News - Humane Society of Berks County

The Humane Society of Berks County urges the City of Reading not to pursue this case and this well intentioned but seriously flawed ordinance any further. We have no doubt that a competent attorney will be able to bring a compelling case before the PA Supreme Court that will result on this ordinance being struck down for a broader variety of reasons. While the Humane Society understands the natural desire to want to do something in the face of a rash of dog bites, this ordinance was the wrong tool.

It targeted an entire population based on the actions of only a few. It had no requirements for determining if the criteria used was or remained valid over time. It started and has remained clearly intended by many as a means of controlling one particular breed, pit bulls, not any random "aggressive breed". Ultimately, it's extremely punitive licensing fees (fees that were outside the ability of many working families to pay)were required only of those owning a particular breed, resulting in a defacto and illegal breed ban.

All this aside, we don't need it to get bites down. Despite a major upturn in bites in the first part of 2007, increased enforcement of existing State and local dog control laws drastically reduced bites, not just by the pit bulls who would have been impacted but by all dogs of any breed. In the first seven weeks of 2008, even with the prospect of the ordinance completely off the radar until 2009, bites are still down 20% over last year and pitbull bites are down 66%. With good enforcement of existing laws, bites can be curbed without the threat of a Draconian breed ordinance.

It has been widely reported that the Humane Society of Berks County has called for a huge license fee for unsterilized dogs in Reading. As is often the case with positions of subtlety, this is accurate in the most selective of contexts. What the Humane Society has said is that IF the City insisted on keeping its ordinance, we believe that the restrictions should be targeted at the populations of dogs that are statistically vastly more likely to bite than any individual breed, even those scary pit bulls. These include (in order of percentage of total bites in Reading in 2007): unsterilized dogs of any sex (at least 71% of bites), any male dog of any breed (at least 67% of bites), unlicensed dogs of any breed or sex (at least 61% of bites), or unsterilized male dogs of any breed (at least 58% of bites). You would need to go through all these populations before you get down to a breed group like pit bulls (39% of bites). We believe that there is no reason to jump over these demonstrably more "aggressive" populations in order to target a breed-- unless the whole point is simply to target the breed.

So, pit bull owners, take this opportunity to prove the proponents of this ordinance wrong. If you haven't already, get your dog sterilized, always walk it on a leash, don't leave it outside unsupervised, keep it licensed, take your dog to a qualified obedience program, make sure that your dog is a model canine good citizen, and help the Humane Society and the City of Reading aggressively target the bad owners of dogs they have made bad- whatever their breed.

If you don't, you'll probably see some clever, new version of the ordinance rear its head soon.

Pigeon Shoot Ban Update!

Update (3-19-08): PA Senate Judiciary Committee temporarily postpones action on Legislation to Stop the Use of Live Animals for Target Practice

Although the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee had designated March 18 for consideration of Senate Bill 1150 to prohibit the use of live animals or fowl for target shoots, extended debate on a different controversial bill to amend the state constitution resulted in postponing debate and consideration of SB 1150 at the committee meeting.

Rather than risk having SB 1150 fail because of lack of proper consideration, the bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Pat Browne (R-Lehigh), requested Committee Chairman, Senator Stewart Greenleaf (R-Montgomery) to reschedule SB 1150 for the next meeting of the Committee, at which time Senator Browne believes the bill will be approved by the Committee.

Most importantly, your telephone calls and emails to the Committee members have helped to pave the way for SB 1150 to be approved by the Committee when it is rescheduled! The momentum remains with us thanks to your efforts!

One of the most important things that you can do is to acknowledge that hard work of legislators who are willing to introduce and push to passage bills in the face of stiff opposition. Senator Pat Browne is that kind of legislator. Please take a moment to send him a note thanking him for introducing SB 1150 and for his continued efforts to achieve committee approval and final passage of this bill.

As we saw this past week when the NRA tried to thwart our efforts to pass SB 1150, through email alerts from a variety of humane and animal advocate groups around our state and nationally, for the first time since this issue has been in the legislature we were able to surpass the opposition calls and emails to legislators generated by NRA efforts! You can help to sustain this momentum by helping to increase our numbers to be able to generate calls and emails at a moment’s notice. Please forward this message to other animal advocates and encourage them to take action and to join our email alert list.

