What's up with the Animal Rights issue?

[Trish Allearz]

Yes, and it sounds like the officer was spouting nonsense... Paige was not there illegally. It has been pointed out that sometimes officers bluster and bully without actually having the right to enforce what they are asking you to do. She can't live there with her kitties but I don't believe that attending a cat show is counted as that. At least that is what TICA's lawyer seems to be saying on the list. They keep saying it is NOT a Bengal/Savannah issue at all.

So basically, the law enforcement is trying to use the hybrid issue to push the health certificate issue?

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

So this new law was literally passed last year? What do they expect to get from it? I wonder about states and their waste of time passing silly laws. A health certificate basically means close to nothing a day after it was signed.

I honestly don't know what the reasoning was behind it... stupid bureaucracy most likely :-( Unless it is just the AR plan of slowly making it harder and harder for these animal exhibitions (of all forms) to be there. Most of the TICA cat exhibitors on the FB and the yahoogroup list seem to be saying they won't go to RI shows if they have to have a HC each and every time...

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

So basically, the law enforcement is trying to use the hybrid issue to push the health certificate issue?

I'm not sure that is the case. The hybrid issue may just have come up WITH the HC issue. As well as, not necessarily related?

 

[Trish Allearz]

I'm not sure that is the case. The hybrid issue may just have come up WITH the HC issue. As well as, not necessarily related?

Makes sense- as much as any of this does... I cannot imagine having to get a health certificate on top of everything else before going to a cat show- that could easily run up your costs! Here- they are about $60 each.

 

[Brigitte Cowell]

Exactly the objection of many exhibitors! So if the aim is to shut down dog and cat shows, what more effective way to achieve your aim if you know that the general public WANT those dog and cat shows? You simply push the need for them to "be healthy" and people say "well yes, of course we want them to be healthy". The general public wouldn't see any harm in asking for a health certificate...they don't realize how an extra $60 every show would mean an exhibitor would then go to less shows, hence there would be less doggies and kitties for them to go look at...and that ultimately the dog and cat shows fold. It's sneaky and very AR in tactics...

 

[Trish Allearz]

Okay, Paige okay'ed me to share this... Let her get home and you can bombard her with particular questions, but...

First- Paige has been to this show before with SVs. Bengal people from all over (including Canada) attend this show. There has never been an issue.

Saturday, DEM showed up and demanded access of all Bengal/Savannah information at the show- they wanted addresses and names. The host club denied them. Then since they couldn't access that information from the club, they demanded to see health certificates on all of the cats- well, maybe they were just trying to enforce the law for HCs, but I tend towards skepticism.

Sunday, they came back, armed, and demanded that all Bengal and Savannah peeps leave the state immediately. They then changed their minds and said that they could stay through the show, but would have to leave the state immediately after.

They stated that even passing through- one needed a permit to have a hybrid. Which actually doesn't make ANY sense- because how could you get a permit for an animal if you don't LIVE in the state?

The TICA club was wonderful and deserves kudos for not backing down to the bullies. I think Paige deserves a round of applause too because I'd run away with my tail tucked between my legs. I can't stand this kind of stuff.

 

[AundreaLea]

Wow! I can't believe what nonsense RI allowed. What does DEM stand for?

 

[SV Dad]

Like I said, somebody who thought they had authority was out of control. Going into a show with children, packing, and no possible evidence of violence. I could see the local police going in that way if there was a dispute. Seriously, a pet show?

 

[John Popp]

Sounds like more of a problem with how individuals assert their authority than the misguided state legislature.

 

[Dr. Cris Bird]

The story of what happened at RI started hitting the entire online cat fancy yesterday. Funny thing was, the CFA folks picked up on it first. Someone at the show phoned a CFA friend perhaps. Seems to have gone to some of the Asian breed communities, which is how I heard about it. I posted to the TICAmembers list to find out if any of it was true. TICA legal counsel Susan Adler replied publicly and then to me privately to ask me to calm the CFA folks down a tad. Since then it has been discussed fairly thoroughly on TICAmembers.

Paige can tell you firsthand, but I'll just say a couple of things. SVs, CUs, and Bengals are not illegal in RI. The TICA cat show and pet expo have been held yearly for about ten years, with no prior problems. Also, most states allow a "pass through" exemption from local laws for animals shown at special events. So, no one expected any problems.

It is possible that the goal of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management was simply to get a list of addresses of *local* owners of Bengals and Savannahs -- so that they could squeeze them for money. Local governments everywhere are doing quite a lot of that lately, and not just with cats.

The good news is, the show management and NE Regional Director Francine did NOT provide names and addresses to the DEM. Francine had the help of my friend Laurie Schiff, an attorney and TICA judge, who helped her work through the situation. The RI DEM was not able to do much this time around except make a lot of people very upset on Saturday. Today things went much better, and those who remained at the show say they had a good time.