The Cleveland Pets Examiner has just received the good news that Nitro’s Law (HB108) has reached the House floor and will be voted on tomorrow afternoon. This important law will protect pets in kennels or boarding facilities, making cruel treatment of companion animals a fourth degree felony. Nitro’s Law was introduced when 8 dogs were allowed to starve to death while at the High Caliber K9 Training facility in Youngstown.
Sub HB 108 (aka Nitro's Law) - To amend sections 959.131 and 959.99 of the Revised Code to specifically prohibit an owner of a kennel of dogs from committing cruel treatment of a companion animal and to give a prosecutor who prosecutes an owner of a kennel of dogs who commits cruel treatment of a companion animal discretion in prosecuting the owner for the offense.
Status:Will be voted on tomorrow (Feb 15)! Please call your legislators tonight and in the morning and leave a message asking them to vote YES for Nitro’s Law.
2012 promises to be a very important year for pets in Ohio. There are currently eleven bills pending in the State House to improve Ohio’s animal welfare laws.
Advocates from across the state are already making plans for the 2012 Ohio Companion Animal Lobby Day in Columbus on Thursday, March 29 from 10-2 pm to address issues impacting Ohio pets. If you would like to attend, click here to register before March 5. Once you are registered, a volunteer team will prepare your 2012 Ohio Companion Animal Lobby Day packet and match you with other advocates from your district. People are expected to be attending from all over the Greater Cleveland area.
The Cleveland Pets Examiner kept you informed throughout 2011 when there were locations for voters to sign the Ban Ohio Dog Auctions initiative. The move to ban Ohio Dog Auctions is one step closer to becoming law. As of January 27, the Ohio Secretary of State had certified 118,115 signatures of registered Ohio voters, which qualifies the citizens-initiated statute to be presented to the Ohio General Assembly. If the Assembly fails to pass the proposed law by April 1, the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions will move ahead with plans to present the Act to voters during the November General Election.
2012 ballot initiative, Ohio Dog Auctions Act - The Ohio Dog Auctions Act would enact Section 955.54 of the Ohio Revised Code to make it unlawful for any person to auction, as defined in R. C. 4707.01, or raffle a dog within Ohio for any purpose. It would also prohibit bringing into the state for purposes of sale or trade a dog acquired through an auction or raffle in another jurisdiction. The Ohio Attorney General would have authority to investigate, conciliate and prosecute alleged violations of the Act. The Attorney General or any resident of the state could bring a civil action to enjoin a violation of the Act. A first conviction under the Act would be punishable as a minor misdemeanor and each subsequent conviction as a fourth degree misdemeanor.
Ohio has the only dog auction east of the Mississippi which attracts buyers and sellers from 15 states, many of whom have long standing, repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act or have been convicted of animal cruelty.
Here are some of the other bills that are waiting to become law in Ohio:
Sub HB 25 - To amend sections 955.11, 959.99, 2152.19, 2903.213, 2903.214, 2919.26, 3113.31, 4732.141, and 4757.33 and to enact section 4731.284 of the Revised Code to revise the penalties and sentencing provisions regarding violations of the cruelty to animals statutes, to include the protection of companion animals in temporary protection orders, domestic violence protection orders, anti-stalking protection orders, and related protection orders.
Status:Still waiting to be introduced/passed in the Senate.
HB 112/SB 140 - To enact section 2927.28 of the Revised Code to require the inclusion of a bittering agent in engine coolant and antifreeze.
Status:HB 112 till waiting to be passed on the House floor; SB 140 still waiting to be passed in the Senate Judiciary Committee and still waiting to be passed on the Senate floor.
Please continue to make calls, write letters and schedule visits with your legislators – they don’t know what their constituents want unless you tell them! It’s important they hear from us on a regular basis.
Click here to locate your state legislators in the Ohio General Assembly - > http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/
Click here for details of the House Judiciary Committee - > http://www.house.state.oh.us/index.php?option=com_displaycommittees&task=2&type=Regular&committeeId=98
Click here for details of the Senate Judiciary Committee - > http://www.ohiosenate.gov/committees/standing/detail/judiciary.htmlClick here to view House and Senate Journals for 129th General Assembly (provides the official record on how your legislators voted on all Ohio companion animal bills) - > http://www.legislature.state.oh.us/Journals.cfm?GenAssem=129
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The Cleveland Pets examiner covers news from Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Grafton, Hudson, Kent, Lorain, Medina, Mentor, Ravenna, and all of the Cleveland suburbs. Please send your Greater Cleveland pet news to: yelodoggie@yahoo.com
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