March 2007 THE FOLLOWING IS A LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE TELEGRAM NEWSPAPER WRITTEN BY BEAGLE PAWS MEMBER DARRIN MCGRATH. WHY NOT THINK ABOUT CALLING THE MAYOR OF ST. JOHN'S (Mr. Andy Wells) TO ASK HIM TO GET TOUGH ON BEAGLE ABUSERS? THE MAYOR'S PHONE NUMBER IS 576-8477. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am writing concerning the City’s plan to amend municipal animal protection laws. I commend such action and I encourage the Mayor and Council to avoid half-measures when revamping the laws. As a beagle owner and hunter, I sincerely hope the City brings in tough new by-laws to govern the abuse/neglect of beagles and I would like to make some recommendations. First, I think that raised, off-the-ground pens with wire mesh floors should be outlawed. These are like chicken coops and the wire mesh floors are hard on the dog’s feet. They are not humane and should be outlawed. Second, if beagles are kept outside, then it should be mandatory to have a sixty-watt heating lamp in the insulated dog house from November 1st to May 1st. A standard work lamp will suffice and can be purchased for around twenty dollars at Canadian Tire or Wal-Mart, so the cost is not a big burden for dog owners. The lamp must be installed so that the dog can not chew the wire and get electrocuted. Third, financial penalties for the abuse/neglect of beagles (and all dogs for that matter) should be stiffened. A law without teeth is useless. Let’s have a strong deterrent for the wilful abuse and neglect of beagles. Many beagle owners/hunters own fifty-thousand dollars pick-ups, expensive shotguns and costly ATV’s. A fifty dollar fine is no deterrent and amounts to nothing more than a slap on the wrist. I encourage the Council to bring in hefty fines. Fourth, the Capital City needs to pressure the Provincial Government to amend the thirty-year-old Animal Protection Act and stiffen penalties for dog abuse/neglect. Did you know that City Animal Services workers cannot remove a dog from an abusive situation? City workers need Special Constable status so they can remove dogs from abusive situations and this designation must come from the Provincial Government. It’s amazing to think that workers with the City’s Animal Care and Adoption Center lack the power to seize a cruelly abused dog. They must refer the situation to the SPCA. Clearly, if we are serious about animal protection, this needs to change. When John Crosbie was Federal Minister of Fisheries he announced the closure of the commercial salmon fishery. He said he was acting in the name of conservation and he rhetorically asked, ‘Who hears the fishes when they cry?’ Similarly, I wonder who hears the whimpering of the gentle beagle on a frigid winter night? Darrin McGrath is working on a book about beagles in Newfoundland scheduled for publication in Sept. 2007.

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