HUMANE PA

We hope you won’t give up either. We are counting on you to help us put an end to one of the most senseless and cruel practices in Pennsylvania, live pigeon shoots. Join us on Monday January 30th for End Live Pigeon Shoots call-in day when we are asking for you to call your state Representative and state Senator to urge them to “please vote in favor of all legislative efforts to end live pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania.”  Because the legislature considers this one of the most controversial animal bills to ever be voted on in PA, we need to engage as many people as possible, so please share call in day on your page and invite your friends to also participate. This bill will take a village.

It has been more than a month since the House voted to send SB 71 with the pigeon shoot amendment on it back to the House Gaming and Oversight Committee. You can see how your legislator voted here: vote count.    We urged all of you to call and either thank your legislators for their ‘No’ vote and to ask those legislators who voted ‘yes’ to send it back, why they would vote to get rid of the bill. What we have learned is yes, there were some legislators who were confused about the bill and why it was being attached to a bill that had already passed. Some legislators even thought they were saving the bill from being killed entirely. We will give those who were confused the benefit of the doubt, but regardless of their reasons, the first real chance we had in over a decade to end the practice was scuttled. Moving forward, we urge them to finally bring this bill to the floor for a vote.

We have had several victories this week with the House passing the Exotic Animal bill and the Senate moving the Gas Chamber bill to appropriations. We hope to finally see pigeon shoots addressed as well, but we need your calls to do so.

Don’t know what a live pigeon shoot is? Click here to watch: Live Pigeon Shoots If you are as saddened by this senseless display of cruelty as we are – please share with others who may not know this still takes place in Pennsylvania. Thank you.

Humane PA is committed to electing humane candidates. We have already received many requests for endorsements, but before we can endorse any candidate we must determine if they meet our requirements.  We have created an online Humane PA 2012 Candidate Survey .

Tuesday January 24th kicks off Pennsylvania’s election season as the first date that candidates have to circulate and file nomination petitions. They must be filed three weeks later on February 15th. Petitions are necessary to ensure each candidate can obtain the required number of signatures to be nominated. The PA Dept. of State has more information on the nominating and election process at: Voting and Elections. If you or someone you know is interested in running for office please visit PA Dept. of State Running for Office

Remember, candidates are always looking for volunteers to help with petitions!  It is a great way to get to know your candidates and let them know that you are interested in the humane treatment of animals.  You can get more information from your local party headquarters (many candidates have Facebook pages linked on the HumanePA Facebook page too).

If you want your candidate to be considered for an endorsement please direct them to our Humane PA 2012 Candidate Survey to get a jump on our endorsement process!  Thank you all for helping to keep humane issues in front of candidates!

*Please note this survey is for candidates only.

Become a Humane  PA Coordinator to help us”Give Animals a Voice in Harrisburg.”

You are probably reading this because you care about animals and want to do something effective to fight animal cruelty.

You are probably reading this because there are so many times you have thought “there ought to be a law”

You are probably reading this because you know that in order to get laws passed to protect animals; we need elected officials who are both compassionate and committed to pursuing, sponsoring and advocating for humane, anti-cruelty legislation.

 At Humane PA, we are an all-volunteer non-partisan committee. We are committed to electing or re-electing candidates with either a proven record of compassionate advocacy or who pledge support of anti-cruelty measures and to pursuing laws to end cruelty to animals. We have grown exponentially in 2011, and are determined to continue to increase our efforts and effectiveness in helping animals by participation in and impacting our state political process. We are currently seeking Coordinators to work with Humane PA Directors to assist with some of the following. Please note: Coordinators are not expected to do all of the items, but be part of our team working towards these goals:

•    Mobilize and enlist friends, family members, neighbors, and  other members of your community to use the power of their vote and influence as constituents to advocate for anti-cruelty laws by any or all of the following actions:

-       Work to elect more animal friendly legislators

-       Assist animal friendly candidates in their campaigns (campaigns always need volunteers and by volunteering we can help to get elected officials who understand the issues that are so important to us and are committed to working to end cruelty to animals)

-       Contact elected officials by telephone, email or by attending town meetings

-       Encourage others to become a voice for helpless animals by getting involved in the political process

-       Help to educate others about how to contact their elected officials effectively

-       Meet with elected officials and/or their staff

-       Education on issues of cruelty and pending humane legislation

-       Represent Humane PA at community events (i.e. animal related festivals, tabling opportunities, etc.)

