Only two weeks remain in Virginia's 2015 General Assembly session, and we are incredibly grateful for all the calls and emails you have sent to give animals a voice in the legislative process. These final days are especially important!
Senate Bill 1381 successfully passed the senate on Feb. 4 and is being taken up by the house. This bill's next stop is in the House Agriculture subcommittee on Monday, Feb. 16. If the delegate for your district is not on this subcommittee, we still need your help! Please reach out to friends and family who are constituents of the following legislators and explain the importance of SB1381 and ask for them to make a call or send an email on behalf of animals.
Members of the House Agriculture subcommittee
Delegate Daniel W. Marshall, III (R) - House District 14
City of Danville, parts of Pittsylvania County and Henry County
804-698-1014
email: [email protected]
Delegate Robert D. Orrock, Sr. (R) - House District 54
Parts of Caroline and Spotsylvania Counties
804-698-1054
email: [email protected]
Delegate Charles D. Poindexter (R) - House District 9
Parts of Franklin, Patrick and Henry Counties
804-698-1009
email: [email protected]
Delegate Barry D. Knight (R) - House District 81
Parts of the cities of Chesapeake and Virginia Beach
804-698-1081
email: [email protected]
Delegate James W. Morefield (R) - House District 3
Counties of Bland, Buchanan, Russell (part), and Tazewell
(804) 698-1003
email: [email protected]
Delegate Matthew James (D) - House District 80
Cities of Chesapeake (part), Norfolk (part), Portsmouth (part), and Suffolk (part)
804-698-1080
email: [email protected]
Delegate Mark L. Keam (D) - House District 35
Part of Fairfax County
(804) 698-1035
email: [email protected]
SB1381 Summary
The Richmond SPCA is strongly supportive of SB1381 to amend the definition of “private animal shelter” in state code to include the purpose of finding permanent adoptive homes and facilitating other lifesaving outcomes for animals. The opposition to this bill has falsely stated that it would prevent private shelters from performing euthanasia, which is untrue; it also has no impact on public animal shelters.
The current wording of the definition has been interpreted to create a loophole under which the PETA facility in Norfolk operates as a private animal shelter but without the purpose of finding permanent adoptive homes for animals (view report from 2010 site visit by Dr. Dan Kovich for VDACS). Over the past decade, as save rates at private shelters across Virginia have risen and euthanasia rates have fallen, the PETA facility euthanizes the animals it takes in at a rate of about 90 percent. It is out of step with the progress being made for our state's homeless animals for a private shelter to operate not with the purpose of finding animals adoptive homes but almost entirely to take their lives.
Tabitha Frizzell Hanes is the director of advancement for the Richmond SPCA. To read the biographies of our other regular bloggers, please click here. Before posting a comment, please review our comment guidelines. Please note that our comment policy requires a first and last name to be used as your screen name.
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