Attempt to change status gives LA dogs their day

These are dog days in Los Angeles. Animal rights activists are poised to succeed in a bid for "owners" of pets to be classified as "guardians" on the grounds that the notion of ownership is demeaning to the creatures concerned.

The LA Animal Services Commission has already voted to change the term "owner" to "guardian" in their own documents and next week will decide whether to press for the term to be used city-wide.

The move is part of a campaign led by the organisation In Defence of Animals, based in Marin county, northern California. The organisation has had success in changing the term in some smaller cities and the state of Rhode Island. Although plans for the change have been subjected to predictable ridicule, proponents argue it has a serious point.

Elliot Katz, founder of In Defence of Animals, said the change was to make people think in a more responsible way of their animals, rather than seeing them as property to dispose of when convenient.

Much of the resistance to the change, he said, had come from breeders in whose interests it was for dogs to be seen as property. Some vets in LA have also expressed fears that the change in terms could lead to pets being given rights they do not currently enjoy.

© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 7/15/2002
 
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