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The
following update on animal legislation
in New England is a partial list. For more information, please refer to
the state legislative home pages
provided.
Connecticut
• A bill allowing students to raise a concientious
objection to not perform experiments or dissections on any animal
as part of classroom instruction passed the house.
• A
bill died that would have required the owner or keeper of a dog to
provide it with shelter from direct sunlight, extreme cold and
inclement weather and required that such shelter provide the dog enough
space to stand up, turn around and lie down and to allow the natural
body heat of the dog to be retained.
•
Bills allowing Sunday hunting in Connecticut were
filed and died in the legislature.
• A
bill, SB650, allowing individuals to provide for the care of their
animals after their death by authorizing the establishment of trusts
for such purposes was signed into law.
For
more information about legislation impacting animals
in Connecticut, visit the official site of the Connecticut
General
Assembly or Connecticut Votes for Animals
Massachusetts
• A bill addressing the relationship
between animal abuse and violence toward humans has been
filed.
Following similar laws in Vermont, Maine and New York,
this bill
specifically permits the inclusion of pets in abuse prevention orders.
•
"An Act Relating to the Treatment of Elephants" has
been filed. The bill would prohibit any person who houses,
possesses or travels with elephants (with some exemptions) to use any
implement (such as a bull hook or ankus ) that would result in physical
harm or to keep the elephants constantly restrained by chain or similar
device.
• The Massachusetts State Senate struck down a budget
ammendment that would have extended the termination of dog racing in
the state (scheduled for January 1, 2010) for two additional years.
However, efforts still continue to keep greyhounds racing in
Massachusetts. MA resident? TAKE ACTION now!
•
A bill that would prohibit the confinement of farm
animals in a manner that does not allow them to turn around freely, lie
down, stand up, and fully extend their limbs has been filed in
Massachusetts. Passage of this legislation means that standard veal
crates, gestation crates for pregnant pigs, and battery cages for hens
would not be allowed in the Commonwealth. You can TAKE ACTION now!
For
more information about legislation impacting animals in
Massachusetts, visit the official site of the Massachusetts
General Court or the MSPCA's website
Maine
• A bill
creating
the "Support Animal Welfare" registration plate for automobiles passed
the Maine legislature. The plates, which will raise
money to go towards the state Animal Welfare Program that funds cruelty
investigations and inspections and the sate spay/neuter fund will be
available in October! Learn
more here.
•
A bill allowing Sunday hunting on certain Maine lands was
filed and died in the legislature.
•
A Foie Gras bill prohibiting the force feeding of
birds has was filed but died in the ME legislature.
•
A bill prohibiting the cruel confinement of calves raised for veal and
sows during gestation was signed into law! Read more about this bill here.
For
more information about legislation impacting animals
in Maine, visit the official site of the Maine
State
Legislature
New
Hampshire
• The New Hampshire
legislature passed a budget that effectively
brought an end to live greyhound racing in the state. With amendments
to remove
the legal mandate that forced tracks to hold live racing in order to
broadcast simulcast
races, as well as reduce state subsidies for the cost of regulating
live
racing, the writing was on the wall. Within days, the state’s two
remaining
greyhound tracks—Seabrook
Greyhound Park
and The Lodge at Belmont--quickly
won their request to drop all racing dates.
The
Greyhound Protection Act, HB 630, which
would have criminalized live racing, will be back next year after being
retained by the House Local and Regulated Revenues Committee. The bill
is a
necessary measure to ensure that New Hampshire
never
hosts live greyhound racing again.
• The
Granite
State
came close to joining
eight other states that require certain engine coolants include a
bittering
agent in order to make it unpalatable to pets and children. HB 431 was
retained
by the House Commerce and Consumer Affairs Committee after questions
arose
regarding the liability provisions for manufacturers, but NH animal
advocates are confident that
this important animal welfare and public safety measure will have a
good chance
of passage when the legislature resumes next January.
For
more information about legislation impacting animals in
New Hampshire, visit the official website of the New
Hampshire General Court.
Rhode
Island
•
Two bills strengthening the state's animal cruelty
statute have been filed in Rhode Island. They have both passed
the house.
•
A dove hunting bill prohibiting the taking, killing,
buying, selling or possession of mourning doves was also filed and is
currently pending. Are you a Rhode Island resident? TAKE ACTION.
•
A bill providing guidelines and penalties for any person that keeps a
dog outside tethered, caged, fenced, or otherwise confined passed the
State Sentate!
For
more information about legislation impacting
animals in Rhode Island, visit the official website of the Rhode
Island
General Assembly
Vermont
• The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
released more details
of an undercover investigation into unacceptable and callous animal
cruelty at a Vermont slaughter plant, including footage of a U.S.
Department of Agriculture inspector apparently failing to enforce
federal humane treatment laws, and the plant co-owner participating in
the abuse with gusto. Learn more here.
•
The "Pet Trust" bill modernizing and codifiying trust
laws including pet trusts in the state of Vermont was signed into law!
• A
bill clarifying the wording of and eliminating potential loopholes in
VTs Prohibited Use of Animals law was introduced. Read
more here.
For
more information about legislation impacting animals
in Vermont, visit the official website of the Vermont
State
Legislature.
Related
Links
Find
your elected officials: www.congress.org
or www.vote-smart.org
Click
here for state legislative
activities monitored by the Humane
Society of the United States
Click
here
for the
ASPCA’s Legislative Advocacy Center which includes action
alerts
on
state and federal legislation.
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