planning Commission dismiss all changes.
11/12/2009 L.A.County Kennel Owners/Breeders meet. Organize Click Here for update
12/4/2009 Meeting with L.A. County D-5 Field Deputy Director. Click Here to read the details
3/4/2010 Meeting with L.A. County Department of Care and Control (DACC), Click Here for update.
Click Here for DACC Title 10 Amendments
Draft
Click
Here for a letter that was sent to kennel owners, clients and dog owners in Southern
California and posted on various chat lists.
3/4/10 Meeting with L.A. County Department of Care and Control (DACC), Click Here for update.
3/9/-3/10, Public Meetings to discuss Proposed Ordinance Change Draft - The Draft goes back for revisions.
9/2/2010 Public Meeting regarding the Revised Proposed Title 10 Animal Ordinance
Attendees:
Los Angeles Department of Animal Control , Supervisor Antonovich' Deputy Norm Hickling,
Best Friends Animal Society, Last Chance for Animals, Los Angeles County Kennel Owners and Breeders and others
Click Here for Report
11/30/2010 Public Meeting. Here is the report of that meeting:
Click Here for November Title 10 Amendments Draft
3/15/11 Final Proposed Title 10 Amendments presented to the Board of Supervisors. Motion to accept passed.
3/22/2011, 2nd reading. Passed. Six members of the newly organized Kennel Owners and Breeders Association
attended and testified in support of the Amendments. Click Here for the transcript of that proceeding.
|
PETA on targeting children: "Everything
we do is based at adults." Ingrid Newkirk, PETA President on CNN, March 21, 2002 |
What does it mean to be involved?
When negative legislation is proposed or adopted, it affects and alters the time and energy devoted to positive
events as efforts are diverted to protecting our freedoms and those of our animals. It is extremely important to
halt the negative influences of animal rights organizations so that energy can be devoted to all the beneficial
effects that our animals can bring, such as having events that promote responsible dog ownership, etc. like showing
our communities the countless types of work that our dogs are capable of doing.
What are you doing to be involved?
Click Here to see what others are doing
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