| Hi Friend,
New York Assembly Bill 1556 ( A1556) would forbid penning, caging, tethering, or restraining of all dogs outside from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. A1556 applies not only to pets, but also to working dogs such as Livestock Guardian Dogs (LGDs). LGDs have been bred to bond with the animals that they protect, and they usually stay outside with the animals 24/7. If this bill passed, it would pose a real problem to some small farmers across New York state. Many small farmers rely on LGDs to protect their livestock, as the LGDs stay in the pasture or pens with the animals throughout the night. Depending on how the bill is enforced, A1556 could make the normal nighttime use of LGDs illegal. LGDs are arguably most useful at night because most livestock predators are nocturnal. Please take action now! And please share this alert with your friends and family in New York. In good health,
Alexia Kulwiec
Executive Director
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| | | TAKE ACTION
If your State Assemblymember is on the Agriculture Committee (see list HERE at right), please urge him or her to OPPOSE A1556 or ask that the bill be amended to exclude working dogs.
You can look up who represents you in the Assembly HERE.
Remember, calls are far more effective than emails, and they can take just a couple of minutes! A few calls from constituents have been known to change a legislator’s mind on an issue. Keep your call or email short, polite, and clear—you can simply give your name, identify yourself as a constituent, and ask your Assemblymember to OPPOSE the bill or ask that the bill be amended to leave out working dogs. If you have time, add a sentence or two about why this issue is important to you. See More Information below, for some talking points that you can use. |
| | MORE INFO
The bill states:
- It shall be unlawful to tie, tether, restrain, cage or pen a working or non-working dog outdoors, between the hours of 7 p.m. to 6 a.m.
- A working or non-working dog may be tied, tethered, caged or penned outdoors between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., to a stationary object or a pen or cage in a sized pen or cage four times the height and length of said dog; provided it is in a manner that is not inhumane or detrimental to the dog's welfare, doesn't cause the dog to choke, permits the dog to escape harm and permits the dog to reach food, water, shade and dry ground.
Because the bill applies to a “working or non-working dog,” it would likely make farming with LGDs very difficult and impractical.
See more info about A1556, including the full amended bill text, HERE.
Talking Points:
• The most important talking point is how this bill would affect YOU. Why do you oppose this bill? Do you buy pastured poultry from a farmer who uses LGDs? Are you a small farmer who uses LGDs?
• The bill effectively would ban farmers from keeping LGDs penned outside at night at all. LGDs have been bred to bond with the animals that they protect, and they usually stay outside with the animals 24/7. For instance, some LGDs are penned with small livestock like poultry both day and night.
• The bill, if passed, would also pose hardships for LGD owners if they needed to confine their LGDs for whatever reason (injured, sick, etc.) because they wouldn’t be able to confine the working dogs outside even though they have been bred to remain outside. |
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| www.farmtoconsumer.org | 703-208-FARM (3276) | info@farmtoconsumer.org |
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