HEART - A New Mexico Nightmare

Unless unchallenged through provisions of the Albuquerque City Charter, the
recently passed and signed HEART animal control ordinance for the City of
Albuquerque goes into effect on August 22 (HEART stands for Humane and
Ethical Animal Rules and Treatment). So many provisions in HEART are so
absurd, it is inconceivable that any city councilor who has ever owned a dog
or cat could vote in favor of such a law. But, it happened - it passed on a
6 - 3 vote and was signed by the mayor. It has been reported that it took 3
years to prepare the HEART ordinance. The ordinance has such obvious flaws
that one has to question what went wrong. Below is an overview of the
results of those 3 years of intense effort to prepare HEART.

HEART has trivialized animal cruelty to the extent that the concept of
cruelty is meaningless. Under HEART everyone who owns a cat or dog in
Albuquerque will at some time, violate the animal cruelty provisions of
HEART. For example, withholding water for any reason is ANIMAL CRUELTY
(including a tipped over water bowl, veterinarian instructions, or crating
overnight). HEART says that walking a dog on a lead that exceeds 8 feet is
ANIMAL CRUELTY. Animal crates for temporary use in homes will have to
exceed commercial standards for kennels. A crate, for a 66 pound dog to
sleep in at night, will require 24 square feet of floor space and must be at
least 3 feet high, anything smaller is ANIMAL CRUELTY. ANIMAL CRUELTY
includes PSYCHOLOGICAL pain (which is undefined). HEART specifies bird
perch diameters. Not meeting the diameter requirement is ANIMAL CRUELTY.
Failure to report running over a snake is ANIMAL CRUELTY. Furthermore, an
individual guilty of ANIMAL CRUELTY (for example walking a dog on a leash
longer than 8 feet) can no longer own an intact dog or cat.

HEART will require mandatory spay/neuter of all existing intact dogs and
cats over six months old unless a $150 permit is obtained for EACH intact
dog or cat (maximum of four permits). All puppies and kittens, unless
permitted, must be spayed/neutered by 6 months of age. However, the mayor
can declare a moratorium at any time for intact animal permits, in which
case intact animals could be seized and spay/neutered by the city. Pet
stores will no longer be able to sell dogs or cats. The city council, after
hours of debate, was successful in changing the term "dog toy" to "safe
product." Failure to provide such a product is a misdemeanor.

HEART repeals numerous sections of Albuquerque's current animal control
ordinance and adds new sections. Inexplicably, HEART repeals provisions for
Off Leash Dog Areas (Dog Parks) and the Animal Welfare Board -- no
provisions for either have been incorporated in HEART. Under HEART, letting
a dog run loose at a Dog Park will be ANIMAL CRUELTY.

The mayor has publicly announced that during his administration animal
activists are "in" and others with more moderate views are "out." By
passing HEART, the city council has supported the extreme ideologies
expressed by those animal rights activists who are "in." After three years
of development, those of us who had concerns about HEART were given just 90
seconds to address our issues to the city council. It's clear that the
mainstream has been cut out of the process.

HEART is based on false assumptions associated with extreme concepts of the
Animal Rights movement. The extreme Animal Rights ideas to be found in HEART
include numerous INVALID propositions (THESE IDEAS ARE JUST WRONG). Here
are examples:

