"Ownership" means anti-welfare/advocacy.
Secondly, read the truth behind it. This is from HSUS, the largest pro-animal lobbying group on the planet:
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/paws.htmlAnd I quote (sorry, it's 5 paragraphs, but they wouldn't mind):
"Will PAWS have a detrimental effect on rescue organizations or animal shelters?
No. Some commercial breeders and organizations who profit from the high-volume sale of dogs and cats are using scare tactics to confuse caring people in the rescue community into taking a position against the PAWS legislation. These groups claim that if the bill passes anyone who rescues more than 25 dogs a year will need a federal license. This is not true. We hope those who work to rescue animals will not be fooled by these tactics. To oppose the PAWS bill is to oppose improvements in the treatment of animals at large-scale commercial breeding operations.
The PAWS bill deals strictly with businesses who sell dogs and cats. Non-profit rescue groups who charge an adoption/donation fee are not selling animals. The bill covers commercial businesses breeding large volumes of animals (six or more litters per year) and selling them directly to the public. These businesses have thrived due in part to the exponential growth in the use of the Internet for commerce and because in most states, there is no oversight of such operations. These breeders' dogs are sold via the Internet, newspaper ads, and through other unregulated formats, so the first hint of a problem often comes when local law enforcement or animal control discovers that there are a large number of animals on site in extremely poor condition. Cruelty cases associated with unregulated breeders require local shelters and rescue organizations to step in and take in ill and unsocialized animals at their own expense. This problem threatens to bankrupt local organizations.
The broad support that the PAWS bill enjoys, from organizations that often have differing views on animal-related legislation such as the American Kennel Club and the American Veterinary Medical Association, is a testament to the fact that the PAWS bill is not overly restrictive and has been carefully crafted to regulate only those businesses that have exploited the loophole in federal law.
Animal welfare organizations like The Humane Society of the United States, Doris Day Animal League, and Society for Animal Protective Legislation—all of whom strongly support the bill—would never want to hamper the absolutely critical efforts and generosity of those who perform animal rescue and sheltering work. People who give of themselves to place dogs and cats in new homes and give those animals a second (or third or fourth) lease on life are unsung heroes. This scare tactic has been employed to divert attention away from the bad actors so sorely in need of oversight. The PAWS bill would close the loophole that has allowed large-scale commercial breeding operations to prosper without any agency ensuring that their animals are provided with basic humane care.
Rescue groups that respond to scare tactics and oppose the PAWS legislation are being duped into protecting the status quo in puppy mills, and are in effect opposing action that would make significant improvements in the lives of hundreds of thousands of dogs kept for breeding in puppy mills."