INCREASE USE OF SPAY & NEUTER RESOURCES
In 2014, the LAAS killed 11,600 pets. We can do better. This is a supply issue. We have too many animals and not enough homes for them. The logical first step is to reduce that supply. I will bring an animal protection curriculum to LAUSD to teach students about the responsibility of having domestic animals, and about the importance of spaying and neutering those pets. We will produce signage to display throughout the community, at dog parks and pet stores, which offers important information to pet owners. We need to expand the use of free spay and neuter clinics.
BAN THE USE OF WILD ANIMALS IN CIRCUSES
Countries that have banned the use of wild animals in circuses, roadside shows, and private parties include the UK, Brazil, Spain, Canada, Ireland, and Mexico (to name a few). The City of Los Angeles needs to join these countries in promoting respect for animal life. The LA City Council passed a ban on bull hook use on elephants, but the legislation does not address other forms of abuse, or the abuse of other animals. Los Angeles needs to set the tone for other major metropolitan areas by immediately imposing a ban on the income from, use of, or abuse of wildlife.
RESPECT FOR OUR WILDLIFE
Los Angeles needs to show more respect for our wildlife. Development projects should have built in criteria that address existing wildlife populations in the surrounding area. We need to work with existing organizations to educate people on the importance of protecting our bee population. We need to ban the use of rat poison. By using rat poison, you are poisoning the animals up the food chain that are eating these rats. This perpetuates the need for and use of rat poison.
Accidental litters, unlicensed backyard breeders and all cash internet sales are causing high shelter kill rates. Enforcement of the spay/neuter law, illegal animal sales law and LA ordinance will reduce the supply and bring needed revenue that will protect our dying bee population, protect wildlife corridors against overdevelopment. I that are contaminating the ecosystem. Using rat poison kills animals further up the food chain that are eating the rats. Let nature do its thing. Together, let homes for as many as we can.
Animals aren’t actors, spectacles to imprison and gawk at, or circus clowns. Yet thousands of these animals are forced to perform silly, confusing tricks under the threat of physical punishment; are carted across the country in cramped and stuffy boxcars or semi-truck trailers; are kept chained or caged in barren, boring, and filthy enclosures; and are separated from their families and friends- all for the sake of human “entertainment.” Many of these animals even pay with their lives.
As your next City Council member, I will seek full transparency and accountability in the city handling of animal rights legislation and within its animal rights departments, including:
- Enforcement of the existing city ordinances requiring every pet to be licensed and mandatory spay and neuter of cats and dogs, passed as law by the L.A. City Council in February 2008. Many people don’t know it’s the law because they don’t hear about it or see it enforced. It should be on the home page of the L.A. Department of Animal Services website, and it should be in multiple languages since we’re a multi-lingual city. – I will push for citations to be issued if and when the ordinance isn’t followed. It is a revenue stream for the city that has thus far been ignored. There are creative ways to do this, including and beginning with warnings and signage at dog parks throughout the city educating animal owners.
2) A crackdown on illegal animal sales including “puppy mills.” They affect CD4 because we make up a huge swath of LA, and our city is the second largest market in the U.S. for puppy mills. In the end, it costs our tax payers money to house and euthanize these animals and puts a burden on our system of shelters.
- Reinforcement of the sales ban, passed in 38 other cities, of dogs, cats, and rabbits in Los Angeles in any pet store. It passed in 2012, and I want stricter enforcing because they’re still selling. I will encourage mom-and-pop shops like Lucky Puppy on Ventura Blvd. to do business in the city, because they humanely house rescue animals in a retail environment.
- A ban on wild animals in circuses, private parties, and roadside shows in L.A. Though our City Council recently passed a ban on using bull hooks on elephants, the bull hook legislation is insufficient for all other kinds of abuse heaped on elephants and other animals. It’s not enough to ban an instrument of torture – we need to do what lawmakers have done in Mexico, Colombia, and El Salvador. As a world class city, we need to get up to speed with the legislation in developing countries.
I support a ban on the income from, use of, or abuse of wildlife species in circuses, private shows, and roadside shows. I’m not afraid to take a stance on animal rights issues and set the tone for other major metropolitan areas in our country. We can make L.A. an even better city, one which protects animals and participates in their conservation. It’s time.
