Action Alert: Letters needed now to stop ear-cropping ban California AB 418!

The ear cropping ban has resurfaced in the California Legislature. Introduced by Assemblyman Koretz, Assembly Bill 418 not only prohibits this animal husbandry practice, it places civil penalties on anyone who arranges to have the procedure done on any dog in the state and may even affect California residents who take their dogs out of state for the procedure. Maximum fine for a violation is $10,000 to be paid to the jurisdiction in which the violation occurs.

In an attempt to blunt opposition, Koretz has specified that dogs with cropped ears can compete in dog events in the state, has not banned ownership or sale of dogs with cropped ears, and allows for cropping for therapeutic reasons. However, prevention of ear infections is not considered a therapeutic reason.

NAIA Trust opposes AB 418 because it ...

• creates an enforcement climate in which activists could harass veterinarians and dog owners and breeders;
• represents an unwarranted intrusion in the relationship between dog owners and their veterinarians;
• is impossible to enforce without interfering in the practice of veterinary medicine;
• could make dog owners liable even if the surgery is done in another state;
• carries a large and unfair penalty that could drive ear cropping underground; and
• establishes a precedent that replaces the professional judgment of veterinarians with laws based on the beliefs of special interest advocates.

The NAIA Trust sample opposition letter can be found here.

Dog owners helped defeat a cropping ban last year and can do so again by making our opposition known. Since the bill has not yet been assigned to a legislative committee for hearings, we suggest that California residents contact their own assembly members and senators immediately and that those who attend dog events in the state write to the representatives from the jurisdictions where the events are held. Go here and enter the zip code of the hotel you are using or the show site itself to find the names of representatives from that area.

California State Assembly Members

Assemblymember.aghazarian@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.arambula@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Baca@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Bass@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.benoit@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.berg@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.bermudez@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.blakeslee@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Bogh@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.ron.calderon@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Canciamilla@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Chan@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Chavez@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.chu@asm.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Cogdill@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Cohn@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Coto@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Daucher@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Delatorre@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.devore@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.dymally@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.emmerson@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.evans@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Frommer@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblywoman.garcia@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Goldberg@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Gordon@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.hancock@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Harman@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.haynes@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Jerome.Horton@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Shirley.Horton@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Houston@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Huff@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.jones@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.jkarnette@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.keene@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.klehs@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Koretz@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.lamalfa@assembly.ca.gov
Assemblymember.Lasuer@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.laird@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.leno@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Leslie@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.levine@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblywoman.lieber@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Liu@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Matthews@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.maze@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.mccarthy@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.montanez@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Mountjoy@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.mullin@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.nakanishi@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.nation@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.nava@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.McLeod@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.niello@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.nunez@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Oropeza@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Parra@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Pavley@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.plescia@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Richman@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.ridley-thomas@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblywoman.Runner@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblywoman.Ruskin@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblywoman.Saldana@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Salinas@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.spitzer@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.strickland@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.torrico@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.tran@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.umberg@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Vargas@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.villines@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.walters@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.wolk@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.Wyland@assembly.ca.gov,
Assemblymember.yee@assembly.ca.gov

California State Senators