As always, thank you for your support. SB 1150 could not have made it this far without you!

On Tuesday, March 18, 2008, the Senate Judiciary Committee will finally vote on SB 1150. To pass, this Bill needs every single vote and the seven co-sponsors of SB 1150 needs to be present or send in proxy "yes" votes to ensure it passes out of Committee. Please, take a few minutes to click on the link to the members of the Judiciary Committee below and email them to urge them to support this Bill!

Then please contact your Senator (if they are not on the Committee) and tell them you expect them to vote for SB 1150 when it come up for a full vote of the Senate.

Senate Judiciary Committee

Greenleaf, Stewart J., Chair (Co-sponsor, thank you!) White, Mary Jo, Vice Chair (Ask to support!) Costa, Jay, Minority Chair (Co-sponsor, thank you!) Scarnati, III, Joseph B., ex-officio (Ask to support!)
*Majority* Browne, Patrick M. (Prime sponsor, thank you!) Earll, Jane M. (Ask to support!) Gordner, John R. (Ask to support!) Orie, Jane Clare (Ask to support!) Piccola, Jeffrey E. (Ask to support!) Rafferty, Jr., John C. (Co-sponsor, thank you!)	*Minority* Boscola, Lisa M. (Co-sponsor, thank you!) Fontana, Wayne D. (Co-sponsor, thank you!) Stack, Michael J. (Co-sponsor, thank you!) Stout, J. Barry (Ask to support!)

Fifteen minutes of your time now could finally put an end to this cruel and archaic "sport". For more information on SB 1150, what it will and will not do, and to contact Berks County Senators, read the archived message below. Thank you!

Berks County is one of the last places in Pennsylvania to still hold pigeon shoots. Pennsylvania is one of only two States in the United States to legally allow these shoots and the only one where they are still taking place. And right now Berks County can help bring this shameful and unsporting practice to an end.

The Pennsylvania Senate may soon be bringing SB 1150, which bans pigeon shoots, to a vote. It will be a close vote and many of our elected representatives have not yet taken a public position on SB 1150. We need your help now in order to convince undecided Senators to support the bill. Just a couple of Senate votes could be all that stands between this bill being defeated or becoming law. Shouldn't those Senate votes come from right here in Berks County, the last remaining stronghold of organized pigeon shooting?

Pigeon shooters claim it is a secret attack on gun rights. Where does it say that? I'm a gun owner. I don't see anything about taking my shotgun away.

Some "sportsman" clubs say that this is an attack on hunting rights. Where does it say that? The hunters who support the Humane Society of Berks County don't see anything about taking away their right to hunt. They see the provision that specifically prohibits this bill from doing anything to hunting regulations.

Some say that pigeon shoots are good old fashioned hunting. The Pennsylvania Game Commission disagrees. A Commission spokesman, Jerry Feaser, said that pigeon shoots are not what the Commission "would classify as fair-chase hunting."

Best of all, those who actually hold these pigeon shoots in Berks County are finally saying what they are really all about: "gambling, pure and simple." I'm not making this up, read it for yourself here.

Some of our elected representatives say they need to check with the pigeon shooters to see what they think about a ban. The last time I checked, our elected representatives represented everyone in their districts, not just the extremely few people who profit from the continuation of this antiquated and absurd "sport".

It's time that we, the vast majority of people, tell our elected representatives that the time to pass this bill into law is now. This is not a fight between hunters and animal welfare advocates, or between Republicans or Democrats. There isn't some fringe bunch of do-gooding pigeon huggers trying to get some crazy law passed. It's about moderate, mainstream people of all stripes, like you and me, who want to join the rest of the United States and end these pigeon shoots now.

Our elected officials don't want to hear from lobbyists on both sides about this issue. They want to hear from us, their constituents. So, let's tell them what we think and why the should support this no-brainer of a bill.

And let's tell the pigeon shooters who flock here to Berks County from around the country because it's the only place in America they can indulge their petty desire to shoot caged birds that we don't want them- or their dirty gambling money.

Please, take five minutes out of your day right now to help make that happen. Together we can get this bill passed.

You can make a difference in two minutes! Email your Senator now (you can cut and paste the sample message below or write your own).

Don't know who your Senator is? Below is a link to a Senate District locator using your zip code.

