Purpose: Although Maine has strong animal welfare laws, enforcement can remain an issue. The various changes in L.D. 850 would help existing laws work more effectively to protect Maine's dogs and cats.

The public hearing for LD 850 is scheduled for
Tuesday April 26, 1:00 PM,
Cross Building Room 206.

Please be sure to submit your letter of support for this bill to the ACF Committee Clerk before then, asking her to forward your letter to the full committee: megan.jackman@legislature.maine.gov.

Bill specifics:

a) Provides stronger penalties for dog and cat sellers with vendors licenses for not posting their license number in advertisements, for example, in Uncle Henry's, on craigslist.com and on street signs. This is directed at the backyard breeders who may fall under the radar, by selling dogs and/or cats illegally, by not being in compliance with the vendor's license requirement, or that are not listing their vendor number when advertising. This is not directed at legitimate breeders and it does not require action from the municipality other than following up on any advertising violation that is brought to its attention.

PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.

Revisions to be Submitted at ACF Committee Hearing - April 26, 2011

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 7 MRSA §3945,  as amended by PL 2001, c. 617, §8, is further amended to read:

Except for the $1 recording fee pursuant to section 3942 retained by the municipal clerk, all fees, including vendor's license fees received under section 4163, subsection 1, and court fines retained by municipalities must be kept in a separate account and must be used for the salaries and costs of animal control, enforcement of licensing laws, care of stray animals that are injured or abandoned and the support of one or more approved animal shelters. Any money not expended for these purposes in a municipality's fiscal year does not lapse, but must be carried over to the next fiscal year.

Sec. 2. 7 MRSA §3947, first ¶,  as amended by PL 2009, c. 343, §20, is further amended to read:

Each municipality shall appoint one or more animal control officers whose duties are enforcement of sections 3911, 3912, 3916, 3921, 3924, 3948, 3950, 3950A, 3952 and , 4041 , 4163 and Title 17, section 1023, responding to reports of animals suspected of having rabies in accordance with Title 22, sections 1313 and 1313A and any other duties to control animals as the municipality may require. A municipality may appoint an employee of an animal shelter as an animal control officer as long as the person meets the qualifications and training requirements of this section.

Below is a list of low cost spay/neuter resources for Maine residents.

Most of these programs are non-profit and rely on donations to survive.  Please consider supporting one of these programs financially as they save so many lives and keep animals out of our shelters and from being euthanized.

Almost a decade ago public outcry forced not only the firing of the state Animal Welfare Program Director, but also providing legislation revising how the state handled animal welfare. One result was the formation of the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee and another was the hiring of Norma Worley as the new director. The challenges were great and for the last eight years she has transformed the AWP in an exemplary manner many thought not possible.

The list of accomplishments in moving the AWP into the 21st century are too numerous to list in this space. It has resulted in saving countless animals from abuse, neglect and cruelty and vastly improved animal welfare in the state, even while being underfunded and understaffed.

Norma will be missed and we wish her well in her new endeavors.

I did an Arctic expedition in 2003. As a social scientist, my job was to study how the explorers learned to handle the extreme environment. Interestingly, some of these ‘smart’ people ended up with frostbitten fingers, because extreme cold of this nature gets you before you know it. Extreme cold creeps up on you and the damage is done before you feel the pain. So I know something about living in -30 degrees for a sustained period of time, living out on the ice in a tent for days at a time.

We are not used to this kind of cold in Maine.  Animals can freeze to death quickly in this weather. They can become frostbitten, and there is not cure for that problem, which will recur every year in winter. And frostbite is very painful.