- Albuquerque is NOT HUMANE AND COMPASSIONATE toward animals
- Albuquerque treats animals as LIFELESS chattel property
- Albuquerque residents COMMIT UNFETTERED, CALLOUS ACTS that cause pain and
suffering to animals
- Laws AGAINST CHAINING will help to ELIMINATE DOGS ROAMING at large
- Animal control has NO CHOICE BUT TO EUTHANIZE DOGS at the shelter
- CHAINED ANIMALS are more likely to RUN AWAY
- Albuquerque has an OVERWHELMING SUPPLY of animals that exceeds demand
- Crowding at the animal shelter (referred to as overpopulation) ENDANGERS
HUMANS
- STRICT LAWS WILL INCREASE COMPASSION toward animals
- GOVERNMENT must exercise complete control over dog and cat populations
- GOVERNMENT must identify and track every dog and cat, as well as its owner
- Except as permitted by the GOVERNMENT, every dog and cat must have its
reproductive capacity eliminated
- GOVERNMENT must establish arbitrary, generalized standards of animal care
that IGNORE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS
- ANIMAL CRUELTY MUST BE REDEFINED TO INCLUDE TRIVIAL ACTS such as walking a
dog on a leash longer than 8 feet
- ANIMAL CRUELTY, even when trivialized to leash length and bird perches, is
ASSOCIATED WITH DOMESTIC ABUSE, CHILD ABUSE, AND ELDER ABUSE
- Dog and cat permit fees that could exceed $600 PER YEAR FOR A HOUSEHOLD
are in the public interest and DO NOT OVERLY BURDEN responsible owners

Every one of the ideas from HEART, as listed above, is blatantly false. It
is inconceivable that elected officials of Albuquerque could actually accept
and act on such an extreme, irrational set of assumptions. City government
has simply failed to act responsibly. A public referendum is the only
remaining alternative offered by the Albuquerque City Charter to overturn
HEART.

The Albuquerque City Charter has a provision that would allow HEART to be
put to a vote by the people of Albuquerque. Albuquerque voters could
overturn HEART and nullify action by the City Council and the Mayor. By
July 20 a petitions with 17,458 signatures of Albuquerque registered voters
(20% of the number who voted in the last election) must be submitted to the
City Clerk to force a public referendum on HEART. The City Charter only
allows a narrow 35-day window to submit the required signatures. The short
time is an overwhelming constraint. If the required signatures are
submitted, the City Charter requires a referendum within 90 days.

A "Rescind HEART" petition drive is under way to gather the required
signatures to force a referendum. The "Rescind HEART" petition drive is an
unfunded, grassroots effort that is attempting something that, as someone
recently noted, has never been tried before anywhere in the country for a
animal law that has been passed and signed.

Many residents of Albuquerque are unaware of either HEART or its provisions.
Once it is explained, people are ready to join the petition drive. However,
given the deadline of July 20 gaining support by word of mouth may be too
slow to meet the petition deadline. Furthermore, media spin has supported
HEART and it will take time for the public to realize what is actually in
the ordinance. Others in Albuquerque don't understand that action is even
possible under the City Charter to overturn HEART.

The challenges are immense and the situation demands unusual measures.
There are only 25 days (including three weekends) left to get the required
number of signatures.

IT IS OBVIOUS THAT NEW MEXICO AND NATIONWIDE SUPPORT ARE NEEDED TO ASSURE
THAT THE PETITION DRIVE IS SUCCESSFUL. YOUR IMMEDIATE HELP AND FINANCIAL
SUPPORT ARE NECESSARY AND ARE APPRECIATED. ANY LARGE CONTRIBUTIONS WILL PAY
FOR DOOR-TO-DOOR CANVASSING OF NEIGHBORHOODS TO GATHER SIGNATURES.

Contributions of $25 or more must meet the reporting requirements called for
in the Albuquerque City Charter for a political campaign, so please contact
me directly. Contributions of LESS THAN $25 can be mailed directly to the
address shown below.

All contributions should be made out to "Rescind HEART."

The use of PayPal or other electronic means to accept contributions is being
investigated. Please visit the website (see Resources and then Support) for
updates.

For more information on the "Rescind HEART" petition drive please visit:
http://www.icare-usa.org

The following are available on the website:

- Official petition for signature of Albuquerque registered voters
- Return instructions for petitions
- HEART ordinance (67 pages)
- Current Albuquerque ordnance that HEART changes
- Flyers
- Other information about HEART

Thank you for your help.

Ronald A. Gustafson
Chairman
Rescind HEART
Measure Finance Committee

ron.gustafson@...
505-864-3513

ADDRESS FOR CONTRIBUTIONS
:
Rescind HEART
c/o Ronald Gustafson
PO Box 576
Tome, NM 87060