"Dear [Senator]: If you haven't already, please cosponsor S.B. 1150, the bill to ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. It is time to stop permitting these cruel and unsportsmanlike events in our state. A handful of these events still take place in Pennsylvania. I ask that you join effort to bring this antiquated, cruel, and unsporting practice to an end Statewide. Sincerely, [Your name & address]"

Have another two minutes? Place a personal phone call to their office urging them to support SB 1150.

And if you have 5 more minutes, consider looking up your State Representative to let them know that you haven't forgotten the House version of this bill (HB 73).

From out of Berks County or Pennsylvania? In PA, please contact your Senator and Representative to encourage their support. Out of PA, contact the above Senators and tell them that you welcome PA into the family of States that has banned pigeon shoots!

The close of each year comes with its share of endings and beginnings. The Humane Society of Berks County has had another busy and I am very happy about the new friends, relationships, accomplishments and recognitions coming to the HSBC this past year: Two new staff veterinarians, our staff being added to the boards of two major Pennsylvania animal welfare organizations (Federated Humane Societies and Pennsylvania State Animal Response Team), an invitation to present at the American Humane Association’s national conference in Washington, D.C., the opening of our spectacular Cat Adoption Center, the biggest years ever for our Walk and Arf’s Art Auction, reaching our goal of 100% pre-adoption sterilization of pets, expanding Ani-meals On Wheels…the list goes on.

We were only able to accomplish these things with the support and commitment of our volunteers, staff, board, and donors. Through their time, effort, and funds, we were able to build upon the hard work of the last few years to prepare the HSBC for a leap into the vanguard of animal welfare efforts in the United States. We asked our friends to help us and you have. The Humane Society is poised to make even bigger strides in 2008, strides that will improve the lives of animals and their people in Berks County and beyond as well as serve as a model for what a little, local animal welfare organization can accomplish. In 2008:

As huge as these things are, there are even bigger things on the horizon that will make an even bigger impact on the lives of animals and help make the HSBC a leader in animal welfare in Pennsylvania, not just Berks County. We’ll keep you posted as these opportunities begin to take shape. Of course, all this means that we’ll need even more friends and even more support to make these things a reality for the animals in our care. We’ve learned that we can’t do it alone but that we also get the support we need when we ask for it from those who care about our mission to save animals as much as we care about it.

Of course, with beginnings come endings. After a fantastic two year relationship with VCA Animal Hospital as part of their Adoption Health Guarantee Program, we will be transitioning to a new kind of post-adoption partnership. We cannot thank them enough for being there for our animals and we look forward to a long, if different, relationship.

Another ending is the end of the HSBC’s participation in the Pennsylvania’s Bureau of Dog Law Enforcements Dog Control Contract in 2008. This contract paid the Humane Society and other agencies money out of dog license sales to be the dog catcher in parts of Berks County. Unfortunately, the amount received was grossly less than the service provided cost and as much as thirty cents of every charitable dollar received by the HSBC was going to subsidize State and local animal control. On top of all this, the contract was with the very agency with oversight and regulation powers over our organization putting the HSBC in the awkward position of negotiating contracts with the very people with the power to lock our doors. Additionally, the State contract provided no protection to stray cats or other animals. The HSBC believes all animals deserve to be protected, not just dogs. The HSBC reached the difficult conclusion that contract served to drain the organization of the resources our donors gave to our mission, provided inadequate protection for animals, and gave a huge incentive to local government to abdicate its responsibility to provide residents with high quality, comprehensive animal control services for all animals.

Although the HSBC will still rescue every injured stray animal, will still investigate and prosecute every reported case of animal cruelty, and still accept every stray and homeless pet at our facilities, we will only provide animal control services to municipalities who will contract us to do the job right and for a fair fee. We will no longer use your charitable money to subsidize pauper’s wages paid to provide municipalities and the State with an way to avoid providing services that are standard elsewhere in the country. And we will pay for all those services through charitable donations so it is clear that saving animals is our mission not our “job”.

We have asked those receiving our services, including the County and the City of Reading, for financial help in making sure the HSBC is a safe haven for stray, abused and homeless pets. We have received some hopeful signs from some corners. We also received such a resounding silence from others that we are beginning to think that our organization might only be a valued partner at other’s convenience and at other’s prices. The Humane Society of Berks County won’t do less than we can do or less than we know is right just because other can’t or won’t help us.