-       Represent Humane PA on a regional level to provide support and assistance to other like-minded PA residents in your region in increasing their involvement in the political process to promote the anti-cruelty mission

 You may already be involved with your local shelter, rescue organization or other animal welfare advocacy groups. These are wonderful places to start reaching out to humane voters since they already care about animals. As a Humane PA Coordinator, you can help us bridge the gap between this existing base of animal advocates and the electoral/legislative process to help more animals on a statewide level.

Benefits to becoming a Humane PA Coordinator:

-       Work with other like-minded animal advocates

-       Learn the PA political process and how a bill becomes a law

 -      Learn insider tips from professional lobbyists

-       Become a respected leader in your community for advocating for animals

-       Play a vital role in changing the way legislators and voters view animal protection issues

 -      Knowing you’ve made a difference in the lives of animals

If you are interested and have the time, that is all you will need to get started. We will train you.

Please fill out the contact form below if you are interested in becoming a Coordinator and a Regional Director will get in touch with you shortly.

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Your Region(required) Central PA Eastern PA Western PA

Comments

Democrat-Independent-Republican-Green or Humane? Does party matter when it comes to electing a humane candidate? In our Facebook poll this week we asked about your past voting habits and if you would consider crossing party lines to vote for an animal friendly candidate. An overwhelming  76% of responses indicate that yes, you would consider crossing party lines to voting for a humane candidate.

We loved some of the comments on our poll:

“Definitely would cross parties to vote for an animal friendly candidate!”

 ”It seems that the folks who support pigeon shoots or puppy mills in either party seem to support a slew of things which I don’t. I guess if you’ll support animal cruelty, concern for children, women, the elderly, sick and poor might not register too high on your priority list either.”

“I never vote for a straight party. I vote based on proven actions.”

“ Work hard to make your voice heard with an army that supports animals and you will not have to make that choice. If your rep is on the fence, sell it to them. If you work to sell your viewpoint we will always get at least the 50% it takes to pass a bill. Make your voice heard and enough reps will change their viewpoints. Let your rep change, not you.”

“My political choices would be to support candidates willing to SOLVE THE ANIMAL CRISIS!”

We have a busy election season coming up for 2012 with numerous local races to follow. Voting for humane candidates translates into better chances for passing animal protection bills. We hope everyone who cares about animals takes an active role in helping to protect animals by getting involved in their local political parties and making sure their candidates are animal friendly. Be sure to follow us here on our webpage, Facebook and Twitter as we will be posting valuable information, candidate profiles, candidate recommendations and coming next week…the first ever PA Scorecard on how PA legislators voted on animal bills.

Here are links to each of the parties – remember we are non-partisan here:   Democratic, Republican, Independent, Green  and Humane. Note the latest party to be added is the Humane Party. This is a relatively new party with no actual candidates on the PA ballots yet, but thought it might be interesting to follow.

Regardless of party, make sure your candidate knows how important protecting animals is to you and get them to commit to a position before they get elected.

Dusty Rose was lucky. She survived living in a dumpster on the streets of Harrisburg thanks to a kind soul and a policeman who didn’t have the heart to shoot a dog…an option that a Dec. 10th memo from Capt. Annette Books gave him. The Humane Society of Harrisburg Area, the only public intake shelter for strays in the area requires a contract between municipalities in order to receive dogs…hey everything costs money folks and that means feeding and vetting the thousands of animals that come through HSHA’s doors every year. The City of Harrisburg had not paid their bill from 2011 and began 2012 with no contract. No contract, no animal control, no place for Dusty Rose and others like her to go.

What do you do when a municipality such as the City of Harrisburg decides not to pay, or renew their contract with HSHA? Outraged citizens decided to take this story to the local media.  All three local television stations and the capitol city’s newspaper, The Patriot-News carried the story, putting pressure on the city and HSHA to expedite a contract for the sake of the animals. To date, the City of Harrisburg made payment to HSHA in the end of December, but fell short by $800. A family from Arizona graciously donated the balance. The contract for 2012 has yet to be signed, but according to HSHA that could come any day now. Was paying the balance of a bill for animal control really the responsibility of a family as far away as Arizona?

Amy Kaunas, Executive Director of HSHA was on Witf Radio Smart Talk to discuss the situation regarding the contract with the City of Harrisburg and what she thinks is a best case scenario. You can listen to the podcast here.  While some may think HSHA should take the animals regardless of contract, a contract is necessary and should be taken seriously, as one would any professional service. It’s time the rest of the public takes animal welfare and animal control just as seriously.  The animal control issue is not exclusive to Harrisburg, every municipality in Pennsylvania struggles with animal overpopulation, stray and unwanted animals. Who should bear the responsibility for paying to care for all of these animals?

