I am forwarding this in the hope that you will join me in petitioning Governor Brown to sign the bill against hounding animals. See Michele Franko's summary below to see why I think you should support the ban. (She says it better than I could ever hope to.) Thanks, Elizabeth ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Michele Franko Date: Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 11:43 AM Subject: Fwd: CA: Hounding Ban Awaits Gov.'s Signature--Act Now! - Personal note to Gov. Brown To: Michele Franko Greetings, all - one last push to Mr. Brown to sign the ban into law. The link will take you to a simple, pre-written petition to support the ban, which will go to Mr. Brown. Included here is my personal note to him as well...thank you everyone!! Blessings and peace to all - Michele Mr. Brown: As a CA native and former CA State Humane Officer, my job was to investigate animal welfare, cruelty and neglect complaints. The California Animal Laws Handbook published by the State Humane Association of California breaks out all of the animal-related statutes from all of the CA codes, and if you don't already have this handy, I would suggest you acquire a copy. Allowing this act to continue legally by not supporting the ban would submit to another double-standard for the benefit of a profit/State revenue-making animal-dependent industry. (Horse racing - CHRB - and animals raised for food are historic examples of exemptions from the CA Penal Code section 597 pertaining to animal cruelty). I suggest you review P.C. section 597b(a) - Fighting Animals and Birds - outside of this "sport", anyone committing this act would be in violation of several codes, ranging from Penal Code 597, Fish and Game, possibly State Parks, Health and Safety, to name a few. A humane officer responding to a complaint of this would most likely have Fish & Game, the local sheriff, among others, in tow. Besides the cruelty imposed upon the wildlife, there would be issues regarding the safety, welfare, veterinary care, transport, licensing, vaccination, seizure of the dogs. Then you would have the firearms issue - legal possession or not, discharging, required permits, time of year, proper identification, private property trespassing. Arrests, vehicle and firearms seizures - the list could go on. In short, the act would be illegal. Private property owners who have bear "issues" turn to Fish & Game, so the argument that this is a remedy is an attempt to justify a glorified blood bath in the brutal exploitation of animals by empathy-deficient humans. But put aside the legal and criminal ramifications, and please consider the compassionate, consciously evolved, empathetic, humane and respectful side. Imagine being chased for hours, running and scrambling for your life, doing all you could to stay alive. Imagine the terror, the pain of the shredding of your skin, and being surrounded, trapped, attacked and exhausted, knowing life is about to end. Imagine the dogs, in their frenzied, out of control state, also being ripped, shredded and torn, and/or lost and abandoned with their injuries to die a slow, painful death. All of this in the name of twisted entertainment, entitled tradition - one of the few brutal forms of intentional, malicious cruelty still (hoping to remain) legal. If you can sit through it, I also suggest you watch video of this heinous act. Your decision on whether or not to ban this is simple. This is a clearly defined choice between right and wrong, good and evil, empathy and apathy, with any potential state "revenue" be damned. Please sign with your conscience on behalf of the bears, bobcats, dogs and the wild places which are home to wildlife in our beautiful state, who are at the mercy of your decision. Thank you, Mr. Brown, for your time in considering this vital and crucial issue. Michele Franko ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: ASPCA Date: Mon, Sep 17, 2012 at 6:01 AM Subject: CA: Hounding Ban Awaits Gov.'s Signature--Act Now! To: mfranko21@gmail.com To view this email as a web page, go here.http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776ba492b9d130577aaed46e79eb874b... [image: ASPCA] [image: Lobby for Animals] *Ban Cruel Hounding of California Wildlife* Urge Governor to Sign Senate Bill 1221 into Law [image: Facebook]http://pages.aspcaemail.org/Publish.aspx?qs=71b8883ce06d4a8517404b16ed6e8789... [image: Tweet]http://pages.aspcaemail.org/Publish.aspx?qs=71b8883ce06d4a8517404b16ed6e8789... [image: Forward]http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b5815dfa2270724b7344e1ef7020e... [image: Donate]http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776bede84b978dfdf249865be5ca25e9... [image: Visit our Website]http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b983ccabc51c11e6029bf88e0df3a... Dear California Animal Advocates, Your many calls and messages to the California Legislature in support of banning cruel hounding paid off! After passing the Assembly with bi-partisan support, S.B. 1221 won final approval by the Senate on August 27, sending the bill to Governor Brown for his consideration. Please—we are so close to victory on this—*we just need you to reach out as soon as possible to Governor Brown to urge him to sign S.B. 1221 into law!http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b1c69363daa0a83c00a5ba485dd81... * A recent article by George Skelton in the *Los Angeles Times* requesting the governor veto this important bill has only intensified the potential for the hound hunters to snatch this victory from us, so the animals need your voice more than ever. *Governor Brown has until the end of September to take action on S.B. 1221, so the bill could be signed—or vetoed—at any time. Please let him know this bill needs to be signed into law!* *What You Can Do* It is absolutely critical that Governor Brown hear from you soon to encourage his support of this important bill. *Visit the ASPCA Advocacy Center onlinehttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b4eebc766b410ecb3d9dfbc8dcd55... * right away to email Governor Brown in Sacramento to urge him to sign S.B. 1221 into law. Thank you, California. *Take Action Now »http://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b8343a784f751bce7413280040cf2... * Manage Subscriptionshttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b94d458b8ab8f580ba7cd856668ed...| Update Profilehttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b2314d5ac1ff77c051b1c6b3cebcc...| Privacy Policyhttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b4ed6b759689556617d27a9836b9d...| ASPCA Websitehttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b983ccabc51c11e6029bf88e0df3a...| Facebookhttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b224392ae1ce457ff3e4ad86397fd...| Twitterhttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776b11f8e65265f7282a86a719e7fa07...| YouTubehttp://click.aspcaemail.org/?qs=e000f191904a776bdd20287d34cccdcececa2191e011... © 2012 ASPCA. All Rights Reserved. This email was sent to: *mfranko21@gmail.com* This email was sent by: ASPCA 424 East 92nd Street New York, NY 10128 United States -- *Michele Franko* *650.740.6586* *mfranko21@gmail.com* *Skype: michele.franko* *My greatest honor is an animal at ease in my presence...* ** *What Sanctuary Means...* ** *Gypsy & Wanda - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qdfK0wQOis* ** *Jenny & Shirley - **http://www.dogwork.com/relp8/*http://www.dogwork.com/relp8/ ** -- Elizabeth *MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescue * * * *Donate to support MickaCoo Pigeon & Dove Rescuehttp://www.rescuereport.org/2009/09/donate.html * * * *Join us on Facebook! https://www.facebook.com/MickaCooRescue* *Subscribe to our newsletter http://eepurl.com/iWq1P* Until they all have homes, don't buy, don't breed- adopt. www.RescueReport.org www.MickaCoo.org http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGjyooh3Yo0