As strongly as we believe in and have pursued partnerships, we also know that when the time comes to stand up and do what’s right for animals and their people you sometimes stand alone.

Thank you for a great past year and thank you for the great year to come. I know that together we will continue the fight to protect animals from abuse, neglect, illness, and homelessness and that, together, we will win that fight.

Every single day at the Humane Society of Berks County we save animals, one at a time. We do it with the help of volunteers and donors, who give of their time and sweat to help the HSBC undertake its mission to help animals and people in need. But to really help animals in a big way, thousands at a time, not just one by one, we need the help of a group that is sometimes overlooked as the greatest asset animals and animal welfare organizations have: our elected representatives and judges.

Unfortunately, sometimes this very same group can be the single biggest obstacle to helping animals we face.

The HSBC is a non-political organization. We talk to and work with all of our elected officials. We are blind to political party or affiliation. We only care about helping animals and working with those who have the power to make a difference across Berks County, Pennsylvania, and the United States. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.

Of course, even if we did want it another way, we couldn’t have our wish. As a 501c3 charity, we are prohibited by federal law from endorsing or opposing candidates for elected office. We can’t tell you who we think are “good” candidates or “bad” candidates when it comes to animal issues. We can only tell you where we stand on the issues and what specific legislation will mean to us. It’s up to you to walk into the voting booth and make the right choice- the right choice for animals.

If you don’t think that your vote matters to animals right here in Berks County and across the country, you are wrong. Why is Pennsylvania the only state in the Union to still legally allow live pigeon shoots? Because the last time legislation was introduced just a handful of representatives defeated it. Our elected representatives. Why does Pennsylvania have the dubious reputation of being a puppy mill hot spot? Because dog law enforcement has had their hands tied by agricultural rules intended to protect farmers but are used as a shield for puppy mills. Who needs to change those rules? Our elected officials. Who has abdicated Pennsylvania’s responsibility to provide proper animal control services for our two and four legged citizens, placing the burden on animal welfare agencies like the HSBC (and costing us thirty cents of every dollar you donate)? Our elected officials. And when animals are beaten to death, set on fire, thrown out of fourth story windows and the culprits receive fines, probation, or less, who hands down those light sentences? Our elected judges.

And the biggest shame is that most of our elected officials are kind, caring people who want to do what’s best for everyone- even animals. Unfortunately, it only takes a few who answer to big special interests that don’t care about animals or who don’t care about animals themselves and don’t see what the big deal is or just don’t take you and your concerns seriously because you are only talking about animals, to ruin it for all animals.

It’s time for you and me to show candidates for office that we are a special interest group. A group with a special interest in the humane treatment of animals. We need to ask candidates some hard questions and demand answers. Questions like:

We need to demand answers to these questions and others. We need to support candidates who are right on animal welfare and oppose those who are not. We need to show candidates that there is a price for being on the wrong side of animal welfare issues. And it’s not just enough to vote—we need to get out and tell others what we think and urge them to join us. We need to push for and support candidates who represent us and our beliefs. In districts where there is no race between political parties, we need to support pro-animal welfare candidates in the primaries. It is time for us to stop being ignored and for animals to stop facing homelessness and neglect because of the indifference of those elected to represent us.

The Humane Society of Berks County can not and will not endorse or target any candidates. However, we will do what we are allowed to do: We will tell our supporters-- our 10,000+ active donors and supporter this year alone-- what our positions are on a variety of animal welfare issues. We believe that pigeon shoots should be banned immediately. We believe that breed specific legislation is bad for dogs and bad for public safety. We believe that government should pay for animal control and “dog catching”, not charities. We believe that dogs deserve better than being viewed as a farm commodity. We believe that dogs should not live their lives tied outside. We believe that those convicted of animal cruelty should face the full brunt of the law like other violent criminals do. We believe that every candidate for office should visit an animal shelter in their community so they can see firsthand what animals face every day across the country- and across Berks County.

And we believe that you should hold politicians and judges accountable (and reward them when they deserve it) for their actions and inactions. When you vote, you can do more to help animals in a few minutes by asking these simple questions and voting your conscience than a shelter can do in a year. On Tuesday, November 6, you can do just that.

Would you like to learn more about what you as an individual can do to make a difference? The HSBC is partnering with the Humane Society of the United States and others to help those who care about animals and animal welfare to learn how they can make a personal and significant difference.

