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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Thomas Caltagirone |
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Caltagirone to reintroduce animal cruelty bill
HARRISBURG, Jan. 16 – State Rep. Thomas Caltagirone, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, today announced that he will reintroduce legislation to restrict the ability of untrained individuals to put Pennsylvania dogs under the knife.
Caltagirone, D-Berks, said his proposal, formerly H.B. 2532, would make significant changes to the state's animal cruelty law by prohibiting owners and breeders from performing debarking (cutting or destroying a dog’s vocal cords) and Cesarean sections. The lawmaker said current law provides very little oversight because owners and breeders, with no formal training, have the power to personally perform surgical procedures on their animals.
"While we made great strides last year in passing a law to improve conditions for dogs bred in commercial kennels, I believe more can and should be done to prevent these gruesome surgeries," Caltagirone said. "My bill implements zero tolerance for the many types of surgeries that, when performed incorrectly, cause dogs to suffer from serious pain and infection."
Caltagirone's bill would allow tail docking on dogs only until they are 12 weeks old, provided the dog is under anesthesia and the procedure is performed by a licensed veterinarian. Removing a dog's dewclaws without anesthesia would also be permitted, but only for dogs up to 5 days old.
Additionally, the bill would authorize personnel working in federally registered research clinics to perform Cesarean sections, but only in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act and while under the supervision of a veterinarian. It also would permit dog wardens to file cruelty charges against kennels when there is no Humane Society police officer to do so.
"Over the last year, my committee and I received an outpouring of support for this bill," Caltagirone said. "Our work is not finished on this issue, and I hope my colleagues will again support this legislation."