Every one imported kills an American dog

[~flower~]

I've said it in the past, the mandatory S/N laws are based on a farce.  Importation of pets will INCREASE.   Seems like if the shelters stopped importing from other countries and instead "imported" in the US from other shelters the shelter numbers would drop. 

 Shelter stats are based on inaccurate and misrepresented "facts" which make people get all spay and neuter crazy to the detriment of our pets.  They are also misleading because people fail to realize that a good number of euthanized animals are not puppies, altering laws will have no affect on the numbers of older dogs that are dumped by people tired of them or that can't afford their care or health problems.




> FOR A FEE
>
> Every one imported kills an American dog
>
> L.D. Witouski
>
> 4/21/2008
>
> Recently, a letter was sent to the Editor in a Lancaster,Pennsylvania
> newspaper regarding the dishonesty of rescue organizations. The
> comment  section was especially interesting since many did not believe the
> facts in the letter. (The original letter and link are in the sources at the
> end of this article)
>
> Since the Oprah show, highlighting "puppy mills" - many people have
> questioned why the State has not done anything about the conditions
> that were shown. It could be that there is some type of arrangement between
> those that "rescue" dogs that are "no longer wanted or needed" and the
> facilities shown on the Oprah expose'. It was interesting to note that in
> an interview, the man that has been hailed a hero, by some, for
> bringing these dogs to Oprah's attention, stated that he was counting on the
> Amish that were featured in the Oprah show - not having televisions.
> Having made such a comment tends to lead one to believe that something is not exactly as originally stated and even moreso questionable particularly since
> the Pa. Dog Law Bureau is having a difficult time identifying those "kennels".
> However, that isn't the subject of this article and I only mention it
> because the Oprah show opened other doors related to the subject.
>
> In reading the comments regarding the LTE mentioned above, the
> writer was asked to prove her allegations. Many of those that commented simply refused to believe that dogs were being imported into the United States by "rescue" groups. One particular individual asked why this phenomena would occur since there are, allegedly, so many homeless dogs available in
> shelters and rescues across the country. Another person commented that dogs had to sit for 6-8 weeks before entering U.S. soil. Rather than research the
> subjects themselves, to see just how duped they have been by animal rights
> activists, they accused the writer of misinformation.
>
> The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has regulations on the
> importation of dogs and cats into the United States. In general, they
> require that dogs be vaccinated against rabies at least 30 days prior to
> entry, except for puppies younger than 3 months and dogs originated or
> located for 6 months in areas considered to be free of rabies. A dog with an
> unexpired health certificate meets these requirements. This information is
> verifiable at the CDC website. The US Department of Agriculture has
> certain restrictions on the importation of dogs imported from any part of
> the world except Canada, Mexico, and regions of Central America and the West Indies. Only those dogs that are to be used in the handling of livestock
> must be inspected and quarantined at the port of entry for a sufficient
> time to determine their freedom from tapeworm. Dogs that are imported into
> Hawaii are quarantined for 130 days. There are no quarantine regulations
> for "pets" or "strays". It is monetarily advantageous for groups with a "non-
> profit" status, who, at the same time, claim the country is
> "overpopulated," to import puppies for resale or "adoption" - for a nonreportable fee.
>
> There are some special circumstances regarding dogs imported from
> areas known to be infested with screwworms or foot and mouth disease, but
> the general rule is that all dogs are only subject to inspection at
> ports of entry for evidence of infectious diseases that can be transmitted
> to humans. As a result of this missing link in governmental importation
> regulation, statistics of imported dogs are estimated according to Port of Entry reporting.
>
> On April 2, 2008, the Division of Viral and Rickettsial Diseases of
> the CDC, filed a report regarding Importation of Dogs into the United States
> and in the summary of that report it states:
>
> "The importation of dogs into the United States poses a risk for the
> introduction of rabies and other zoonotic diseases. Federal
> regulations (42 CFR 71.51) currently require proof of valid rabies vaccination for imported dogs, but allow the importation of some unvaccinated dogs,
> including dogs less than 3 months of age, provided certain requirements for
