Poop City

Pol proposes "Paw and Claw Tax"

A Republican state senator has introduced a bill that would tax products for "dogs, cats, gerbils, hamsters, rabbits, and caged birds." The three percent tax would include a levy on pet food.

The Sun reports that collected revenues would go "toward financing animal shelters and wild life rehabilitators."

"When people realize the money is going to shelters, they will understand it's for a worthwhile cause," the bill's sponsor, Senator Frank Padavan, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Sounds good, especially considering Governor Spitzer's apparent distaste for animal welfare funding. A possible Spitzer veto notwithstanding, there might also be concerns that the money could someday be diverted from its intended use. But Padavan, described as "the animal protector of the Legislature," is apparently sincere.

This year, he has also introduced a bill that would ban the electrocution of fur-bearing animals and one that would prohibit canned hunts.

Of course the so-called "Paw and Claw Tax" will have to make it by politicians, including the governor and Republican Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno, who have promised no new taxes. Heaven forfend the lives of animals stand in the way of cliched political pandering.

Welfare program funds restored

This bit of news was inadvertently omitted from yesterday's P-O-R good government report.

From the ASPCA:

Thanks to your efforts, the New York legislature restored funding to two crucial animal welfare programs during last-minute negotiations to finalize a state budget by the April 1 deadline. The budget now awaits Governor Spitzer’s signature!

- The Senate and Assembly agreed to restore $150,000 to the Animal Population Control Program, which provides low-cost spay/neuter services to low-income New York pet owners and to state residents who adopt their pets from shelters and humane societies.

- Both houses also agreed to restore $100,000 to the pet dealer licensing program, which oversees licensing and inspection of pet stores and “backyard breeders” in New York State.

Governor Spitzer’s proposed budget would have diverted these funds to instead pay the salaries and fringe benefits of state employees.

Please take a moment to contact your state representatives, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, and thank them for acting to ensure the integrity of these vital animal welfare and consumer protection laws.

Spitzer: Come to New York, Kill Something

Eliot Spitzer seems to have it in for New York's animal population.

Even as he plans to divert tax moneys from crucial (and already under funded) spay-neuter and welfare enforcement efforts, the governor wants to pump (no pun intended - really) additional state resources into promoting hunting and fishing, which he believes will boost tourism revenue.

For those of us who don't see how slaughtering unarmed animals qualifies as recreation, much less as "sport," that might be bad enough. But Spitzer wants to up the ante - way, way up.

As part of his outdoor agenda, Spitzer said no new gun law will be adopted without hunting group consultation ...

Naturally, the gun nuts are overjoyed at their luck, if a little suspicious - since Spitzer was previously sort of against the proliferation of firearms. Says Tom King, president of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association:

"If you go back to Gov. Spitzer's record as attorney general, he attempted to limit gun ownership in many ways. For him to do a broad initiative like this is really a very good thing for the hunters of New York state."

Could be that this is a ploy to get the hunting lobby to back down on its opposition to Spitzer's choice to head the Department of Environmental Conservation, Assemblyman Alexander "Pete" Grannis.

Certainly there must be some logic behind it, but until Governor Spitzer's endgame becomes apparent, I think I'll go back and see if I can find exactly when Candidate Spitzer promised to hand over the asylum to the inmates.

Related:
- ASPCA calls for action in re welfare budget cuts. [ASPCA]

Spitzer steamrolls puppies and kittens

During his run for governor, Eliot Spitzer railed against many things: influence peddling, inefficient administration, entrenched bureaucracy, et cetera, et cetera.

While it’s likely that most voters - including yours truly - missed out on at least some speechifying, it’s a safe bet that Candidate Spitzer never drew applause by declaring himself an enemy of the state’s cat and dog population.

Yet the ASPCA reports that, as part of his first budget, the governor is now looking to carve $150,000 from the state’s Low Cost Spay-Neuter Program, which has funded operations for animals adopted by low-income New Yorkers since 1997.

Spitzer also wants to take $100,000 from the pet dealer license fee pot - fees used to help keep pet stores and dog breeders in compliance with under-enforced animal welfare and consumer protection laws. Such a hit would “essentially deplete” the fund, says the ASPCA. The governor reportedly wants to devote the money to unspecified “fringe benefits for state employees.”

For directions on letting Spitzer and other state officials know this is a bad idea, click.

Related:
- Spitzer defends "right" to cruelty. [NYS]

Shelters brace for post-holiday rush

This brief piece from yesterday's Post, about the post-holiday flood shelters experience as numbskulls "return" their ill-planned "gifts," is packed with subtext. Notably, a good number of the surrenders are purebred puppies, many of whom will pay the ultimate price even as their breeders continue to cash in on slightly newer models. Also, the story not-too-subtly hints that if you absolutely must turn in your unruly new toy to a shelter, you are most likely an idiot who didn't stop to think about what it means to bring a young animal into your home. Unfortunately, the burden of your arrogance and stupidity will be borne by the defenseless, trusting soul you can no longer be bothered to deal with. (That's PC talking, not the Post.)

In other news:
- No arrests in slaying of Queens woman and "cherished" dog. [Queens Chronicle]
- Spitzer defends "right" to cruelty. [NYS]
- A bus driver with a heart (fourth item). [NYT]

Photo: Brooke, available for adoption at BARC, c/o lisacat