For once, a couple worthwhile pet provisions are included in this year's Farm Bill.

I'm not commenting on the merits of the farm portions of the Farm Bill, only on the provisions that impact us as pet owners.

Each year, animal rights extremists try to use the Farm Bill to limit our right to have pets. For once, they didn't get everything they wanted.

Here are the good things the law does for pet owners:

• Makes animal fighting in any form a federal felony. It's also now a federal crime to knowingly posses or train animals for fighting.

• Prohibits the import of dogs into the United States for resale unless
  - the dog is in good health;
  - has received all necessary vaccinations; and
  - and is at least six months old if imported for resale.
• Exclusions from this law are dogs imported into Hawaii (where dogs
  aren't bred) from the British Isles, Australia, Guam or New Zealand.
• Violators can be fined and the animals seized.

This is a great start. I say start because it applies only to commercial sales and exempts non-profits - the worst offenders - if they only charge a nominal amount for the puppy or dog.

We've witnessed the insane practice of animal groups importing dogs from third-world countries so they can offer puppies and small dogs at shelters.

There's been no regard for what diseases imported dogs might be spreading in the domestic canine population or for the morality of importing dogs when so many homegrown dogs are being euthanized in county shelters.

After all, if the non-profits couldn't offer heart-rending stories of pet overpopulation how could they raise so much money? For instance, Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has to continually raise money to be able to pay Wayne Purcell, its head, a $200,000 a year salary.

The truth is with the success of the pet sterilization campaigns, shelters do not have a sufficient supply of young and small dogs for adoption. The largest groups of dogs in shelters are pit bulls/pit bull mixes and aged dogs. Not what most families are looking to adopt.

The Farm Bill, because of controversial measures related to farming, was vetoed by President Bush. However, both the House of Representatives and the Senate overrode his veto and it's becoming law.

Next year, people who love animals should be writing their Congressional representatives to insist they prohibit non-profits from this insane practice of importing dogs into the U.S.

Demand the prohibition of imported dogs.

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