> confinement are met until the dog is vaccinated. Although there are no accurate surveillance data on the number of dogs imported each year, it is estimated based on extrapolated data that over 287,000 dogs were imported into the United States during 2006. Of these, approximately 25% were either too
> young to be vaccinated or lacked proof of valid rabies vaccination. Import trends suggest that an increasing number of unvaccinated puppies are being
> imported into the United States, mostly through commercial resale or rescue
> operations."
>
> Since 2006, that 287,000 per year has doubled. Importation from
> Canada, Mexico, Central America and the West Indies, where no regulations are required, continues on a daily basis. The majority of dogs imported
> are puppies and small breeds that are far more acceptable to the
> general public than large dogs and much easier to resale or adopt out - for a fee.
>
> Not counted in the CDC's estimated number of imports are those dogs
> that are brought into the country by various groups, such as Compassion Without Borders (who partners with another organization in Albuquerque, New
> Mexico to bring MexiMutts into the U.S). United Hope for Animals in Southern
> California, Doglandia (a People's guide to Mexico, asks to adopt a dog
> during your trip to the country), Blue RoadRunner, and SAMM (Save a
> Mexican Mutt) are only a handful of such groups bringing dogs into the
> United States from Mexico. This doesn't include those groups bringing dogs in from Central America, Puerto Rico or the West Indies. These imported
> dogs are flown, driven, shipped, transported and sent to shelters throughout
> the United States. Shelter owners say the importation programs are
> safe, moral and in demand. Although the work that these people do is admirable, one has to ask - What are their definitions of safe and moral? Bringing in dogs of questionable background and health issues from other countries
> while our own American dogs are euthanized is NOT safe or moral nor humane for those dogs already in shelters across the U.S. Accusing American breeders of
> causing overpopulation and high shelter kill rates is not safe, moral, just
> or fair, especially when the problems exist all - for a fee.
>
> Groups that convince the public that breeding should be restricted
> or banned should be looked at closely by legislators. Somebody has got to ask
> the question sooner or later. If all breeding is regulated, restricted or
> banned, how would these non profit groups continue to operate? The
> answer is simple. They don't need breeders here. They can continue to
> plead to the American public's emotions about some dog in BF Egypt while
> they pursue the removal of the American dog breeders and their Constitutional
> Rights. That's how big business works. In order to make more money, to get
> more orders or to increase the profit margin, they remove anything or
> anybody that could be remotely considered as competition while still
> keeping their sources in place. You won't see non profit importing groups pushing for the demise of all breeding or mandatory sterilization in those
> countries. It's not good sense to eliminate your sources if your intention is to
> continue in the business of filling shelters and rescue groups offering animals
> that were "rescued from a puppy mill" to the unsuspecting public to
> adopt - for a fee.
>
> Now that you have access to verifiable facts, you can ask those who
> do the importing yourself. More than likely, you'll be told they do it "to
> save the dogs". You can then ask them why they aren't spending that
> money and time on the alleged "oversurplus" dogs that are already here. I
> wonder if any of them will be honest enough to tell you. The general public
> needs to learn to research issues and think for themselves prior to repeating
> comments that they have been spoon fed over the years. They need to
> stop listening to those whose intentions are less than honest and ask
> for facts and verifiable proof - or can you only get that information from
> those who lead you down their dishonest, profitable path - for a fee?
>
> Sources:
>
> Lancaster New Era - LTE - HYPERLINK
http://articles.lancasteronline.com/local/4/219982
>
> Centers for Disease Control - Division of Viral & Rickettsial
> Disease -  Summary 
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1863-2378.2008.01117.x
 
Centers for Disease Control
 http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal.htm
>
> Compassion Without Borders
http://www.cwob.org/yend2007.html

> United Hope for Animals
 http://www.hope4animals.org/-about.html
>
> Doglandia HYPERLINK
 http://www.peoplesguide.com/1pages/chapts/pets/pets.html
>
> Blueroadrunner  http://www.blueroadrunner.com/animalrescue.htm
>
> USA Today
 http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-10-21-dog-imports_N.htm

> SAMM
http://www.saveamexicanmutt.org/Home.html

[knny187]

What happens if you wanted an German Rottweiler instead of an American Rottweiler?

