Humane Lobby Day in Maine will be held at the Governor Hill Mansion at 136 State St. in Augusta on Tuesday, March 24, from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. In 1902, Gov. John Freemont Hill commissioned Maine’s foremost architect, John Calvin Stevens, to design a home befitting the state’s highest office. Today, Gov. Hill’s home serves the people of Maine as an event facility.

Humane Lobby Day is a one-day event where you will have the chance to meet with your elected officials or their staff about animal protection issues that you would like to see progress in 2015. There will be a bill briefing and training with tips for lobbying. After the presentation, everyone will go over to the State House to meet with legislators. Refreshments will be served. There are several bills to be considered in this 127th legislative session that concern the rights of animals. Your voice matters. It’s your chance to show how much animals mean to you and advocate for laws that will improve their lives.

Lawmakers in Augusta will consider a law that would prohibit the sale of puppies and kittens in Maine pet stores from out-of-state commercial breeding facilities or puppy mills. LD 335 was presented to the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee on March 5 by Rep. Kimberly Monaghan of Cape Elizabeth. Maryland is considering similar legislation. At a well-attended hearing held in Augusta on March 5, pet store owners and animal rights groups weighed in on the proposal. Rep. Monaghan testified that “A review of the importation certificates on file at the Maine Department of Agriculture reveals that over 95 percent of puppies and kittens sold by Maine pet shops are obtained from large out-of-state commercial breeding facilities, many of them were cited for significant violations during their 2014 USDA inspections.”

Katie Hansberry, director of the Maine Humane Society, also testified that “Routinely, pet store representatives claim that they do not purchase dogs from puppy mills. Yet when we review Certificates of Veterinary Inspection obtained through open records requests, we find that the dogs sold in these stores do, in fact, come from puppy mills ”“ many of which have repeated USDA violations for keeping dogs in filthy, unsanitary, inhumane conditions with inadequate food, water or veterinary care. State import records show that Maine pet shops are no exception, and that our pet shops get their puppies from puppy mills, including some with extreme animal welfare violations on their USDA inspection reports.”

Maine Citizens Against Puppy Mills profiles several out-of-state breeders on their website with multiple repeat USDA violations that supply Maine pet stores with their “Meet the Breeders” link. This is an important issue because local breeders who are regulated by Maine’s animal welfare laws must answer to state and local officials. Out-of-state breeders in poorly regulated states answer to no one and yet they regularly supply Maine’s pet stores with dogs and cats. Passage of this law could be a boon to local breeders in addition to improving the conditions for many dogs and cats out-of-state by putting some of these puppy mills out of business. A Pennsylvania pet chain, Pets Plus Natural, is going from supporting puppy mills to saving pets in need, thanks to a new store-wide policy. Pets Plus Natural has announced that it will stop selling animals sourced from commercial breeders and instead offer shelter animals in its 10 retail stores.

———

Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed state budget threatens Maine’s spay and neuter program. There is a surcharge on pet food sold in Maine, which Gov. LePage wants to get rid of, but pet shelters in this state are pushing back. The surcharge is paid by makers of brand-name pet foods, but the governor considers it a “double-tax” on business and wants to phase it out by 2018.

However, veterinarians and pet shelters say that phasing out the tax is a bad idea because it helps to fund the state’s program, Help Fix ME, which spays and neuters pets. Animal advocates say the population of unwanted pets will go up with severe consequences of overcrowding in Maine shelters if this surcharge is phased out. The fund also helps to pay for investigations into animal abuse. The LePage administration says phasing out the surcharge will give the shelters time to find another way to pay for the program. Animal rights organizations are skeptical. Since it is part of the state budget, the legislature must vote on the plan.

———

An Act to Ensure Humane Conditions for Egg-Laying Poultry, LD 533, sponsored by Rep. Matthea Daughtry of Brunswick would require that enclosures for egg-laying poultry allow the poultry to lie down, stand up, fully extend their wings and legs, and turn around. This bill provides for humane space standards for all egg-laying poultry that allow them to move freely, with exceptions for specific circumstances, such as showing poultry at licensed fairs as part of 4-H activities or transportation. On Feb. 26, this bill was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry in the Maine Legislature for further review.

One state has already passed similar legislation in 2008 as voters in California passed Proposition 2, the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, which requires farmers to give their egg-laying hens more space. Egg-laying hens have typically been housed in cages with 67 square inches of space. Now farmers must give each hen 116 square inches to turn around and fully stretch their wings. The California legislature gave farmers seven years to comply. Eggs from other states that are not produced in humane conditions will not be sold in California beginning this year.

Other states are following suit. According to the Humane Society of the United States, Michigan passed a law in 2009 banning battery cage confinement of egg-laying hens by 2019. In 2010, Ohio placed a moratorium on new permits for battery cage production facilities phasing out battery cages for egg-laying hens within ten years, and cracking down on puppy mills.

In conclusion, even if you can’t make it to Augusta for Humane Lobby Day in Maine on March 24, be sure to contact your legislators and let them know how you feel about these important issues.

— Val Philbrick works in the production department of the Journal Tribune as a pre-press person. She is a member of PETA and the Humane Society of the United States.