New York Animal Extremist Watch List

Ranking New York State Legislators

Which ones are dedicated to animal rights extremist goals ?

To create this listing, the Empire State Animal Alliance analyzed support in the New York State legislature for 10 key extremist proposals, noting the sponsors and supporters of each proposal.

Information New York voters will need in November!

Our Animal Extremist Watch List identifies elected representatives in terms of their support of irresponsible and even illegal proposals which are at odds with the values and needs of New York voters. While the proposals masquerade as "animal protection" reforms, in reality they destroy the civil rights of responsible, caring animal owners and jeopardize lawful, humane activities and businesses in New York.

10 Key Extremist Proposals Violate the Civil Rights of New York Animal Lovers

A7285/S5392 (Paulin/Squadron) -- Lobbied hard by the Humane Society of the United States, A7285 creates a brand new crime: custody of healthy, happy, well-cared for dogs, if you happen to have "too many." The bill permits animals to be seized and sold off -- or even killed -- before their owner has his/her day in court on alleged charges. Proponents pretend the bill addresses abusive breeding facilities that violate existing state and federal law, but the bill offers no new protections for animals.

Further analysis from the Dog Federation of New York here.

A5507 (Ball) -- Due process? Search warrants? Who needs 'em! If A5507 passes into law, employees of private corporations would be free to search the homes of New York citizens based solely on an unsworn verbal complaint.

A7983 /S4961 (Paulin/Oppenheimer) -- Buried in this mammoth proposal is the end to client or patient confidentiality for pet owners. The bill forces pet breeders to provide blanket authorizations for the release of their veterinary and private registry records for inspection by agents of the State of New York. More information on the many defects in the proposal here.

A8352 /S4515 (Titone/Lanza) -- Anyone who sells three or more dogs or cats would become an instant "animal breeder" under this proposal, instantly subject to six pages of regulations, restrictions, and inspections. Penalties for failure to comply with any provision included in the six pages can go as high as $1,000 per violation.

A9400 /S3155 (Paulin/Johnson, C) -- New Yorkers are guilty until proven innocent under this proposal, which allows private corporations to impound, sell off, and even kill their pets and livestock long before they have their day in court. A recent federal court decision in another jurisdiction points to defects in existing NY law permitting pre-adjudication forfeiture of animals. This proposal would make existing law even worse.

A3765 /S5479 (Englebright/Klein) -- Public servants such as district attorneys -- charged with representing the interests of "We, the People of the State of New York" and paid by the public to do so -- cannot represent private, not for profit corporations like societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Similar in its provisions to A9400 above, A3765/S5479 is just as illegal and just as devastating to civil rights.

A2711 (Glick) -- Opposed by the New York State Medicine Association, A2711 would allow court-appointed animal guardians to sue for non-economic damages in cases of alleged wrongful injuries to animals. Monies recovered would go into a trust fund, and private "animal protection organizations" would keep any undistributed funds when the animal dies.

A0592 (Cahill) -- Persons convicted under the terms of A0592 must undergo court-ordered psychiatric evaluations -- and possible court-ordered psychiatric treatment -- even though the animals in their care may not have suffered cruelty at all. The proposal essential invents a psychological disorder, and then makes it criminal.

A8163 (Rosenthal) -- Regulates how farmers may confine their calves, hens, and pigs.

A7218 (Glick) -- Allows the State of New York to intervene in veterinary care decisions made by dog owners and their veterinarians. Makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 to own or exhibit a dog with a docked tail in the State of New York, and allows "animal rights organizations" to sue on behalf of dogs.

Which Legislators Are the Biggest Threat to Your Civil Rights?

Who were the worst offenders? Which elected representatives took the most anti-civil rights positions while pursuing false "animal protection" agendas ?

#1: Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, D-Westchester
--Outlaws ownership of healthy, happy dogs
Paulin is the prime sponsor of A7285
--Violates the privacy of pet owners
Paulin is the prime sponsor of A7983
--Sentences defendants before they go to trial
Paulin is the prime sponsor of A9400

#2: Assemblywoman Deborah Glick, D-Manhattan
--Outlaws ownership of healthy, happy dogs

Glick co-sponsors A7285
--Sentences defendants before they go to trial
Glick co-sponsors A9400

--Interferes in veterinary care decisions
Glick is the prime sponsor of A7218

#3: Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, D-Manhattan
--Requires public servants to work for private corporations

Rosenthal co-sponsors A3765
--Outlaws ownership of healthy, happy dogs

Rosenthal co-sponsors A7285
--Sentences defendants before they go to trial

Rosenthal co-sponsors A9400

Email Paulin, Glick and Rosenthal today

Responsible owners of animals of all types share a concern for the well being of pets and livestock. Under the law, we are explicitly required to provide for their welfare and should be held accountable if we fail. However, our concerns cannot drive us to surrender the protections of our civil liberties that the U. S. and New York constitutions afford.