Humane PA’s Vice President, and Executive Director of the Humane Society of Berks County Karel Minor offers his shelter’s plan for animal control that could serve as a statewide model for animal control where the cost is shared among state, county and local government. This plan is worth a read and worth adding permanently to our Focus Issues.

The animal control issue obviously needs to be addressed on a much larger scale. Hopefully, through awareness and attention to stories such as Dusty Rose’s, we can work together to solve this statewide crisis. Be sure to subscribe to this blog to get updates on this and all Humane PA issues.

The Republican Caucus in Iowa proved one thing, every vote counts.  8 votes. Yes, Mitt Romney won the caucuses by merely 8 votes. I wonder if any of those 8 thought they would decide the fate of their party’s nominee? Did they think their vote mattered? Did they think it was too cold, too rainy, or just didn’t feel like showing up? Did they think how their vote might affect animals? Our forefathers fought for freedom. Our foremothers fought for a woman’s right to vote. At Humane PA we are fighting to increase the influence of the animal vote. Here are 8 ways you can help “Give Animals a Voice in Harrisburg” :

1.      Register to vote

2.      Vote

3.      Learn more about your local party committee – remember we are non-partisan here   Democratic party, Republican Party, Independent Party, Green Party.

4.      Become active in your party

5.      Be a voice for animals and ask candidates where they stand on animal issues. Many of them may be supportive already, but have never thought of it as a platform issue or one that voters care about.

6.      Commit your candidate to supportive positions on anti-cruelty bills before they are even elected. It helps the humane lobbyists when it comes time to introduce/vote on anti-cruelty bills.

7.      Watch for our list of Humane PA endorsed candidates on our website and help make sure that both candidates and voters are aware of the list!  Its power as a persuasive tool comes only as it is used to help elect candidates.  If your candidate is not on the list ask them why and what they can do to get on it

8.      Animals can’t vote, so if you care about them and want to help give animals a voice in Harrisburg, vote for and volunteer to help elect Humane PA endorsed candidates!

Watch this blog for further tips on how to get involved in electing humane legislators!

2011:  A year of changes brought a new name, a new slogan and logo, a new website and president. Here’s a look back at some of our accomplishments, setbacks, and our work ahead for 2012.

This year Humane USA PA PAC officially changed its name to Humane PA, and created a new slogan “Giving Animals a Voice in Harrisburg” along with a new logo.

Leadership Changes: After three years of dedicated service, founder and former Senator Roy Afflerbach officially stepped down as board president to take over as Treasurer, and handed the reigns over to new President, Elissa B. Katz, Esq. Thank you Roy for your service and dedication to helping the animals.  We also added new area coordinators, Charlotte Bloom Grimme as Western PA Coordinator, Bernadette O’Brien Miller as Central PA Coordinator and Elissa B. Katz as Eastern PA Coordinator.

Looking back: In 2008, co-founder and Senior Vice President, Heidi Prescott had a vision of taking the animal lobby to the next level. As we look back on this year and the previous two years, many positive steps were taken to help animals in PA. While there should have been more legislative victories for animals this year, we had much success in building a solid following of humane voters in PA.

One of our goals this year was building up our grassroots outreach efforts, to engage more voters who care about passing more animal protection laws and to help elect solid, animal friendly legislators. Humane PA is now the largest, fastest growing and most interactive state political action committee for animals in the country. We are more than 20,000 members strong between our Facebook, Twitter, website and email lists. Humane PA has also become the model for other state PAC’s for animals.  Our website took on a new look with more information tabs and a blog, along with providing an Emergency Preparedness link after several unpredictable weather systems threatened the safety of animals in PA.

Through our outreach efforts, Humane PA has become a vehicle to communicate with animal advocates across the state.  ”We have grown to be a motivated group of dedicated people. I am inspired to continue the fight for animals because our vision, back in 2008, has come to fruition and it is a true inspiration to see the caliber of people involved and the level of engaged posts and comments by our members” says Heidi Prescott.

Social Media:

-        Facebook: Number of ‘Likes’ grew by more than 55% from 2010, today we are  more than 16,500 strong with a high level of engagement from our members

-        Twitter: We have more than 500 dedicated followers including numerous legislators

-        Increased education of the political process in PA for our followers, as well as increased engagement of politically active members, especially those involved in their local party committees, both Democrat and Republican

Accomplishments:

• S.B. 67: Greyhound Racing – signed into law by Gov. Corbett
• S.B. 626: Live Animals as Targets (pigeon shoot bill) - passed Senate Judiciary Committee
• H.B. 165: Service Dog Abuse - passed the House
• S.B. 1329: Bans the use of Carbon Monoxide Chambers – passed Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee
• H.B. 1760 : Sunday Hunting – several hearings were held, with strong support from the PA Farm Bureau we were able to hold off on any vote

    New Bills introduced:

    - H.B. 1765: Provides for a tax credit for adoption of a dog or cat from a PA animal    shelter

Setbacks:

• S.B. 71  - With Maher anti-cruelty amendments re-referred to House Gaming and Oversight Committee

Looking ahead to 2012:

Endorsements:

• We take every vote on animal welfare legislation into consideration when endorsing a candidate during elections, therefore those who have shown courage, compassion and leadership in championing animal protection laws will most likely get our endorsement, turncoats and those supporting animal abuse will not.

