Do you own a cat, a dog, a bunny rabbit, a lizard, a parrot? Good for you! Do you ever breed cats, dogs, bunny rabbits, lizards, parrots? Good for you, too!

Most Americans - 63 percent of all households - own one or more pets. Our dogs, cats, bunnies, parrots, and lizards are as American as baseball, apple pie, and Mother's Day.

Nothing wrong with any of that, is there? Well, some people think there is???

In every state, there is someone who wants to take your pets away, who wants to put harsh limitations on your right to own pets and especially breed them. There are people who want to deny your children the pleasures of playing Frisbee with their dog or curling up under an Afghan on a cold night in front of the TV with a soft, warm kitty-cat purring in their laps or teaching the family parrot to pretend to answer the doorbell or the telephone.

There are people who want to deny your children the lessons of love and responsibility that come with growing up with pets. There are people who want to deny the comfort of the
companionship of pets to aging adults, to young single adults on their own for the first time in their lives, or even to shut-ins. What can you do about all this?

Well, the potential limits on your rights to own pets will come from harsh and restrictive laws on pet ownership. Your job, therefore, is to make sure these laws don't get passed.

Pay attention to proposed bills in your state legislatures and city councils that affect pet ownership. Notice who the sponsors of the bills are and which committees are reviewing those bills. You can track all this on Internet websites.

Visit, call, write, fax, or e-mail the sponsors and committee members involved in any bill that you don't like. Encourage friends and neighbors to do the same. Assemble hand-signed and addressed petitions to legislators protesting a bad bill.

Be proactive, not reactive. It is much easier to defeat a proposed bill than to repeal a signed law.

Go to it! Your kittens, your puppies, your bunnies, your birds are part of your family. 
Go fight for them!

ANIMAL WELFARE vs ANIMAL RIGHTS
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE

Animal Welfare

The American Veterinary Medical Association defines animal welfare as "a human responsibility that encompasses all aspects of animal well-being, from proper housing and nutrition to preventive care, treatment of disease, and when necessary, humane euthanasia."

Scientists and laboratory veterinarians are firmly committed to animal welfare. The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS), an organization dedicated to advancing responsible care and use of laboratory animals, was founded before there were any federal laws regulating animal research.

Animal Rights

Want to end all human "exploitation" of animals - this includes, but is not limited to:

Raising and slaughtering of livestock for human or animal consumption
Eating meat
Hunting
Using animals for any medical or veterinary research
Zoos (regardless of how well managed)
Circuses
Rodeos
Horse shows
Dog shows
Animals performing in TV commercials
Shows or movies
(regardless of how well treated any of the above are)
Guide-dogs for the blind
Police dogs
Search & rescue dogs
And the practice of owning pets.
?