The animal-friendly governor of the week award goes to Pennsylvania governor Edward G. Rendell who, the article says, wants
to change the way agency officials, justices and lawmakers view companion animals.Nice to see someone in office get the memo, and to actually act on it:
He called the humane treatment of animals a "moral-values" issue that many people care deeply about.
Gov. Rendell is pledging to find a way to end the state's reputation as the puppy-mill capital of the East.Categories: puppy mills | animal law | animal welfare
"I am not satisfied that we, as a state, are doing all that we can," he said.
In an interview Thursday, Rendell said he also has begun to make administrative changes that might include "a shake-up" of the state Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, and will push for legislation to improve animal-welfare laws.
Rendell said he would dismiss the 14-member Dog Law Advisory Board, which advises the secretary of agriculture on dog issues, because it has not been "proactive enough."
He is the first governor since the advent of the commercial dog-breeding industry in the state to take such a personal interest in the issue, according to Dotsie Keith, the legislative chair of the Pennsylvania Federation of Dog Clubs.
Earlier this year, Rendell formed a working group to address the issue. The panel will issue a report on its findings and, in the meantime, has made recommendations that Rendell is considering, including one that would give dog wardens the authority to follow up in cases where kennel licenses have been revoked by the state.
