Lassie's been terminated - short stay for strays in CA

[webnarc]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/06/25/Schwarzenegger.strays.ap/index.html

Schwarzenegger backs speedier killing of strays

Friday, June 25, 2004 Posted: 11:34 AM EDT (1534 GMT)

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wants to repeal a state law that requires animal shelters to hold stray dogs and cats for up to six days before killing them.

Instead, there would be a three-day requirement for strays. Other animals, including birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles, could be killed immediately.

Schwarzenegger has told the state Legislature that the changes could save local governments that operate shelters up to $14 million.

An estimated 600,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year in California, including 34,000 in Los Angeles alone.

The waiting period has caused overcrowding and forced some shelters to kill off animals simply to make room for new ones, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance.

"Because of space limitations, the shelters are being forced to euthanize animals who are otherwise highly adoptable immediately after the holding time," Palmer said.

Despite Schwarzenegger's huge popularity, some political observers think the proposal will meet stiff resistance.

"There is no organized constituency of cats and dogs, but certainly the pet owners of America will find this reprehensible," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento.

"Cats and dogs are like mom and apple pie," she said. "Don't mess with the pets. Most people prefer them to other people."

The 1998 law is named for former state Sen. Tom Hayden, who said the governor's proposal "will inflict heartbreak on a lot of owners and people in the animal adoption world."

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Doesn't he know that nice dogs stop killing sprees?

[Tom [Giants fan]]

This is pathetic. The six days alone is bad enough but now three? Imagine if that dog in the other thread was put to sleep at some time for being a stray. How many lives would have been lost because that dog never showed up?

I guess he wanted to give new meaning to his role, "Terminator." :doh:

[Ignatius J.]

Look,

california is in a state of disaster financially. If people want to keep these pets alive then they should go to and adopt. I hope no one who purchased thier pet from a breeder so much as bats an eyelash at this move. How is this the governments responsibility to keep these pets alive?

[Ghost of]

Ah, your feelings about dogs are a lot different when you hear some little yapper barking from across the apt complex endlessly because the owners are too flippin dumb to close the window or put it in the bathroom or, if they're there, to discipline the damn thing.

Or the morons that let the dogs run down the steps without a leash, when my mom or I might be walking up or down the steps with things in our arms.

Rover---IT IS TIME.

[Nerm]

I don't really have a problem with this move (I don't care either way because I'm not from California).

If I lost my cat, I wouldn't wait four or five days to go looking for it at the shelters. I assume that the vast majority of dogs and cats that will be claimed are claimed within the first 72 hours. I could be wrong.

$14 million isn't chump change either.

On the other hand, I think it is strange that they would kill birds or potbellied pigs right away.

[webnarc]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/West/06/25/Schwarzenegger.strays.ap/index.html

Schwarzenegger: Stand on strays was mistake

Friday, June 25, 2004 Posted: 10:57 PM EDT (0257 GMT)

SACRAMENTO, California (AP) -- Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in the doghouse with animal-welfare advocates for proposing that shelters be allowed to kill stray animals more quickly to save money, said Friday that his budget recommendation was a mistake.

As part of his budget proposal first drafted in December, the governor had asked the Legislature to repeal a 1998 law that requires the shelters to hold dogs and cats up to six days before destroying them. The governor wanted to save local goverments that operate the shelters $14 million by cutting the waiting period in half.

But after a nationwide storm of protest, the governor organized a press conference outside his Capitol office and confessed to his error.

"I realized last night that there was a mistake that I made on the budget," he explained, noting he had only a few weeks to put his proposed budget together between his inauguration in November and when the document went to the printers in December.

Statewide, an estimated 600,000 dogs and cats are put to death each year -- 34,000 in Los Angeles alone. In addition to cats and dogs, the shelters also care for many other animals including birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles.

H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the state Department of Finance, had said the six-day waiting period caused overcrowding and forced some shelters to kill off animals.

Political observers noted the issue was potentially volatile.

"Cats and dogs are like mom and apple pie," said Barbara O'Connor, director of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at California State University, Sacramento.

"Don't mess with the pets. Most people prefer them to other people," she said.

The Legislature is working to pass the state's budget before the next fiscal year begins July 1.

[line]

A change of heart, it's a good thing.