Doolittle and His Clone Do Little for Animals

U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) announced Thursday that he would retire rather than face reelection, under a cloud of investigation by the Justice Department for his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.  I say good riddance.  Doolittle was one of the worst members of Congress on animal protection issues.  He was the only member of California’s delegation to oppose legislation last year to crack down on dogfighting and cockfighting, and he also voted last year to allow the killing of wild horses for food and the killing of polar bears for trophies.

Unfortunately, he’s trying to handpick his successor, and this guy is a real piece of work.   He’s former Republican state Sen. Rico Oller, and Doolittle has already endorsed him.  Oller served for eight years (1996-2004) in the California legislature, and he opposed more than twenty animal protection bills.  As a state Assemblyman and then a Senator, here are just some of the animal welfare measures that Rico Oller voted against:

• SB 732 to strengthen penalties for illegal cockfighting (8/19/03)
• AB 670 to permit employees of child or adult protective services agencies to report animal abuse or neglect (6/24/02)
• AB 161 to protect dogs in puppy mills (8/27/01)
• AB 2474 to require the addition of a bittering agent in sweet-tasting antifreeze to prevent the poisoning of children and pets (8/27/02)
• SB 769 to set standards for the care of guard dogs (9/6/01)
• AB 1336 to require pet stores to give customers information on veterinary care and spaying and neutering (6/28/02)
• AB 1659 to ban the use of carbon monoxide for killing dogs and cats  (8/17/98)
• SB 1645 to require that predator and “nuisance” trappers be licensed and regulated and that they not be allowed to sell the fur from the animals they kill (8/26/02)
• AB 2479 to require that animals in live markets be held under humane conditions and not dismembered or cut open while still alive (8/25/00)

Rico Oller consistently opposed common sense legislation that was not only widely supported by Californians, but also by his fellow legislators.  In many cases, he was just one of a handful of legislators who opposed measures to toughen laws against animal abusers—a fact that underscores his extreme views.   

He is a trophy hunter who uses radio-collared dogs to track bears, chase them into trees, and then shoot the frightened creatures off a tree branch at point-blank range.  When it comes to animals, Oller has his own set of ethics problems: There’s talk that he has even poached a bear. 

Oller ran for an open seat in Congress in 2004 and failed.  Californians now have another chance to re-examine his record—including his terrible behavior toward animals in his public service and his personal life.