| WV Spay Neuter Funding Program! |
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A very important bill to provide ongoing revenue at the state level for funding spay/neuter programs throughout West Virginia was killed in the House Agricultural Committee by Dept. of Agriculture, Commissioner Gus Douglas. We desperately needed a resource to help with pet-overpopulation in the state and this could have be a part of our solution. It simply increases an already existing fee on the distributor of commercial pet food brands in the state & not on the consumer. They are already paying this brand fee and we will just take a small portion of it. Pet food industry makes a lot of money on pets in the state. This way, they become part of our solution in assisting with our pet problem of overpopulation. It would provide $106,000 of ongoing funding for spay/neuter in WV. Unfortunately, Gus Douglas took the part of a corporation, the Pet Food Industry which sells $119 million dollars worth of petfood in West Virginia over West Virginia taxpayers.
Make sure to let your legislative representatives know how much we needed this funding for spay neuter in West Virginia and for them to support this measure in the 2011 session. Go to www.fohowvla.org for more information on what happened with this bill.
The state of Maine adopted this in 2005. In 2008, they received $127,750 for spay neuter funding from this commercial pet food fee. The argument that the cost will be passed on the consumer has proven in ME that calculating 50% of the households having pets that the average increase in pet food has been .49 per household per year. The state of New Hampshire has shown through their spay neuter efforts at the state level that for every $1 spent on spay neuter, they save $3.15 in support of pet overpopulation monies. I will include some statistics soon showing that while we are in a recession, the pet food industry has increased 6% in the past year. Below is information from last year's bill which will be almost identical. As soon as the bill gets introduced, we will get it on the website.
This BILL is to amend and reenact §19-14-5 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to providing moneys from an additional commercial feed distributor fee assessed to commercial feed distributors to fund a statewide spay and neuter program; and creating the Spay Neuter Assistance Fund.
This is the change to the commercial feed distributor fee which is already in existence: Provided, That the commissioner shall establish by rule an additional commercial feed distributor permit fee of not less than $5 per year to be deposited in the Spay Neuter Assistance Fund hereby created, for the purposes of funding the Spay Neuter Assistance Program of West Virginia, Inc., a 26 U.S.C. §501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation: Provided, however, That this fund shall also consist of moneys from gifts, donations or any appropriations by the Legislature.
The 2009 bill in its entirety can be viewed in the pdf file in ‘Daily at the state legislature’ 2009 forum….. |
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Newsflash
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Please check our affiliate legislative action website for a recount of the 2010 legislative session www.fohowvla.org. Our spay neuter bill was placed into interim study. We will regroup on that bill and other important legislation for next year. Notable bills that passed were the 3 year rabies bill, a livestock standards bill and a spay neuter bill for adopted greyhounds. |
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WV Animal Law Books (revised edition including 2009 code) now available for $5! Mail your check to FOHO at the address below to receive your handy and compact copy of WV Animal Law. Get additional copies to give out to those in your community who work with animal law: |
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501c3 Organizations can lobby! Read this article from HSUS. WV animals depend upon your support. You cannot let them down. |
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Plan now to attend our next FOHO meeting on October 2nd. This will be at the Waldemore House adjacent to the Clarksburg Public Library on Saturday morning from 9:30 am to 12. Anyone is welcome to attend. Join us as we promote a better environment for animal welfare throughout West Virginia. Clarksburg Public Library
404 W Pike St Clarksburg, WV 26301-2794 (304) 627-2236 From US 50 around Clarksburg, get downtown onto West Pike Street go into the library complex and the Waldemore is the mansion beside the library. That is where the meeting is held. Hope to see everyone there! Always check here to see if our meeting venue has changed.
To plan to attend future meetings, here is a tentative schedule:
January 15, 2011 - April 2, 2011 - July 9, 2011 - October 15, 2011
We have discussed moving our meetings around the state. If your group would like to host a FOHO WV meeting in your area, just let us know. |