If you would be interested in attending a meeting to learn more, please contact me at kminor@berkshumane.org. If we receive enough interest from our supporters, we will have an informational gathering.

The purpose of this gathering can best be described as an opportunity to learn about a pilot project of the Humane Society of the United States to recruit citizens concerned with the humane treatment of animals into an Army of the Kind network, motivated and educated in the public policy processes of how to successfully pursue animal related issues. It will include printed material with detailed information and step-by-step procedural suggestions of actions that have proven to be effective in past campaigns on behalf of animals.

If I had to pick a single guiding principal that has led to the many recent successes of Humane Society of Berks County, it is our aggressive pursuit of great partnerships. It seems like a no-brainer in an industry that is all about forging new relationships between people and animals.

However, animal welfare organizations have a very well earned reputation for not playing well with others. Often, shelters don't just clash with those who disagree with our core principals, we often clash with those who share them. Other shelters, rescues, the veterinary community, volunteers- animal welfare types are sometimes better at discovering what separates us than they are at locking onto shared goals and values. There's a real tendency toward a splintering, go-it-alone approach.

But let's be perfectly honest, no cat ever rescued itself from abuse, no dog ever screened an adopter and then drove itself to its new home, and no rabbit ever wrote a check to pay for its care and feeding. It's people who do these things and its people we need to forge effective partnerships with. Everything we do at the HSBC is based on that premise. All of our greatest successes have been tied to our partnerships and friendships:

The list goes on and on and continues to grow. We don't just pay lip service to our partnership efforts, either. When we make the decision to partner with a person, a group, or a corporation, we mean serious business. The HSBC is a devoted companion, an active partner, and a fierce ally to our friends and that devotion is returned in kind.

Our partners have helped us to save more animals, offer more services to those in need, change more lives, and even pay for more of it, than we ever could have done alone. We take our efforts to find others to help us to accomplish our Mission and Vision as seriously as we take the Mission itself. By doing so we not only get vital support, we actually share our Mission with others. Our Mission becomes the Mission of many.

The funny thing about partnerships and success is that the more you have of each, the more you discover that you need to do-- and can do. Then you realize just how many more partners and resources you really need. That's why we need you. You are invited to join us in that Mission and make it yours. Join the 10,000 others who have donated time, resources, or money to the HSBC in the past year. You'll be in good company and we'll be proud to be judged on that.

Postscript: The Humane Society of Berks County's partnership efforts recently received a great compliment. The HSBC has been asked to present a workshop on effective partnerships at the American Humane Association's national conference in Washington, D.C. in September, 2007.

Humane Society of Berks County executive director, Karel Minor, and Humane League of Lancaster County president, Joan Brown, will co-present "Combine and Conquer: Establishing Effective Partnerships That Further Your Mission".

Special Update: Visit Press Releases page for Reading Eagle editorial endorsing HB 73 and press release about the joint policy statement.

Urgent action is needed on an important Judiciary Sub-Committee vote on Pennsylvania House Bill 73. This bill, introduced by Representative Frank Andrews Shimkus, and co-sponsored by 37 other Representatives (including Berks County's Thomas R. Caltagirone), would ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. The Humane Society of Berks County endorses this bill and asks that you make your voice heard in support of its passage. Similar bills have been defeated in the past. However, in growing numbers our Representatives are recognizing that the time has come to end this cruel and unsportsmanlike practice. You can help make the difference this time.

Until recently, those opposing pigeon shoots were seen and characterized by the pro-pigeon shoot lobby as placard-carrying animal extremists. Our elected representatives in some of the more conservative districts, like some in Berks County, tended to view those opposing pigeon shoots as fringe voices being whipped up by outsiders. However, in increasing numbers, perfectly reasonable people, people like you and me and our neighbors and families, are beginning to conclude that pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania should finally come to an end.

This is not an anti-sportsman position. Most of us are, know, are related to or married to, or are friends with hunters. Even HSBC staff, volunteers, and board range from vegans to fishermen to hunters. We may not agree on everything all the time, but we have one common mission: to protect animals from homelessness, cruelty and neglect. Sometimes that common mission leads us to agree that a legal practice should come to an end. Pigeon shoots are such a practice. Hunters and vegans alike should be able to agree that shooting a captive pigeon as it flies out of a box is cruel at worst and unsportsmanlike at the very best.