[MisterMagoo]

and wouldn't the corollary hold true that every american dog bought kills a foreign dog?

[Vet]

My God Flower, lay the heck off the coffee. 


I've worked with importing multiple animals--from dogs to birds to reptiles to wild caught pygmy hippos.  Its a long, paperworked filled process that isn't cheap and isn't user friendly.  I do not see rescue groups going that route.  It just isn't going to happen. 

[~flower~]

My God Flower, lay the heck off the coffee. 


I've worked with importing multiple animals--from dogs to birds to reptiles to wild caught pygmy hippos.  Its a long, paperworked filled process that isn't cheap and isn't user friendly.  I do not see rescue groups going that route.  It just isn't going to happen. 

Isn't going to happen?  It IS happening.  Why should shelters and rescues import animals and then go on about all the animals dying in shelters?  And try and get laws passed that will have health consequences to pets?  That is bullshit. 

   Did you read how easy it is for these groups to import dogs?  You can't compare importing an exotic species for a zoo to bringing in puppies. 

[~flower~]

What happens if you wanted an German Rottweiler instead of an American Rottweiler?

 We are talking about shelters and rescues importing dogs to meet demands and then saying how animals are dying in shelters.  We are not talking about an individual importing for showing purposes.

 

and wouldn't the corollary hold true that every american dog bought kills a foreign dog?

  The foreign countries aren't trying to pass altering laws here that will affect our pets here.  The "facts" put out by shelters are skewed, misleading, and sometimes downright false.  If there are all these dogs dying in shelters then why do they need to import them? 

[~flower~]

Here's the USA Today article referenced:

Dog imports raise fears of a resurgence of disease

 
By Alan Gomez, USA TODAY
When animal shelters started going overseas to fill their emptying kennels, some worried the imported strays would bring foreign diseases and even rabies into the USA.

And now for the first time in decades, it has, prompting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to step in.

"The No. 1 thing we think about is canine rabies," said Nina Marano, head of a CDC unit responsible for drafting new regulations for dog importation.

Marano hopes to come up with ways to better screen incoming dogs and have new regulations in place by next year. Among the recent examples of cases:

•In March, a dog from India flew through Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and reached its owner in Alaska before it was diagnosed with rabies, the CDC said.

•In November 2004, a dog imported from Mexico was the first case of canine rabies in Los Angeles in more than 30 years, the county Animal Care and Control said.

•In May 2004, a dog from Puerto Rico was taken to a Massachusetts shelter to be adopted but was diagnosed with rabies, the first such case in "decades" according to the state Department of Health.

No humans were infected, but critics say it's only a matter of time before a human, or a large number of dogs, are infected if the emerging practice of importing dogs isn't regulated or stopped.

"It's a ticking time bomb," said Patti Strand, president of the National Animal Interest Alliance, a group that represents breeders, pet shop owners and others interested in animal welfare. "We've spent fortunes and decades eradicating many of these diseases, and they may be reintroduced."

Agencies in Southern California created the Border Puppy Task Force after they saw a surprising number of very young dogs being brought across the border from Mexico. The task force estimated that during a one-year span, 10,000 puppies entered San Diego County. The collection of law enforcement and animal welfare agencies has targeted "puppy peddlers" and their sometimes dangerous importing and selling practices.