Please take a minute and email the three elected officials who have most strongly allied themselves with an animal extremist agenda that does not reflect the values of New York voters.

Assemblywoman Amy Paulin: paulina@assembly.state.ny.us

Assemblywoman Deborah Glick: glickd@assembly.state.ny.us

Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal: rosentl@assembly.state.ny.us

Will your candidate protect YOUR civil rights?

Empire State Animal Alliance volunteers will be polling candidates for public office this November, soliciting their opinions on a range of topics. Our goal is to identify and endorse candidates who understand and support the responsible and humane ownership of pets, work companions and livestock.

Candidates with views supporting animal rights extremism will be identified. If you or your organization can help us canvass the candidates, please contact us at ESAAVolunteer@live.com

Attention New York Voter!

Do you own a pet?

Are you a farmer with livestock? Do you breed animals?

This fall, voters will have the opportunity to either re-elect or replace every legislative office holder New Yorkers send to Albany and Washington, D. C.

Do you know where the candidates stand on the issues that responsible pet and animal owners face? Don't you think it's time to find out?

The Empire State Animal Alliance is an IRS Section 527 PAC organization and non-partisan voters alliance, affiliated with the Dog Federation of New York.

Empire State Animal Alliance volunteers will be polling potential office holders, soliciting their opinions on a range of topics. The goal is to identify and endorse candidates who understand and support the responsible and humane ownership of pets, work companions and livestock. Candidates with views supporting animal rights extremism will be identified.

If you or your organization can help us canvass the candidates, please contact us at ESAAVolunteer@live.com

NY Assemblywoman Amy Paulin: Pet Killer

Clueless in Westchester

In her mad rush to comply with the wishes of her animal extremist masters, Amy Paulin (D-Westchester) betrayed both the civil rights of her constituents and the well-being of the pets they love.

Here's how she did it:

Criminalization of animal ownership

On March 27, 2009 Paulin introduced A 7285, a proposal making it illegal to own, or have custody of, well-cared for, healthy, happy dogs or cats. It's all about the numbers. Paulin's bill makes it illegal to own "too many" animals, unless the animals have been subjected to surgical sterilization.

Paulin's intent is to halt the breeding of dogs and cats in New York, and her best buddies at the Humane Society of the United States support her every step of the way.

Amy Paulin: Kill "extra" dogs and cats

Halting responsible and humane breeding is bad enough. But Paulin's nightmare proposal goes one step further: A 7285 will take healthy pet animals away from their owners and kill them.

Under Paulin's proposal, if an owner is accused of having "too many" dogs and or cats, the animals are subject to forfeiture. The impounding organization can kill the forfeited animals, at their discretion, if the owner is unable to post a security bond promptly.

Paulin: No due process, no right to privacy

Incredibly, forfeiture takes place long, long before dog and cat owners are allowed their day in court. The impounding organization may sell off, or kill, seized dogs and cats months before court proceedings are concluded.

Faced with prosecution and seizure of their dogs and cats if accused of exceeding Paulin's arbitrary limit, owners could even be forced to put down healthy animals themselves.

A 7285's many, many defects were carefully analyzed by the Dog Federation of New York, and the New York Farm Bureau opposes Paulin's bill.

Paulin's other really stupid mistake: warrantless searches of private homes, records

Paulin's A 7983 is a proposal that will drive every single hobby cat and dog breeder out of the state of New York. A 7983 makes people who occasionally breed dogs and cats in their homes subject to the same extensive regulation that pet dealers must now comply with.

And then Paulin added a laundry list of additional inappropriate, expensive and unrealistic regulations. In a shocking assault on their right to privacy, hobby pet breeders will be forced to open their homes to inspection by New York State or its agents at any time. Pet breeders must also authorize their vet and their breed registries to hand over records to New York State, without a warrant, or face prosecution.

New York pet lovers wedged between a rock and a hard place

The message is clear: Paulin wants small home and hobby breeders gone.

Paulin wants moderate-to-larger kennels and breeding facilities gone too, regardless of how well they care for their animals.

Where are New Yorkers supposed to find pet dogs and cats, Assemblywoman Paulin?

The Paulin solution

Paulin does not support well-managed, humane and lawful dog and cat breeders of any size or type.

That much is abundantly clear.

Does Amy Paulin really want to force New Yorkers into buying miserable pups and kittens
smuggled here from Mexico and other distant places and sold out of the trunks of cars at flea markets?

Amy Paulin: Bad for pets. Bad for the people that love them.