Schwarzenegger wants to repeal California's comprehensive law forcing animal shelters to hold stray cats and dogs up to six days before killing them, a budget-cutting move that has enraged pet adoption groups.
As a favor to the state's cash-poor counties and cities, Schwarzenegger has asked the state Legislature to reverse the 1998 law, which makes adoption of wayward pets the first priority of shelters instead of quickly putting them to death. The law is dubbed the Hayden Act, after former Santa Monica state senator and activist Tom Hayden.
"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 said Thursday.
The governor proposes a change in the law to allow birds, hamsters, potbellied pigs, rabbits, snakes, turtles and other animals that are not cats and dogs to be put to death immediately if the shelter favors that approach, animal rights groups said.
Schwarzenegger also would eliminate a requirement that people convicted of animal cruelty be prohibited from owning a pet for three years and be forced to pay for medical care for the animals they have mistreated.
Shelters no longer would be required to search for owners who have embedded microchips in their pets that store addresses and phone numbers.
well, i guess i would rather the money go to food banks or homeless shelters than three extra days before kerfloom in the pound. i am more or less sure that they money is going to go to wealthy Californian pockets instead, though.
i can't believe this guy is such a freakin douchebag.
one time my irish setter gabe escaped when i was 10 and the pound had him for 4 days and my dad finally got us there and they were 20 minutes away from gassing the dog my parents got the day i was born! my best friend!
Don't forget Bush himself calling a reporter a major league asshole unaware that the microphone was on...and allegedly using the F-word during a military briefing on Saddam...