this is the latest update from the CCC(Q) Pads Committee Chair Mark Sheppard.
It is long but well worth the read!!!
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 11:43 PM
Subject: Latest Update - E petition # 726 Compulsory Desexing
Hello all - I would like to take a moment to give everybody a brief update of our progress to date.
For anybody who may have forgotten (or for those of you who may be new additions to the mailout list) here is a summary of the problem which we confronted and the key milestones along the way. The information is as accurate as at 5.34pm today and the final point #20 below has some very pleasing news.
Thanks one and all for the tremendous support that you have shown me over the last couple of weeks.
Just a cautionary word - please don't relax because I have a funny feeling that this is only the first round of what could turn out to be a Title Fight.
kind regards
Mark Sheppard
1. At the end of October we became aware of an E Petition which had appeared on the State Govt website.
2. The petition was proposed by Ms Joy Verrinder of the Animal Welfare League (Gold Coast) and sponsored by the State Member for Broadwater Ms Peta-Kaye Croft.
3. The petition read as follows:
Queensland Citizens draws to the attention of the House that 200,000 + healthy cats and dogs taken as stray or surrendered are killed each year across Australia, and this is mainly a result of the large numbers of fertile companion animals.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to end this unjustifiable slaughter in Queensland through:
- prohibiting the sale or adoption of companion animals which have not been desexed and microchipped, unless being sold to, or adopted by, a holder of a breeding permit;
- requiring and/or assisting current owners to desex and microchip their animal companions.
4. The immediate impact of this proposal is obvious - if it were to be supported by the State Govt it would mean an end to any CCC member (who was not a recognised breeder) owning an "entire" dog or bitch.
5. I contacted as many fellow CCC members as possible requesting that they immediately commence sending objections to their State Member of Parliament as there was no provision to object to the petition on the State Govt website.
6. The Hungarian Vizsla Club of Qld provided some critically important data - in particular the side effects of desexing at too early an age and information gathered from the RSPCA annual report regarding the number of digs and cats euthanased annually.
7. I had a very lengthy meeting (3 hours) with Ms Verrinder on 10th November and I was able to get verbal agreement from her that the wording of the petition was poor and failed to recognise the critical role of our 7,500 CCCQ members throughout Queensland in respect of pedigreed, registered dogs.
8. I insisted that an exemption be included as follows: Queensland Citizens draws to the attention of the House that 200,000 + healthy cats and dogs taken as stray or surrendered are killed each year across Australia, and this is mainly a result of the large numbers of fertile companion animals.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to end this unjustifiable slaughter in Queensland through:
- prohibiting the sale or adoption of companion animals which have not been desexed and microchipped, unless being sold to, or adopted by, "Recognised members of the Canine Control Council of Qld and their bona fide clients are exempt"
- requiring and/or assisting current owners to desex and microchip their animal companions.
9. Joy Verrinder gave me an undertaking to check whether the exemption could be included in the petition.
10. The clerk of the Qld Parliament ruled that a change could not be made to an existing petition unless the change represented a significant alteration to what was being proposed. It was therefore a requirement that the petition be allowed to run until it's closing date of 28/11.
11. On Friday 20th November CCCQ President Barry Vickers and I attended a 5 hour meeting with Ms Verrinder and representatives from the Animal Management Dept's of Logan, Pine, Ipswich and Gold Coast. In addition there were reps from the Feline Society, Uni of Qld and RSPCA.
12. The meeting agreed unanimously that irrespective of whether the State Govt supported the petition Local Councils could not afford to police / implement a new law in it's currently proposed form. They quite simply didn't have the resources.
13. In addition the meeting acknowledged quite overwhelmingly that the problems that Local Councils were experiencing were with a) stray cats and unwanted kittens, b) dogs from backyard breeders being dumped c) dogs and cats emotionally purchased as puppies and kittens from pet shops and then later dumped.
14. The meeting supported a motion of confidence moved by Logan Council "that rarely do local councils have any problems with CCCQ members or their pedigreed, registered dogs"
15. The meeting also agreed that the petition should be split into two quite distinctly different petitions - one specific to dogs and one specific to cats.
16. The meeting also agreed that exemption must be included for responsible owners / breeders - specifically CCCQ members.
17. There was an issue with my suggested inclusion of "bona fide clients" but Barry Vickers and I undertook to investigate whether a new level of membership could be included (maybe called Associate membership) for a nominal fee which new pet owners could join until a decision to show / spey / neuter their new puppy could be made at say 12-14 months.
18. I sent Ms Verrinder an email yesterday asking that she give me an urgent update regarding the future of the current E petition given the feeling of the meeting last Friday.
19. She telephoned me this morning and confirmed that she would speak with Ms Peta-Kate Croft this afternoon and recommend that the petition be withdrawn after it closed on 28/11 and that two new petitions be submitted (one for dogs, one for cats) with a specific exemption for CCCQ members and Feline Federation members as applicable.
20. At 5.19pm this afternoon I received the following email from Ms Verrinder:
Dear Mark,
Discussed with MP Peta Kaye Croft about developing a new petition when the current one closes on 28th November, which as you know couldn't be amended mid-stream. Haven't had a chance to finalise wording yet, but have no problem with there being exemptions for members of recognised breed associations members eg Canine Control Council, to buy animals entire for breeding, showing, or competing in agility / obedience or who may want to keep some animals they sell entire as potential future breeding dogs. I hope you can reassure your members with this information. I will liaise with you as we progress with this, as we work together toward ending the killing of healthy cats and dogs while supporting responsible dog and cat owners.
Kind regards
Joy Verrinder
Strategic Development Officer
Animal Welfare League Qld
I think at this point I will allow myself to relax a bit - remember that whilst it looks like we have won a significant battle don't think for one minute that the war[ is over.