The only federal requirements for bringing a dog into the USA deal with rabies. An owner must show proof of a rabies vaccination, or sign an agreement stating the dog will be confined until a vaccination is given and goes into effect. Many states have stricter requirements.

The Department of Agriculture closely monitors dealers who sell to pet stores, whether the dogs are raised or imported from other countries. Department spokesperson Jessica Milteer says her agency has no authority to monitor people who import large numbers of dogs and sell them on their own.

That gap is what concerns many in the dog industry.

Marshall Meyers, executive vice president of the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council, said those sellers use the Internet, newspaper classifieds and street corners to sell the unregulated dogs. Meyers said those sales make up a vast majority of the international dog trade.

Shelter owners say the importation programs are safe, moral and in demand.

Marianna Massa travels to Puerto Rico several times a year to screen dogs for the Northeast Animal Shelter in Salem, Mass. She said it would be difficult to argue against the program if people saw how strays live in Puerto Rico.

"Along the highway, you see dead dogs like we see squirrels," Massa said. "People just hit them. They don't care."

Some, like Strand, say it's silly and dangerous to go overseas for dogs when there's plenty of strays here. About 4 million dogs are put to death by injection or gas every year in the USA.

"Pet overpopulation is a misnomer," she says. "What we have is a pet distribution problem."

Spay and neutering campaigns have been so successful in much of the USA — especially the Northeast and Northwest — that shelters need to look elsewhere if they want dogs to offer for adoption. But Strand says there is abundance of dogs in other parts of the country such as the South that could make up the difference.

Julie Potter, director of Northeast Animal Shelter, said they take in 800 dogs a year from the South. She said people usually want to adopt younger dogs, so they bring 200 dogs a year from Puerto Rico.

"If it's something we can do to help, why not?" Massa said.

[pedro01]

and wouldn't the corollary hold true that every american dog bought kills a foreign dog?

Perhaps the life of an American dog is worth more than that of a foreign dog.

LMAO ! 

[MisterMagoo]

Perhaps the life of an American dog is worth more than that of a foreign dog.

LMAO ! 

apparently so! fuck those foreign dogs. they aren't cute enough.

[temper35]

edit: nm

[~flower~]

uhm... learn how to read.   


  Shelters and AR activists like to say that breeders in the US are responsible for the number of dogs in US shelters, yet they are IMPORTING puppies to meet needs?


  That is the point.   Don't try and shut down responsible breeders on lies.  Don't cry how lives could be saved if only everyone spayed and neutered at 4 months of age, and import dogs instead of taking them from other shelters and saving the dogs that are already here.  Don't say "every time a litter is bred, dogs die in shelters", then import dogs instead of taking dogs from other shelters, hence the title of the article "Every one imported kills an American dog".

  Anybody who has a dog, or who plans on getting a dog, will be affected by mandatory s/n laws.  If responsible breeders are shut down that only leaves puppy mills and these imports. If forced to alter at 4months of age that is very bad news for the health of our pets, especially any dog over 10 pounds.  You want to alter a Great Dane at 4months of age?  There have been numerous threads on this so I won't repeat everything.  But the big push being used for mandatory altering is the number of dogs dying in shelters, and here they are importing them to meet needs.  Doesn't quite add up does it?

  Read and see what the point of the article is before making stupid comments. 
 

[MisterMagoo]

all right, all right, fair enough.

that said, the lesson still remains that with a big ol' dog pool, no matter WHERE the new dogs are coming from, dogs somewhere else are going to get the shaft, y'know? a dog in a shelter is going to be killed whether a dog comes from a new breeder popping up for no good reason, imports, or someone who didn't fix their dog and suddenly a litter came out.

they're ALL good points. importation, new people wanting to become breeders despite too many out there, and neglecting to fix a pet all lead to overpopulated shelters are, sadly, lots and lots of euthanized animals every year.

[~flower~]

But you can't push to shut down breeders when you are letting dogs die yourself by importing them because there is a "demand". 

