Memphis Animal Advocacy to do Radio Interview with WRVR

On Tuesday, October 28, Memphis Law Animal Advocacy will be interviewed by radio personality Mandy Morgan of WRVR about our law student group. An upcoming event on November 15 could be announced, discussed, and broadcast. This event will soon be announced on this website! MLAA is looking forward to this interview and WRVR's commitment to the community that will allow us to broadcast our message while also giving us some invaluable practice as student advocates improving our message. We cannot wait to share our mission of advocating for animal welfare while also advocating for those taking action for animal welfare.  

The interview will be in their studio on that Tuesday and the finished product will be 20-40 minutes long. The air date is Sunday November 2 at the following times:

WRVR, 104.5 FM (at 6:00 AM)
WSNA, 94.1 FM (at 5:00 AM)
AM 680 (at 9:30 AM)
WMFS, 93X (at 6:20 AM) 

Excerpt From Letter from Debbie Rankin on behalf of Senator Black

Dog food manufacturers blocked the passage of bill in the TN Legislature in 2006 that would have required more stringent standards on puppy breeders, known as "puppy mills." 

One website quoted the dog food lobby as being as wealthy and "powerful" as tobacco and alcohol lobbyists. 

Is it counter-intuitive that dog food manufacturers blocked a bill aimed at welfare of animals? 

MLAA will be looking into this and providing the results of the dog food companies - the specific ones- who blocked this legislation. 

Exerpt from e-mail from Debbie Rankin: 

"The bill to which you refer was filed during another general assembly as an update to the puppy mill bill. There was much opposition to the bill from the pet food manufacturers because the funding mechanism was a proposed increase of one cent on the cost of a ten pound bag of dog or cat food. While this amount was negligible, the manufacturers felt it set a precedent that was unacceptable." 

Memphis Law Animal Advocacy to visit former Senator, Judge Curtis Person

On Wednesday, October 29th, members of Memphis Law Animal Advocacy will meet with Judge Curtis Person in his office downtown. 

Judge Person has been a long-term friend to animals as a member of the Tennessee Legislature where he served as a representative for two years and as a senator for 38 years. Senator Person is responsible, along with now Congressman Steve Cohen, for Bill 2929 during the 102nd General Assembly. It is now Public Charter 774. This bill was the first of its kind in this state, and requires the licensure of dog and cat dealers who exceed a number of pet sales, permits confiscation of endangered animals, and authorizes inspection of vehicles to transport animals.

Memphis Law Animal Advocacy is indebted to Judge Person for sharing his time with us.

Coming Soon

2L Roger Scruggs will publish a report here on one of his interests, slaughterhouse conditions and abuse. As a busy second year law student, no exact date for publishing is set, but it will be soon. 

Improving pets' lives in Memphis

Are the following possible in Memphis? 

1) A hospice for pets. Sue Marino of Angel's Gate owns and operates a hospice for pets in their final days and has received national attention and donations for this valuable, selfless work she does. Is a similar hospice possible in Memphis?

2) An animal abuse hotline. And a hotline for frustrated pet owners who are close to the breaking point with behavioral issues. This could help prevent dumping, feelings of frustration among pet owners that leads to drastic measures, and pet abuse. Is such a thing possible? Could an animal agency in Memphis provide a full time staff behavioralist who makes house calls to help pet owners? 

3) A cat trapping program. In other cities, there are amazing people who organize locations of and retrieve traps that have feral cats inside. They are humane traps; the volunteers take the cats to be spayed or neutered and released back into the "wild." This is NOT for the faint hearted who spook at the awful sounds feral cats can make when trapped and then handled by veterinary staff; it also requires organization and is such a valuable service. This prevents over-population of cats in cities. I've looked for a group like this in Memphis; other cities have them. Does anyone know if Memphis has this kind of volunteers? 

The Troubling Result of Well-Meaning Legislation

Laws banning horse slaughter in the two states that had horse slaugtherhouses had unintentional effects. It led to even more inhumane treatment of horses. How could this happen? It happened because the unfortunate reality is that banning horse slaughter did not end the need to euthanize horses; the reason this needs to be done is not an issue I am familiar with. What is apparent as a result of these laws is that horse slaughter has been exported to Mexico -- and has increased 312% since the laws were enacted. The tragic irony is that the very inhumanity the laws sought to cease has worsened - United State's euthanasia methods are required by law to be far more humane than Mexico's. The end result being, if ending cruelty to horses was the goal, it has not been achieved. The United States has not only exported the problem, it has delivered horses to an even worse death. See this article from the American Association of Veterinary Medicine.