BILL ANALYSIS
----------------------------------------------------------
|Hearing Date:April 22, 2002 |Bill No:SB |
| |1851 |
----------------------------------------------------------
SENATE COMMITTEE ON BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Senator Liz Figueroa, Chair
Bill No: SB 1851Author:Perata
As Amended:April 1, 2002 Fiscal: Yes
SUBJECT: Rodeos.
SUMMARY: Requires rodeo management to have a veterinarian
at all performances of a rodeo, except for junior rodeos or
those sponsored by schools, and to provide animal control
agencies with specified information at least 14 days prior
to the rodeo event, including the name of the veterinarian
that will be present or on-call at the rodeo.
Existing law:
1)Defines "rodeo" as a public performance featuring
competition between persons, that includes four or more
of the following events: bareback bronc riding, saddle
bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer wrestling,
or team roping.
2)Requires the management of any professionally sanctioned
or amateur rodeo, as defined, to ensure that there is a
veterinarian present during the rodeo event or "on-call,"
as specified.
3)Allows the veterinarian complete access to the site, to
declare any animal unfit for the rodeo event, and
specifies other veterinarian duties.
4)Specifies that any animal injured during the course of a
rodeo event shall receive immediate examination and
appropriate treatment within one hour of the
determination that an injury has occurred.
5)Requires the veterinarian to submit a brief listing of
SB 1851
Page 2
any animal injury requiring veterinary treatment to the
Veterinary Medical Board within 48 hours of the
conclusion of the rodeo.
6)Provides other requirements for rodeo management to
ensure the humane treatment of animals used at their
event.
7)Makes a violation of these requirements an infraction and
fine of not less than $500 and not more than $2,000, and
for a subsequent violation, a fine of not less than
$1,500 and not more than $5,000.
8)Requires traveling circuses and carnivals to notify each
entity that provides animal control services of its
intent to perform in that jurisdiction and its schedule
of performances at least 14 days prior to the first
performance.
This bill:
1)Changes the definition of "rodeo" to include steer roping
and horse roping.
2)Requires at least 14 days prior to a rodeo event, that
rodeo management provide certain information to the
animal control agency having jurisdiction over the
rodeo's location, regarding the events to be held, the
rules and regulations that will govern the event and the
name of the veterinarian that will be present or on-call
at the rodeo.
3)Requires a licensed veterinarian to be present at all
times during the performance of any professionally
sanctioned or amateur rodeo.
4)Allows a junior rodeo, or rodeo sponsored by the National
High School Rodeo Association or the National
Intercollegiate Rodeo Association to have either a
veterinarian who is "on-call" at the rodeo, or have an
onsite veterinarian.
5)Defines "junior rodeo" as a rodeo in which all
contestants are 18 years of age or younger.
SB 1851
Page 3
6)Prohibits the attending or on-call veterinarian from also
participating in any event of the rodeo as a contestant.
7)Subjects a veterinarian to disciplinary action for not
reporting to the Veterinary Medical Board any animal
injuries requiring veterinary treatment.
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.
COMMENTS:
1.Purpose. The sponsor of the bill is Action for Animals.
This is an Oakland based animal welfare group. According
to the sponsor, this measure seeks to enhance existing
rodeo law and the safety and protection of animals used
in rodeo events, by requiring a veterinarian present at
all rodeos rather than just on-call, and to give animal
control advanced notification of the rodeo so that they
can adequately monitor and provide better oversight of
rodeo events within their jurisdiction.
2.Background. As indicated by the sponsors, since
enactment of the current law in January 2001, that
requires veterinarians to be both present and on-call at
rodeo events, and for injuries to rodeo animals to be
reported to the Veterinary Medical Board, not a single
injury has been reported. As argued, this indicates one
of two things: either no animal injuries have occurred
over the past year of rodeo events, or the current law is
not being followed nor enforced.
According to the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association's
(PRCA)
2000 Injury Survey, 38 animals were injured at 57 of the
PRCA sanctioned rodeos. It should be noted that this
survey does not include all sanctioned rodeos of the
PRCA, of which there are approximately 100 each year, and
does not include the number of unsanctioned or regionally
sanctioned rodeos of which there are approximately 250
each year. As pointed out by the sponsors, the PRCA's
survey and eyewitness accounts indicate that animal
injuries are occurring.
As indicated by two letters submitted by veterinarians who
have had experience as on-site veterinarians for a number
of years, they have witnessed serious animal injuries and
SB 1851
Page 4
mistreatment at rodeos, both to the rodeo stock and to
contestants' horses, and when serious injuries occur to
animals at rodeos, they can be both painful and life
threatening. Immediate medical attention is required.
As stated by both veterinarians, medical care is always
immediately available to human entrants who participate
in these events, the same standard of care should apply
to animals that are required to participate in these
events.
Notification to animal control is currently required for
any traveling circus or carnival that performs in this
state. One of the stated purposes of this law was to
protect the animals that perform in carnivals and
circuses. Although there were circuses that did abide by
the laws regulating the treatment of animals, there was
also evidence that some did not and since there was no
information when a carnival or circus event occurred, it
was difficult to enforce local anti-cruelty laws.
According to the sponsors, by requiring notification to
animal control of rodeos occurring within their
jurisdiction will provide adequate monitoring of rodeos
for any form of animal abuse and will assure compliance
with the current law relating to rodeos.
