Georgia Pit Bull Owners, please read

[RebelOne]

This was sent to me from one of my animal rescue groups.

IF YOU ARE AVAILABLE TO ATTEND ONE OF THESE HEARINGS, PLEASE DO SO! It is very important for educated, well-spoken and POLITE pit bull owners and lovers to attend these hearings.

Subject: Georgia Alert 2-8-05: Public Hearings Scheduled on Pit Bull
Bill, House Bill 78; Please Contact Your State Senator & Representative

Please cross post:

Georgia Alert 2-8-05:  Public Hearings Scheduled on Pit Bull Bill, House Bill
78; Please Contact Your State Senator & Representative

HAGA has just today received word that public hearings have been scheduled regarding a proposed bill (House Bill 78) which would prohibit ownership of pit bull dogs in the state of Georgia.

Pit Bull Bill hearing schedule:
Wednesday, February 9th in Room 415 of the Legislative Office Building
downtown (across from the Capitol) at 1pm.
Thursday, February 10th in Room 125 of the Capitol at 1pm.

Although public hearings do not, in and of themselves, constitute legislative
action, the fact that they have been scheduled signals the need for HAGA
members to contact their legislators regarding House Bill 78.

HAGA adamantly opposes breed-specific legislation such as House Bill 78.
While breed is one factor which may contribute to a dog's temperament, it alone

cannot be used to predict whether a dog may pose a danger to his or her
community.  A September 2000 study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (VetMed Today: Special Report) illustrates this point.  
The report detailed dog-bite-related fatalities in the U.S. from 1979 through
1998, and revealed that, over that 19-year period, at least 25 different breeds
or crossbreeds of dogs had been involved in fatally wounding a human being.  
The breeds cited ranged from the often-maligned pit bulls and rottweilers to
the legendary "forever loyal" breed of St. Bernards.  The main conclusion of
the study was that breed-specific legislation doesn't work for several reasons,
including the fact that the inherent problem in trying to determine and prove
dog's breed makes actual enforcement of breed-specific legislation almost
impossible.

Restrictions placed on specific breeds fail to address the larger problems of
abuse, aggression training, poor socialization, lack of obedience training,
failure to spay/neuter, and lack of proper containment and control by
irresponsible dog owners.  Georgia's current dangerous dog and dog-fighting
statues, as well as existing local ordinances, are adequate to address these issues, and are a more reasoned approach to community safety than breed-specific legislation such as House Bill 78.

HAGA urges its members to contact their Georgia State senators and
representatives, as well as members of the House and Senate Agriculture
Committees (listed below) and oppose passage of House Bill 78.  If you are able to attend either of the public hearings to speak against breed-specific legislation, or support HAGA's position in opposition to House Bill 78, your attendance would be appreciated.

For your information:
You can find your elected officials by entering your nine-digit zip code in
the left column in <a HREF="http://www.vote-smart.org/">Project Vote Smart - A Voter's Self-defense Sys...</a>
http://www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml or by calling your county voter
registration office.  Contact us if you need help.

Please select http://www.legis.state.ga.us if the Georgia website is back on
line to read this legislation.

Sent by:
Humane Association of Georgia, Inc.
A coalition of humane societies, animal control and rescue groups and
individuals.
1317 Hearst Drive / Atlanta GA  30319
e-mail: [e-mail]
Visit our website:   http://www.HumaneAssociationofGeorgia.org
or select:  <a HREF="http://www.HumaneAssociationofGeorgia.org/">Humane Association of Georgia, Inc. - Home Page</a>

If you have received this message in error and would like to be removed from
the list, please contact the sender.  Thanks

Please join the Humane Association of Georgia.  Our membership fee is $25.00 per year.  Donations are appreciated.  Please make your check payable to Humane Association of Georgia, Inc. and mail to the address above or select: <a

HREF="http://www.HumaneAssociationofGeorgia.org/join_haga.htm">Join Humane Association of Georgia!</a>

About the organization:
HAGA is known for the Animal Protection Act of 2000 that provides makes some acts of animal cruelty a felony and the Dog and Cat Sterilization License Plate that will fund statewide spay/neuter projects.  Our formation allowed Georgia to the first state to enact state law to allow animals in disaster shelters.

We were formed to support good animal legislation, provide education about
good animal stewardship and help animals i