The opponents of the proposed ban make very strident claims. They say that this is a first step toward doing away with the Second Amendment, taking away our guns, banning hunting and fishing, and ending a proud Pennsylvania “tradition”. That is just silly. I am a gun owner and I staunchly defend my Second Amendment rights. I was raised by fishermen and fisherwomen and, yes, I fish. I could not support this bill if I thought it was the first step in a conspiracy to prohibit me from doing these things. As far as ending a great “tradition”: I’m sure we can all think of a few great “traditions” in our country’s history that were best put behind us.

This is about taking a reasonable position against a cruel and unsportsmanlike pastime, and we need your help and the help of your neighbors, families and friends to get it done. If only a few “animal nuts” raise their voices, this bill will likely die. But if a broad cross-section of people who recognize when it’s time for a change raise their voices, our elected representatives will take notice.

I met with my State Representative recently to tell him how I felt about this issue. He said that he was on the fence because half the calls he had received about HB 73 were for it and half were against it. I believe that this is because he has only heard from those on the far ends of the debate. I believe that there is a huge "silent majority" in the middle who have not yet told him how they feel. If you are a part of that silent majority, make your voice heard now. Let your Representative know right now that you think the time for rounding up hundreds of wild or captive-bred pigeons, shooting them as the fly out of a box, and having people-- sometimes children-- shoot them or stomp them as they lie wounded on the ground, has come to an end.

I know that “activism” isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. So we have tried to make it easy for you! At the bottom of this page is a link that will take you to a link to the draft Bill 73 so you can read it for yourself, a link to the NRA website so you can read the opposition’s position for yourself, and links to key Pennsylvania Representatives for this issue. You can tell them how you feel using our sample email text. If you live in a different Representative’s district or just aren’t sure who your Representative is, there is even a link to search by ZIP code. Once you have contacted your State Representative, please email people you know, even people who are not “animal people” and tell them why this is important.

Please contact your Representative today and ask him or her to co-sponsor and support HB 73. Don’t let the opportunity slip away from us once again. Thank you for helping to make a very real difference in Pennsylvania.

The HSBC is commited to making our positions on issues clear, our basis for reaching those decisions transparent, and presenting the "other side's" arguments. We deal with complicated issues and we consider them extremely carefully. You may not agree with us every time, but we hope you at least agree that we do not take ill-informed, poorly evaluated positions.

Taking Action Is Easy! You can help get this bill passed in less than two minutes. Find your Representative from the list below. If you do not know who your Representative is, use the "Find Your Rep" link to locate by County or ZIP code. Below you will find sample text for your email to your Representive. You may send your Representative a message in your own words or cut and paste the sample text below (use the simple instructions below if you aren't sure how).

Sample Text: "Dear [Representative]: If you haven't already, please cosponsor H.B. 73, Rep. Shimkus' bill to ban pigeon shoots in Pennsylvania. It is time to stop permitting these cruel and unsportsmanlike events in our state. A handful of these events still take place in Pennsylvania. I ask that you join Rep. Shimkus in his efforts to bring this antiquated, cruel, and unsporting practice to an end Statewide. Sincerely, [Your name & address]"

Do you have two minutes more? Hearing what you have to say is even more effective than reading what you have to say. After you send your email message, call your Representative on the telephone! Please don't forget to forward this to friends, family and co-workers!

The HSBC is commited to making our positions on issues clear, our basis for reaching those decisions transparent, and presenting the "other side's" arguments. Visit our Blog (click here) to read more about how we reached our position on this issue and others. We deal with complicated issues and we consider them extremely carefully. You may not agree with us every time, but you should at least agree that we do not take ill-informed, poorly evaluated positions.

Here's what the Representatives are saying to thier Consituents about HB 73:

I thank you for your input on House Bill 73. We are going to hold hearings on this bill and have placed this legislation with the Crime and Corrections Sub-Committee. Please know that I appreciate the fact that you took the time to inform me of your position on this legislation. By hearing from the citizens of Pennsylvania, the legislature is kept better informed and in touch with the taxpayers of Pennsylvania.

