Two animal abuse bills vetoed by Governor

Oct. 16, 2009 - - Two bills dealing with animal abuse were vetoed by Gov. Schwarzenegger. AB243 (Nava) would have required the courts to prevent a person from owning, possessing, maintaining, having custody of, residing with or caring for any animal if they had been convicted of certain animal abuse crimes. In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said, “This measure is unnecessary. Judges already have the discretion to enter an order forbidding persons from caring for animals if it is warranted. Making this order mandatory would unjustly impact individuals who make a living working with or caring for animals.”
The other bill dealing with animal abuse, AB1122 (Lieu), made it a crime for a person to sell or give away a live animal on public roadways, parking lots, carnivals, or boardwalks. Western United Dairymen worked successfully with a coalition of agriculture groups to force amendments, successfully removing references to FFA and other your organizations that raise and sell animals. In his veto message, Schwarzenegger said,” I am concerned with the scope and unintended consequences of this bill and that it does not assure the humane and ethical treatment and welfare of animals.”