  Dogs are dying, all supposedly because of breeders, yet you have to import dogs?  How do they justify trying to shut down breeders with that logic?  They also use their import numbers to inflate the shelter counts.  I'm not saying that pets aren't being euthanized, but the public is being fed misleading and false information and not given some information.   

 Another way they skew the information is by not breaking down the euthanized animals, they just give you a number.  They don't say whether those were healthy animals, owner requested euthanasia, sick, or unadoptable.  You just see a number.   Nor do they tell you if those were local, transfers, or their imports.   And if a transfer takes place to another shelter, both shelters may count that animal in their intake, thereby making the intake numbers higher. 

  You already have said how you feel about puppymills, well that will be where you will have to get a puppy from in the future if the AR activists manage to get mandatory altering laws passed. The altering laws do not affect puppymills, they can keep on churning them out and will probably increase because they will have a larger market for their "products". That or an imported dog that will probably have health issues.   
 
    People really need to think about these proposed laws and read them to see that they WILL affect them if they ever plan on getting a dog in the future.


one last thing  - I know when I look at my local shelters list most of the dogs are over 6 months of age, usually over a year.  They are owner dumps.  These laws will not affect our throw away society.  In fact more dogs may be dumped because the available puppies will all be puppymills, guy on the street corner puppies,  or imports with health/behavior problems leading to the owner dumping them.   Puppies do go into shelters, but the majority of dogs are older that had an owner.

[MisterMagoo]

(i had about four paragraphs written here...)

actually, wait. let me back up because you made a great point about dog quality. chances are the dogs from breeders will be healthy and happy, while the imported dogs will not. as much as it sucks to think about the imported dogs getting neglected, they're probably in terrible shape to begin with, and will lead to more heartache for the owners whereas a responsible breeder will have higher quality pets. so, all right, fine, you got me. 

[~flower~]

I think every animal deserves a chance at a good life, especially when it was brought into the world because of human carelessness.  So just like if someone wants to donate to starving kids in Africa instead of donating to their local soup kitchen that is their choice, I don't really have a problem if people choose to help animals where ever they want, just don't bullshit the public and try and take away a person's right to a healthy pet by leaving out facts and skewing others. 

 It's the age of the internet, there is no reason to take anyone's word anymore, the info is out there on just about anything that will allow you to make an informed decision on anything, from what TV to buy, to what is the real agenda behind issues, to what to feed your dog.   

[Vet]

Isn't going to happen?  It IS happening.  Why should shelters and rescues import animals and then go on about all the animals dying in shelters?  And try and get laws passed that will have health consequences to pets?  That is bullshit. 

   Did you read how easy it is for these groups to import dogs?  You can't compare importing an exotic species for a zoo to bringing in puppies. 

Flower, reread what I posted.  I listed dogs first because those are the animals I've worked with more than any zoo species until two years ago.   When I lived in kentucky, I worked with a couple of laborador breeders who were ministers. They would send all of the unsold puppies to missionaries in the carribean and basically all over the world.  Then, when the missionaries came back, it was my job to help get them back into the US.   This doesn't include the dogs I've worked with with police forces and breeders for importation. I can say without a doubt, I've imported one hell of a lot more dogs than you have.   I've also been involved with importing one hell of a lot of different species, not just dogs.  The regulations are pretty clear. 

I've worked with rescues all over the US and humane societies in every state I've lived.  I will say with confidence that I dont' believe one of those organizations I've worked with would import dogs to meet a quota like you are implying.   I have a very, very hard time believing that. 

There was/is a big racket going out of Russia involving high priced dogs---typically English Bulldogs, poodles, and other smaller dogs that people will pay a premium from.   These dogs were coming into Ohio like wildfire about 5 years ago.  I know because I managed to bumblefuck my way into getting involved with one of the cases and had to deal with the legal implications of things.  Some of it still may not be settled.  But those dogs werne't being imported by a rescue. They were being imported by a group of breeders and being sold for upwards of $3000 (one bulldog went for $5000) per dog to local petstores and idiots. 

