This a letter from Wayne Pacelle, Chief Executive Officer of the Humane Society of the United States.

– Kenn Bell

By Humane Society of the United States

Animal crush videos are back and, next week, The HSUS will release details about their resurgence on the Web. By all appearances, this lurid and sickening commercial activity re-emerged from the shadows after two federal courts, most recently the U.S. Supreme Court in April, struck down as unconstitutional the 1999 federal law criminalizing the sale of these videos.

Today, the U.S. House voted 416-3 in favor of a new, more narrowly tailored law to crack down on the commercial trade in these videos. The bill, H.R. 5566 and known as the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act, was introduced by Reps. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.). Gallegly was the author of the original 1999 law and has been an especially tenacious foe of animal cruelty and the crush video industry. The House Judiciary Committee conducted a hearing on the topic, taking testimony from scholars on the First Amendment who argued that a more carefully crafted measure could survive a legal challenge and suggested what the contours of such legislation should be. Gallegly and Peters introduced a bill that took the witnesses’ recommendations into account, and it quickly gained 263 cosponsors, including Democratic and Republican leaders. House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), Crime Subcommittee Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), and the full committee’s Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Texas) worked with all parties to produce a strong bill, which responds to the concerns expressed by the court.

The House action today is a reminder of the near universal view among the American people that individuals who commit malicious and obscene acts of cruelty for commercial gain should not have license to peddle and profit from videos showing these acts. By banning the sale of the videos, the federal government can deter these people from making the videos in the first place. Because it is so hard to catch people in the act of making them, the only practical way to crack down on the activity is to stop the sale of these obscene videos.

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By L. Finch, Globe Correspondent

Call it a right to free speech — for dogs and cats.

Beginning Wednesday, dogs and cats across Massachusetts will be protected by a new law banning surgical devocalization, the cutting of the animals’ vocal cords, animal welfare activists said.

Governor Deval Patrick signed the bill into law April 22.

“This is so remarkable, the passage of this legislation,” said Beth Birnbaum, a member of the Coalition to Protect and Rescue Pets, the organization that originally filed the bill. “Beacon Hill should be congratulated.”

The law bans devocalization of dogs and cats except in cases of medical necessity. Before, breeders and pet owners weary of annoying barks and mews could have their animals’ vocal cords cut by a veterinarian.

But after Wednesday, devocalization could carry up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $2,500.

Nearly 60 state representatives and senators co-sponsored the bill. The Massachusetts Veterinary Medical Association and the Massachusetts Federation of Dog Clubs and Responsible Dog Owners opposed the legislation.

So-called debarking procedures can be dangerous for pets, Birnbaum said. Scar tissue in the throat can make it difficult to breathe, leading to a lifetime of wheezing, coughing and choking for some animals, she said. In fact, the law, known as “Logan’s Law,” gets its name from one such pet, the adopted dog of one of the organization’s members, she said.

The law is a victory for animals like Logan, Birnbaum said.

“It’s going to protect animals from a very cruel and unnecessary, painful, and risky procedure,” she said.

By Malachi Constant for News8.net

Montgomery County, Md. – The recession has rippled through just about everything. Now, in Montgomery County, it’s affecting pets.

Officials have been sniffing around for ways to fill a budget shortfall. Free dog parks have reached the chopping block.

“I think it’s absurd,” commented Bethesda resident Alan Post.

Montgomery County dog owners expressed frustration.

Kirsten Hinshaw, a Rockville resident, said, “No. I mean, they’re bleeding me dry as it is right now.”

Some owners even threatened to abandon dog recreation areas.

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Khalid Ahmad trains Betty, a 20-month-old German shepherd, to search for mines in a straight line. Photo by William M. Welch

By William M. Welch for USA TODAY

KABUL — In the struggle to bring peace to Afghanistan, few can claim a more dangerous job than the one Betty and Jimmy are preparing for.

Friendly and eager young German shepherd dogs, they are being trained to search for the remnants of war — hidden land mines and unexploded bombs.