It is long but well worth the read!!!
Sent: Wednesday, November 22, 2006 11:43 PM
Subject: Latest Update - E petition # 726 Compulsory Desexing
Hello all - I would like to take a moment to give everybody a brief update of our progress to date.
For anybody who may have forgotten (or for those of you who may be new additions to the mailout list) here is a summary of the problem which we confronted and the key milestones along the way. The information is as accurate as at 5.34pm today and the final point #20 below has some very pleasing news.
Thanks one and all for the tremendous support that you have shown me over the last couple of weeks.
Just a cautionary word - please don't relax because I have a funny feeling that this is only the first round of what could turn out to be a Title Fight.
kind regards
Mark Sheppard
1. At the end of October we became aware of an E Petition which had appeared on the State Govt website.
2. The petition was proposed by Ms Joy Verrinder of the Animal Welfare League (Gold Coast) and sponsored by the State Member for Broadwater Ms Peta-Kaye Croft.
3. The petition read as follows:
Queensland Citizens draws to the attention of the House that 200,000 + healthy cats and dogs taken as stray or surrendered are killed each year across Australia, and this is mainly a result of the large numbers of fertile companion animals.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to end this unjustifiable slaughter in Queensland through:
- prohibiting the sale or adoption of companion animals which have not been desexed and microchipped, unless being sold to, or adopted by, a holder of a breeding permit;
- requiring and/or assisting current owners to desex and microchip their animal companions.
4. The immediate impact of this proposal is obvious - if it were to be supported by the State Govt it would mean an end to any CCC member (who was not a recognised breeder) owning an "entire" dog or bitch.
5. I contacted as many fellow CCC members as possible requesting that they immediately commence sending objections to their State Member of Parliament as there was no provision to object to the petition on the State Govt website.
6. The Hungarian Vizsla Club of Qld provided some critically important data - in particular the side effects of desexing at too early an age and information gathered from the RSPCA annual report regarding the number of digs and cats euthanased annually.
7. I had a very lengthy meeting (3 hours) with Ms Verrinder on 10th November and I was able to get verbal agreement from her that the wording of the petition was poor and failed to recognise the critical role of our 7,500 CCCQ members throughout Queensland in respect of pedigreed, registered dogs.
8. I insisted that an exemption be included as follows: Queensland Citizens draws to the attention of the House that 200,000 + healthy cats and dogs taken as stray or surrendered are killed each year across Australia, and this is mainly a result of the large numbers of fertile companion animals.
Your petitioners, therefore, request the House to end this unjustifiable slaughter in Queensland through:
- prohibiting the sale or adoption of companion animals which have not been desexed and microchipped, unless being sold to, or adopted by, "Recognised members of the Canine Control Council of Qld and their bona fide clients are exempt"
- requiring and/or assisting current owners to desex and microchip their animal companions.
9. Joy Verrinder gave me an undertaking to check whether the exemption could be included in the petition.
10. The clerk of the Qld Parliament ruled that a change could not be made to an existing petition unless the change represented a significant alteration to what was being proposed. It was therefore a requirement that the petition be allowed to run until it's closing date of 28/11.
11. On Friday 20th November CCCQ President Barry Vickers and I attended a 5 hour meeting with Ms Verrinder and representatives from the Animal Management Dept's of Logan, Pine, Ipswich and Gold Coast. In addition there were reps from the Feline Society, Uni of Qld and RSPCA.
12. The meeting agreed unanimously that irrespective of whether the State Govt supported the petition Local Councils could not afford to police / implement a new law in it's currently proposed form. They quite simply didn't have the resources.
13. In addition the meeting acknowledged quite overwhelmingly that the problems that Local Councils were experiencing were with a) stray cats and unwanted kittens, b) dogs from backyard breeders being dumped c) dogs and cats emotionally purchased as puppies and kittens from pet shops and then later dumped.
14. The meeting supported a motion of confidence moved by Logan Council "that rarely do local councils have any problems with CCCQ members or their pedigreed, registered dogs"
15. The meeting also agreed that the petition should be split into two quite distinctly different petitions - one specific to dogs and one specific to cats.
16. The meeting also agreed that exemption must be included for responsible owners / breeders - specifically CCCQ members.
17. There was an issue with my suggested inclusion of "bona fide clients" but Barry Vickers and I undertook to investigate whether a new level of membership could be included (maybe called Associate membership) for a nominal fee which new pet owners could join until a decision to show / spey / neuter their new puppy could be made at say 12-14 months.
18. I sent Ms Verrinder an email yesterday asking that she give me an urgent update regarding the future of the current E petition given the feeling of the meeting last Friday.
19. She telephoned me this morning and confirmed that she would speak with Ms Peta-Kate Croft this afternoon and recommend that the petition be withdrawn after it closed on 28/11 and that two new petitions be submitted (one for dogs, one for cats) with a specific exemption for CCCQ members and Feline Federation members as applicable.
20. At 5.19pm this afternoon I received the following email from Ms Verrinder:
Dear Mark,
Discussed with MP Peta Kaye Croft about developing a new petition when the current one closes on 28th November, which as you know couldn't be amended mid-stream. Haven't had a chance to finalise wording yet, but have no problem with there being exemptions for members of recognised breed associations members eg Canine Control Council, to buy animals entire for breeding, showing, or competing in agility / obedience or who may want to keep some animals they sell entire as potential future breeding dogs. I hope you can reassure your members with this information. I will liaise with you as we progress with this, as we work together toward ending the killing of healthy cats and dogs while supporting responsible dog and cat owners.
Kind regards
Joy Verrinder
Strategic Development Officer
Animal Welfare League Qld
I think at this point I will allow myself to relax a bit - remember that whilst it looks like we have won a significant battle don't think for one minute that the war[ is over.
