Nebraska bill LB25-wolf in sheep clothing?             

                        

                          By Zuzana Kukol, 1/23/2007 

The new bill LB 25 recently introduced in Nebraska Legislature seems almost harmless. Media is reporting it as a bill that would require owners of wolf-dog hybrids to vaccinate their animals against rabies.

Seems reasonable, unless you read the actual text of the bill, which will make it blatantly clear should this horrible bill pass, that it can make a precedent reaching far beyond the Nebraska state border.

Once you read the actual text it is clear that this bill would require rabies vaccination for any hybrid between domestic dog and wolf (wolf dogs) or domestic and wild cats (known as Bengals and Savannahs).

So what is the catch?


Well, the rabies vaccine has to be officially approved for use in wild animal hybrids and be administered by veterinarian. The problem is, such a vaccine doesn’t exist.


Many owners of wild animals and hybrids vaccinate their animals with vaccines approved for domestic cats and dogs and the vaccine most likely works, but it has never been officially approved as that would require killing many animals to approve it officially.

So Nebraska is in effect asking for something that doesn’t exist, and the only options Nebraska wild/domestic cat and dog hybrid owners have is to place their cherished animals out of state or kill them within one year, or to simply keep them illegally.


Now, how does this affect most of the USA?


It is in the language in the bill; it targets  and in effect bans animals for which rabies vaccine is not officially approved. LB 25 is discriminatory as it only targets dog and cat hybrids, so far...

The fact is all mammals can get rabies, but the only animals the rabies vaccine is officially approved for in the USA are domestic dogs, cats, ferrets, cattle, sheep and horses.


No rabies vaccines are currently licensed and approved for goats, pigs, rabbits, rodents, exotic animals or captive wild animals.

So what does this mean for an average person ? What kind of precedent can it set?

 

If Nebraska LB 25 passes, it will crate a precedent anywhere in the USA for banning ANY mammal for which rabies vaccine is not officially approved , meaning, this could close all zoos, circuses, pig farms (no more pork roast or leather goods), 4H shows, Easter bunnies, end laboratory mice research, pet snake food, etc...

However, when you look at the Nebraska rabies cases statistics, it becomes painfully obvious wolf-dogs, Bengal or Savannah cats are not the problem, as all of the rabies cases (except a goat or two) occur in the wild non-captive animals, or animals for which rabies vaccine is already approved, such as domestic dogs, cats and livestock.


So who is behind this horrible discriminatory bill?

 

Nebraska Rabies Cases 2006                                                   

 

Nebraska Rabies Cases 2005                                         

 

Nebraska Rabies Cases 2004

 

Nebraska Rabies Cases 2003

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