Friday, February 26, 2010

New pet bills coming to Oklahoma

Below you will find a letter I wrote to Oklahoma Senator, Patrick Anderson. Many of you may not know how hard it is be a dog breeder due to the pressure from the Animal Rights people i.e.: HSUS, Peta and the Humane Society. While the face they show the public to get your donations appears to be one of real concern, further investigation of who they really are will reveal a much different face. If you would like more information from various sources please visit More Information

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Senator Patrick Anderson,

I watched you on News 9 this morning. I must say that I was impressed in a way and disappointed in another. Your comment that you were only looking at dog breeders at this time has me a bit concerned. Are you supported in any way by the Humane Society?


You stated that the vast majority of pups produced in Oklahoma are shipped out of state. You should know that the state of Oklahoma does not charge sales tax on out of state sales of any item or service. Therefore your argument for this bill won't hold water. So there has to be an underlying reason for pursuit of this bill. Perhaps it lies in special interest support?

I am so tired of big government. This is just another example of regulations and laws we don't need. All that needs to happen is that the people hired to enforce the current laws be compelled to enforce them. Perhaps if you want to rid Oklahoma of poor breeders and your so called Puppy Mills, you only need to have the animal cruelty laws that are already in place be enforced. Since I am not an attorney or a judge I can't speak to the penalties and fines the state can glean from proper enforcement, but I certainly think we could increase revenue with out creating another law, another bureaucratic mess, red tape choked arm of an already bloated state government!

You of all people being part of the agriculture committee should know the laws that effect agriculture. You should also know that most breeders are also farmers in some way. Most pet breeders are not solely pet breeders but farmers in some way. Due to the restrictions placed on the number of pets by most incorporated areas (towns, cities) most breeders are in rural areas. The bad breeders are hiding now and will continue to hide. Those people do need run out, but you aren't going to do anything with this bill except create more government and put more rural people out of work. This hardly seems the time to increase the employment roles and welfare rolls.

Sales tax on the sale of pets would be very discriminating. As a farmer you can sell a cow and not pay sales tax. If you sell produce, you don't pay sales tax on your crop. If you sell hay, it's the same thing. As farmers, dogs/cats are part of the livestock, farm inventory, why should they be discriminated against? Dog breeders are already discriminated against in the tax laws of this state since you can get a farm tax permit and not have to pay tax on cattle/hog/goat/sheep feed, supplies and medications. However dogs are exempt from this law so you have to pay sales tax to the state for every bag of dog food, ever collar, every kennel, every wormer or medication. This state already collects more sales tax from dog owners than they collect from farmers. This is bias against one agricultural group. What is good for one should be good for all. Dog breeders and most dog owners are part of the agricultural industry of Oklahoma.

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