Not only do unseen explosives kill military troops, they take a heavy toll on the innocent. More than 700 civilians are killed or maimed annually in Afghanistan, over half of them children, says the International Committee to Ban Landmines.

NATO and U.S. forces fighting the Taliban jihadist movement do not use mines. But the Taliban does, and so did former occupiers of Afghanistan such as the Soviet Union.

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From MiamiHerald.com

MIAMI — Officials in Miami-Dade County say a small but growing group of pit bull owners has found a loophole in the county’s ban against the breed.

Miami-Dade Animal Services reports that about a half-dozen pit bulls have been registered as service animals for people with disabilities. Federal rules governing service animals trump the local ban, enacted in 1989 after an 8-year-old girl was mauled
by a neighbor’s pit bull.

Investigator supervisor Kathy Labrada says it’s a challenge to verify that a pit bull is a service animal because the federal rules don’t require any special certification and restrict what the county can ask about an individual’s disabilities.

Pit bull owners can face a $500 fine and possible court hearings in Miami-Dade, which considers the breed to be dangerous.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/12/1726394/some-pit-bulls-skirt-s-fla-ban.html#ixzz0tUHlmMaS

Officials in Iraq have released a report today, which says the number of stray dogs that have been killed since 2008, in an attempt to stop a series of attacks within and around the city of Baghdad, RAW reports.

The killings are a part of a campaign that started in 2008, after increasing reports of dog attacks began to come in from local citizens and soldiers.

With Baghdad slowly returning to normal, and open markets becoming more common, there is more food left around the city.

There is also more food left in garbage heaps outside of the capital. This means better meals for stray dogs, which leads to them gaining health and having larger litters.

This has had a marked effect on the amount of strays around Baghdad, with tens of thousands causing havoc all over the city.

The campaign is carried out by security teams made of veterinarians and police officers, who correlate with other security forces in the area.

They sweep the city in the early morning, using poisoned meet to lure and kill stray dogs, warning civilians to stay away from the food left for the animals.

This is similar to the shootings that occurred under Saddam Hussein’s reign, which was mandatory part of security in Iraq.

From WCAX.com

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) – Gov. John Lynch has signed a law banning live dog racing in New Hampshire.

The state’s two remaining dog tracks currently don’t conduct live greyhound racing and instead provide simulcasts of races held elsewhere. The law eliminates the tracks’ option of resuming live racing. It takes effect Jan. 1.

Supporters had argued the tracks aren’t racing dogs now and the state will save money by no longer regulating the activity.

Opponents had argued the state should let the tracks decide when it made financial sense to offer live racing.

From The Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina has a new law bearing its governor’s signature and a dog’s paw print that could put people in jail for the worst cases of animal abuse.

Gov. Beverly Perdue on Wednesday signed a measure that threatens jail time for those who torture, starve or kill an animal.

The punishment could be up to eight months behind bars, but a judge could agree to community service instead.
On hand was Susie, who was a puppy last year when she was burned, beaten and left to die. A judge said state law allowed him to sentence the Greensboro man who abused Susie to no more than probation.

After Perdue signed it, the owners of the female pit-bull mix placed Susie’s paw on an inkpad and added her mark to the document.

By Brian T. Murray For The Star-Ledger

BURLINGTON COUNTY — Betsy died at 16 months old in a tragic accident some believe was preventable.

In keeping with a growing tradition in New Jersey, a law has been introduced in her name, dubbed “Betsy’s Law,” with the aim of avoiding similar tragedies. But in this case, the law and its inspiration does not involve a child or a crime victim.

It involves a stocky, rambunctious 89-pound Rottweiler.

“She was my baby, and I don’t want any beloved pet and their owners to suffer the way Betsy did and I did,” said Madeleine Kayser of Toms River, as she recalled how her pooch was accidentally strangled in 2007 inside a cage at a Burlington County veterinary hospital.

It happened at night, when the dog was left alone. Betsy had undergone minor surgery for an eye disorder and all had gone well, although the doctor asked to keep the dog overnight for observation, according to Kayser.

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