Representative Sam Rohrer. Representative Rohrer voted against a similar bill in 1993:

Dear Holly: Thank you for your email in regard to banning pigeon shoots. As you may know, this sport has been one of controversy for a long time. Sports of this sort were always viewed as a matter of local decision making when it was conducted within the confines of the broader Pennsylvania Game Commission rules and guidelines for hunting that prohibited cruelty to animals. In addition, due to so much public involvement, very few localities, if any, conduct these activities. Therefore, I personally see the necessity of pursuing other legislation to be more critical. I will be glad, however, to talk to Rep. Shimkus to determine his thoughts. He perhaps has information of which I am unaware. Sincerely, Rep. Sam Rohrer

Have you gotten a response from your Representative? Forward it to us and we will post it. We will also track thier votes and post them so you can see where they stand on the issues.

But it wasn’t born yesterday.

At the Humane Society of Berks County we are very proud of our growth over the past couple of years. We have adopted more animals than ever before, upgraded our facilities and programs, improved training, and have put together a team of the best staff and volunteers anywhere. We are also proud of the fact that these accomplishments have been recognized by our donors. Through their support we are well on our way to getting off the treadmill of fundraising ups and downs that lead to always going one step forward and two steps back (But keep those donations coming, we still have a long way to go!).

One area in which we have made particular strides is the quality and scope of our Animal Protective Services. This is the department that rescues injured stray animals, enforces Pennsylvania’s cruelty statutes and animal laws, and provides animal control service to municipalities. In the past two years we have increased our number of State trained and sworn Humane Society Police Officers to five* (making the HSBC one of the largest forces in the State* as of publication date), we have expanded our “on-the-clock” officer coverage to seven days a week, and we have expanded our “on-call” services. We have implemented one of the best and most detailed data tracking systems in the State and we have taken charge of the effort to coordinate emergency services during a catastrophe through the Berks County Animal Response Team. As a result, the animals, residents and municipalities of Berks County are getting the most effective, efficient, and highest quality animal protection services ever.

There is just one problem: The HSBC isn’t being paid to do most of this.

Most people don’t know that the State requires us to cover the costs of expensive mandated training for our officers, all legal expenses for getting officers sworn in by the courts, the cost for required continuing education, and all personnel, vehicle, and associated expenses. We even have to pay for the printing of the citations we use to enforce the State’s laws. We receive no funding to provide these services. We don’t even get a portion of the fines redistributed back from the State the way “regular” police departments do when they write a ticket. Despite this, the HSBC investigates about 1,000 complaints a year. Why do we do it? Because if we didn’t do it, no one else would and the animals would suffer. You might ask: Why doesn’t the State pay for it? The answer: Why should they when we do it for free? They weren’t born yesterday.

Most people don’t know that the stray dog control services in Berks County that would be provided by a State Dog Warden in other counties are provided by the HSBC and the ARL under contract with the State because there is no State Dog Warden based in Berks County (since publication the State has added on Dog Warden to be responsible for Berks County). Most people don’t know that this contract is paid for through portion of the funds generated by dog licenses each year and that the license fees and our share of the fees have not increased in years. The HSBC and the ARL each receive about $50,000 from this contract to provide 24 hour-a-day, 365 day-a-year pick up (HSBC provides 24/365 service, the contract only require weekday business hour service) and housing for thousands of stray dogs throughout the entire county each year. Just dogs- no other animals are covered. The actual cost of this service at the HSBC alone is well over $300,000 a year. Why do we do it? Because if we didn’t do it, no one else would and the animals would suffer. Why doesn’t the State pay more for it? Why would they when we do it and they can pay twenty-five cents on the dollar for the service? They weren’t born yesterday.

Most people don’t know that the HSBC takes in every stray brought to it each year- dogs, cats, pigs, goats, birds, lizards- and provides them with food, housing, and medical care. That’s three thousand, eight hundred thirty-eight stray animals in the past year. For the past two years we have been extending our dog control agreement with the State to include pick-up of all confined stray animal in our service areas, not just dogs. We think every pet deserves rescue. However, with very few exceptions, virtually no municipality pays any extra fee for this 24 hour-a-day, 365 day-a-year service that we provide to their residents. Why should they? They know we have to at least provide the bare minimum of service to them under the State dog control contract. Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free? The municipalities weren’t born yesterday.

