(Sacramento, California) California law requires that stray animals be held in shelters for a minimum of six days before they are allowed to be killed. Governor Schwarzenegger wants to change the time period to three days for cats and dogs and allow for the immediate killing of birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes and turtles. Changing the current law, called the Hayden Law after former state Sen. Tom Hayden, would save local governments that operate the shelters up to $14 million.
"This is an issue that affects the care and protection of tens of thousands of stray animals, and will inflict heartbreak on a lot of owners and people in the animal adoption world," Hayden told the Los Angeles Times Thursday."Needless to mention, pet owners and animal rights advocates are outraged and some political observers think the governor is "stepping in the cat litter."
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Because of space limitations, the shelters are being forced to euthanize animals who are otherwise highly adoptable immediately after the holding time" rather the making more informed decisions, Palmer [spokesman for the state Department of Finance] said.
The changes also would eliminate a requirement that shelters search for the owners of strays that have been embedded with microchips that carry phone numbers and addresses.
Also eliminated would be a requirement that people convicted of animal cruelty must pay the veterinary costs of the animals they hurt.
Interestingly, the story notes that 600,000 cats and dogs are put to death each year in California. That equates to almost 2,400 cats and dogs killed per work day, 300 per hour, throughout the year, every year.
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