3.Prior Legislation Passed by the Senate Similar To This
Bill. SB 1462 (Perata) was enacted into law on January
1, 2001. This bill, as originally introduced in the
Senate, required notification to animal control as does
this measure and also required a veterinarian to be
present at the rodeo not just on-call. It passed out of
the Senate with these requirements in the bill. However,
SB 1462 was then amended in the Assembly Committee on
Agriculture to eliminate the notification requirement and
to provide the option for an on-call veterinarian. These
changes were made premised on the fact that reporting of
injuries would occur and rodeos would comply with this
new law. As indicated by the author's office, there is
no reporting and it is unknown whether veterinarians are
present at rodeos or available on-call.
4.Current Requirements for On-Site Veterinarians.
According to the sponsor, many venues already have an
on-site veterinarian requirement. Some of these include
Alameda and Contra Costa counties, the Hayward Rowell
Ranch, the Solano County Fairgrounds, the City of Los
SB 1851
Page 5
Angeles, the City of San Francisco, and the California
State Fair.
5.Opponents Argue Against Changing the Option for "On-Call"
Veterinarians. The California Veterinary Medical
Association (CVMA), the Professional Rodeo Cowboys
Association (PRCA), the California Cattlemen's
Association (CCA) and other rodeo related organizations,
oppose eliminating the option for allowing on-call
veterinarians to be available to treat injured rodeos
animals. According to the opponents, the flexibility of
remaining on-call for smaller events removes the
veterinarian from the significant hardship situation of
having to leave their practice for multiple hours, while
still allowing them to be easily accessible in the case
of an animal-related emergency. As argued by opponents,
many rodeos take place in rural areas, where the
veterinarians may rotate their emergency services
coverage on the weekends when many of these events are
held. Veterinarians are professionals who respond in a
timely manner when they are called in an emergency
situation. Having them virtually waste their day,
sitting at a rodeo when no emergency situation has
occurred is costly and burdensome.
6.Opponents Argue Against Notification of Local Animal
Control. The PRCA, the American Quarter Horse
Association and the California Farm Bureau Federation are
opposed to the measure's animal control notification
requirement. Opponents argue that, notification of local
animal control is unnecessary and problematic. Local
animal control agencies vary from small non-profit animal
shelters to large, public funded agencies. They are
generally set up to handle pet problems and no
standardized training exists to train animal control or
humane officers regarding the care and handling of
livestock.
7.Opponents Argue Against Prohibiting a Veterinarian from
Participating in the Rodeo Event. Both the CVMA and the
PRCA are opposed to the prohibition in the bill that
veterinarians who are attending the rodeo event or are
on-call shall not be allowed to also participate in any
event as a contestant. CVMA objects to the assumption
that a veterinarian who participates in an event is
somehow ineffective or unqualified to also service as the
SB 1851
Page 6
attending veterinarian. The PRCA argues that the short
time a veterinarian will spend participating in the rodeo
will not have an impact on his/her ability to serve as
the rodeo veterinarian.
8.Opponents Argue Against Subjecting Veterinarians to
Disciplinary Action for Non-Reporting of Injuries. Both
the CVMA and the PRCA are also opposed to subjecting
rodeo veterinarians to discipline by the Veterinary
Medical Board because they do not report injuries to the
Board within 48 hours. As argued by the CVMA, many
veterinarians are totally unaware of the new reporting
requirements. The Board has not posted or even mailed out
information regarding this new requirement, nor passed
regulations to implement this new reporting requirement.
Also, veterinarians who generally are at rodeos are
volunteers, and they have indicated to the CVMA that most
injuries that occur on site are not serious enough to
require immediate attention, and the owner of the animal
usually ends up taking the animal to their own personal
veterinarian. The CVMA believes that this bill will
unduly punish veterinarians and have a chilling effect on
rodeos, as few will want to participate, knowing that a
failure to report an injury properly could strip them of
their license. The CVMA also believes that the repository
for information regarding injuries should actually be
provided to animal control agencies and not the Board,
which could take the appropriate action if needed.
9.Proposed Author's Amendments. The Author has indicated
that he will offer two Author's amendments in Committee
to address two of the concerns raised by opponents of
this measure. The first is to strike the prohibition for
veterinarians from participating in any event at a rodeo
as a contestant if they were the attending or on-call
veterinarian. The second is to strike the provision that
would have allowed the Veterinary Medical Board to take
disciplinary action against a veterinarian for not
complying with the current reporting requirements
regarding animal injuries. Instead, the Author is
proposing language that would require the Veterinary
Medical Board to draft regulations regarding the
reporting of animal injuries at rodeos. (The Author has
provided a mock-up version of the amendments and will
provide Legislative Counsel amendments in Committee.)
SB 1851
Page 7
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION:
Support: Action for Animals (Sponsor)
The Humane Society of the United States
Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
The Fund for Animals
California Federation for Animal Legislation
Doris Day Animal League
Last Chance for Animals
The Ark Trust, Inc.
Contra Costa Humane Society
Earth Island Institute
The SPCA of Monterey County
Sonoma People for Animal Rights
Redwings Horse Sanctuary
Cedar Veterinary Hospital, Veterinarian
North State Animal Hospital, Veterinarian
Humane Education Network
Opposition: California Veterinary Medical Association
Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association
California Cattlemen's Association
California Farm Bureau Federation
American Quarter Horse Association
International Professional Rodeo Association
California Rodeo Salinas
Pioneer Equine Hospital, Inc.
Nevada State Assemblyman Tom Collins
8 Individuals
Consultant:Bill Gage