BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1810
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1810 (Maienschein)
As Introduced February 18, 2014
Majority vote
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 14-0
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|Ayes:|Bonilla, Jones, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Campos, | | |
| |Dickinson, Eggman, | | |
| |Gordon, Hagman, Holden, | | |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | | |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Permits a veterinarian or animal care facility to turn
over an abandoned animal to a public animal control agency or
shelter rather than euthanize it, as long as the shelter has not
refused to take the animal, and deletes the requirement that an
abandoned animal be euthanized 10 days after abandonment.
Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes permissive, rather than mandatory, that an abandoned
animal be euthanized after the person into whose custody the
animal was placed looks for a new owner for 10 days, as
specified.
2)Makes permissive, rather than mandatory, that a veterinarian
euthanize an animal abandoned with a veterinarian, or a
facility that has a veterinarian, and a new owner cannot be
found, as specified.
3)Permits an abandoned animal to be turned over to a public
animal control agency or shelter, society for the prevention
of cruelty to animals shelter, or humane society shelter,
provided that the shelter has been contacted and has not
refused to take the animal.
4)Makes other technical and clarifying amendments.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
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COMMENTS :
1)Purpose of the bill . This bill modifies current law to give
veterinarians and specified animal care facilities such as
kennels, pet groomers or animal hospitals the discretion to
decide whether or not to euthanize an abandoned animal after
it has been abandoned for at least 10 days, or to turn over
the abandoned animal to a public animal control agency,
shelter or designated humane association. Current law appears
to require that veterinarians and animal care facilities
destroy abandoned animals after 10 days, and this bill is
intended to relax that requirement. This bill is sponsored by
the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
(ASPCA).
2)Author's statement . According to the author, "[e]xisting law
declares an animal abandoned if it has been left at an animal
care facility 14 days after it was supposed to be picked up by
its owner. Following those 14 days, the animal care facility
is obligated to spend 10 days looking for a new home for that
animal and if a new home cannot be found the animal must be
euthanized. Existing law also prohibits the animal from being
given to animal control.
[This bill] authorizes animal care facilities to turn over an
abandoned animal to animal control, humane society or society
for the prevention of cruelty to animals, provided that the
shelter has been contacted and has not refused to take the
animal; and [this bill] repeals the requirement that an animal
care facility 'shall' euthanize an abandoned animal after 24
days, granting facilities more flexibility to find a new home
beyond those initial 24 days while retaining their current
authority. [This bill] does not change the timeline of 24
days before the facility can decide how to proceed with the
animal. California has made great strides enacting laws aimed
at attaining more positive outcomes for abandoned animals [and
this bill] revises an outdated portion of the law to better
reflect our modern view of animal welfare."
3)Deposited animals . Under current law, if an animal is not
retrieved within 14 days after it was due to be picked up, the
animal is considered to be abandoned. Once the animal is
determined to be abandoned, the service provider must keep the
animal for an additional 10 days while attempting to find the
original owner or a new owner. If after the initial 14 days
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and the additional 10 days (for a total of 24 days), the legal
owner has not retrieved the animal or the service provider has
been unable to locate a new home for the animal, current law
requires the service provider to "humanely destroy" the
abandoned animal.
According to the Humane Society of the United States, animal
shelters care for 6-8 million dogs and cats every year in the
United States, of whom approximately 3-4 million are
euthanized. At this time, there is no central data reporting
agency for animal shelters, so these numbers are estimates.
Further, because there is no central data or data reporting
requirements for shelters or animal care facilities, and
because shelters or other rescue facilities are not required
to maintain data about the number of surrendered, reclaimed or
euthanized animals it is difficult to know the total number of
animals that may have been turned over to an animal care
facility if they were abandoned at places such as
veterinarians, pet groomers or other animal care service
facilities.
4)Arguments in support . The ASPCA writes in support, "[This
bill] will simply modernize existing law relating to animals
abandoned at animal care facilities - veterinary offices,
spay/neuter clinics, grooming facilities and so forth. Under
existing law, an animal is declared abandoned at an animal
care facility 14 days after when the owner was supposed to
pick up the animal. Current law obligates the facility to
spend 10 days trying to place the animal with a new owner.
After those 10 days, for a total of 24 days, existing law
mandates that the animal be euthanized. Additionally, current
law explicitly prohibits the animal care facility from turning
the animal over to a shelter."
Analysis Prepared by : Elissa Silva / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0003092
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