[~flower~]

So the USA Today article is false?  They used bogus sources?   The CDC is lying? 

 It is much harder to get a "dog" into the states than a puppy.  Under a certain age all the puppy needs is a health cert.  No quarantine, no rabies.  Yes, the regulations are clear on that. A health check, that's it.  Not to difficult.
 
   I know people who have imported puppies for breeding, it is not that difficult.  An older dog yes, because you my have quarantines because of their age, but a puppy under the req' aged for rabies is not difficult.

  I would think the regulations on bringing a wild species would be very complex, you can't compare that to a puppy.


 

[MisterMagoo]

There was/is a big racket going out of Russia involving high priced dogs---typically English Bulldogs, poodles, and other smaller dogs that people will pay a premium from.

http://www.thewrongpuppy.org/news.htm

very true on english bulldogs, as it turns out. i almost got one from bulldogravine until i found that site.

[~flower~]

So it would seem it is pretty easy and not that expensive to import puppies? 


 I am not saying that every shelter dog is an import, of course not, but some shelters/rescues are importing puppies "to meet demands" and then turn around and blame US breeders for the shelter population?  They should fill their demands from US shelters before importing and quit trying to shut down responsible breeders and make people have to alter their companions at 4 months of age which for many breeds can lead to many health problems down the line which could  be avoided if allowed to alter at a breed appropriate age.

[Vet]

So the USA Today article is false?  They used bogus sources?   The CDC is lying? 

 It is much harder to get a "dog" into the states than a puppy.  Under a certain age all the puppy needs is a health cert.  No quarantine, no rabies.  Yes, the regulations are clear on that. A health check, that's it.  Not to difficult.
 
   I know people who have imported puppies for breeding, it is not that difficult.  An older dog yes, because you my have quarantines because of their age, but a puppy under the req' aged for rabies is not difficult.

  I would think the regulations on bringing a wild species would be very complex, you can't compare that to a puppy.


 

I don't' think the US Today article was unbiased or very thorough. 

Flower you are wrong on the puppy thing.  Here is the official CDC link.  There is the link to the CDC website with importation information:  http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dq/animal.htm#dogs

Pay particular attention to this bit:

Puppies that are too young to be vaccinated (i.e. less than 3 months of age) must be kept in confinement until they are old enough to be vaccinated, and then confined for at least 30 days after the date of vaccination.

Unvaccinated dogs must be vaccinated within 4 days of arrival at their final U.S. destination and within 10 days of entry into the United States, and must be kept in confinement for at least 30 days after the date of vaccination.

Dogs may not be sold or transferred to other owners during this period of confinement, and the person that signs the confinement agreement is responsible for ensuring the conditions of the agreement are met.

Importers must provide a contact address where the dog will be kept during the confinement period. If the importer will be housing the dog at several addresses or traveling with the animal, all points of contact must be provided.

Now true, that confinement is not the same as quarantine facility, but its still restrictions on the animals and there is paperwork that is carefully tracked. 

The other thing is that each state has their own individual regulations for importing the dogs once they set foot on US soil and clear customs.  This may mean health certificates it may mean vaccination history, or it may mean a 130 day quarantine before they can ever leave (Hawaii).   The states can in many respects be much more strict than the federal regulations. 

Heres the bottom line.  I have a hard time with believing rescues and shelters will put out the kind of money necessary to do this, especially the confinement of a dog for a minimum of 30 days.   Are there people doing it?  Yes, but they are not legitimate rescue organizations or shelters. 


And as far as the wild animal importation goes, it depends on the species.  They aren't any harder or easier depending on the species and depending on where its coming from.  I've seen birds take months and months while some reptile species literally fly through customs. 

[Vet]

This was in the news today.  Its something to think about considering the topic of this thread.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/134549?GT1=43002