Let’s not even go into the rabies enforcement work the HSBC has taken on because no one else will. Most people don’t know that bite quarantines range from ten days to six months and quarantine is not paid for by the State- even if there was room in the shelter to provide it. Most people don’t know that testing for rabies involves testing the brain tissue of suspect animals. I’ll leave it to your imagination how our staff has to go about getting that brain tissue so it can be sent to the State health lab. It is not pleasant for them, let alone for the animals who must obviously be euthanized (again, by HSBC staff) to collect the sample for the test. Is the HSBC compensated for providing this vital public health service hundreds of times a year? No. In fact, the HSBC has to pay the shipping bill to send the samples to the lab. That’s not just unfair, that’s plain ridiculous.

What does this mean to the HSBC, our animals, and you, the donor? It means that we are diverting your charitable donations, given to provide medical care, food, housing, and adoption services to homeless animals, to our Department of Animal Protective Services so that we can provide the cruelty law enforcement that the State should be doing or paying for, the animal law enforcement that the municipalities should be doing or paying for, and the stray animal pick up and housing of thousands of animals that the State and municipalities should be doing or paying for. Money that could be going to helping homeless animals find homes and sick animals be made well is getting spent on services that the State and municipalities would (or should) have to provide if we weren’t here to do it cheap or for free! Is that fair? No.

Nationally, the estimates for providing proper animal control services to a community comes out to between $4 and $11 per person. For a community the size of Berks County, that means the minimum that should be spent is about $1.5 million dollars a year. If you take the total money received from the State, County, and municipalities each year by both the HSBC and the ARL to provides these services, the total is less than $150,000. That’s less than 10% of the very bottom of what should be getting spent in Berks County each year. You can bet more than that is being spent on these services by both of our organizations but it’s coming out of the mouths of other animals.

Is that fair? No, it isn’t, and the Humane Society of Berks County wasn’t born yesterday, either.

This year, the HSBC decided to make some very simple changes. We decided that we would ask the municipalities of Berks County to do two things:

First, if they wanted us to continue to go above and beyond the requirements of the State's dog control contract and provide 24 hour-a-day service for all stray animals (not just dogs during regular business hours, which is all the contract requires) they must agree to pay a small additional fee. That fee, in most cases, is less than three dollars a day to start. Three dollars a day for 100% animal control, animal law enforcement, and stray pick up service.

Second, if the municipality does not want to pay for full services for their residents and animals, they have the option to just pay for the HSBC to hold and care for stray animals brought to the shelter and not claimed by the animal’s owner. That fee is just $35. Neighboring counties charge as much as $100 per animal. The HSBC thinks that $35 is pretty reasonable and it gives the municipalities, their residents, and their animals full access to our stray boarding services on a pay-as-you-go basis.

If each municipality took advantage of these options, the HSBC would bring in an additional twenty to forty thousand dollars this year. That’s money that wouldn’t be diverted from our adoption and medical services. Unfortunately, only three municipalities in the entire County chose to take advantage of these services (City of Reading, Muhlenberg Township, and Leesport Borough.* After publication an addition three accepted the additional service). Three out of about eighty municipalities. I guess the municipalities just decided that they’d rather pass the buck to the State and State is going to stick to business as usual. To all those who are taking advantage of the HSBC’s services and charitable donors (donors like you) without paying their fair share- or any share- I say: It is unfair, it is wrong, and you are doing a disservice to the animals of Berks County and to your residents who expect you to provide needed services without taking advantage of charities.

You, the reader, can help. Call or email Reading, Muhlenberg, Leesport, and the Berks County Commissioners and thank them for taking the lead as responsible municipal citizens. Then, call the municipality you live in and tell that you think they should be providing these services to you as a resident and that they should not be taking advantage of a charity to do so. Tell them you think that $3 a day and/or $35 per unclaimed stray is not too much to spend. Tell them that animal welfare issues drives your election choices and that you will remember the decision of your supervisors the next time you vote.

Shelters provide these services because no one else will. But what if we weren’t here to provide them? What if shelters in Berks County did what shelters across Pennsylvania and the U.S. are doing and closed their doors to strays because they cannot afford to take them in any longer? I don’t want to find out. I want the HSBC to be here, to be strong, and to share the burden with those who benefit from our services. Please help us do that by making your voice heard today. I know that as long as our local and State governments think they can get away with taking something for nothing, they will. Who can blame them? After all, none of us were born yesterday.

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