PA Scorecard: Look for the first ever PA Scorecard that will track votes on all animal welfare bills by legislators in both the House and Senate. This will appear as a separate link on our website.

Legislative Issues:

•  S.B. 626: Continue pushing for a floor vote to finally end Live Pigeon Shoots
•  S.B. 1329: Expedite a vote to ban Carbon Monoxide Chambers
• H.B. 1130: Mandatory Hold Periods – Increases the mandatory hold period of stray animals brought to shelters and mandates that police stations retain a list of found animals.
• S.B. 27: Puppy Lemon Law – Increases protections for dog purchasers under the Puppy Lemon Law.
• HB 1051: Exotic Animals – Eliminates the private ownership of exotic animals and restricts other types of ownership.
• H.B. 721: Trapping – Increases the penalties for illegally laying traps.
• S.B. 968: Protective Orders – Allows pets to be included in protective orders.
• PA H.B. 826/S.B. 972: Tethering – Prohibits tethering a dog outside between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.: prohibits tethering in extreme weather; with a poke, prong, or choke collar, and limits the type of tether which may be used.

Our rapid growth brings with it the need for even more grassroots outreach efforts and leadership. We are in the process of recruiting area leaders for each district to help coordinate more politically active animal advocates. As a non-partisan group we hope to have leadership representation from all parties.

As we continue to grow our network of animal advocates the next phase will incorporate fundraising in order to help elect animal friendly legislators and un-seat those who are not. The recent vote on the Maher amendments to SB71 gave us a clear picture of who those legislators are.

We hope you will join us as we continue to “Give Animals a Voice in Harrisburg” and strive to make our commonwealth a more Humane PA.

Tuesday’s vote count of 124 Yea – 69 Nea, on whether or not to recommit the amendments to SB71 were shocking, considering the number of legislators who have said they would vote to finally end pigeon shoots in PA. Did they not understand what it was they were voting on, or was there confusion on the amendments? Perhaps some of you were confused too.

When SB71 was announced, Rep. Schroder made a motion to recommit the bill back to committee for ‘further study’.  Several other representatives spoke out about the bill and amendments and a vote was taken to recommit – send the bill back – to the House Gaming and Oversight Committee. The Yea’s won. This meant there would be no vote on the bill and it’s amendments on the House floor, to finally ban live pigeon shoots. Now that you understand exactly what transpired and who voted ‘Yea’, please reach out to them and hold them accountable for their actions. If your legislator voted ‘Yea’, then ask them why they sent the bill back to committee when they could have taken a vote to put an end to cruelty to animals.

Walter Brasch gives a unique perspective on this topic. You can read his blog here.

This form makes it easy to end the cruel practice known as live pigeon shoots:

HUMANE ALERT: END LIVE PIGEON SHOOTS TODAY 

 After you have contacted your representative please share this alert from the Humane Society of the United States with everyone you know including family, friends, relatives, co-workers, anyone you can think of who cares about the humane treatment of animals. Together we can make history and outlaw this barbaric practice.

To learn more about what goes on at a pigeon shoot and to see a video of a live pigeon shoot please visit our Focus Issues page.

Many editorials have been written in support of banning live pigeon shoots. We have included them in our Editorials page.

Senator Andrew Dinniman is holding a rally this Sunday November 13th from 2-3pm at the Thorncroft Equestrian Center in Malvern, PA to get support for SB 1329. This bill will put an end to the use of carbon monoxide chambers in PA.  Daniel, the “Miracle Dog” who survived a gas chamber in Alabama will also be there to show his support.

Unfortunately, due to the overpopulation of unwanted animals in shelters and rescues across the state, some are forced to euthanize.  This is a harsh reality for those who care about animals, but even harsher is animals suffering needlessly. Euthanasia by injection is a much more humane method. We applaud Sen. Dinniman for his leadership on this humane bill and for holding the rally to gain support from the public. You can also visit his website for more information.

Sen. Dinniman is encouraging everyone to contact their local representatives and members of the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee and urge them to support SB 1329.  A sample letter and talking points can be found here under How Can I Help?