Missouri voters have their say on the state's controversial puppy-mill proposition

As voters across the country go to the polls, many animal lovers are watching one state in particular: Missouri, where debate has been raging for months over a proposition that would impose new regulations on large-scale dog breeding operations.

Proposition B, if approved, would mandate breeders who keep 10 or more female dogs "for the purpose of breeding those animals and selling any offspring for use as a pet" to provide for each:

-- Sufficient food and clean water;
-- Necessary veterinary care;
-- Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements;
-- Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down and fully extend his or her limbs;
-- Regular exercise; and
-- Adequate rest between breeding cycles.

It would also require that breeders keep no more than 50 unaltered dogs over the age of 6 months. (Read the full text, including definitions of the terms "sufficient," "necessary," "regular" and "adequate" for the purposes of the proposition, at the Missouri Secretary of State's website.) If approved, violations by breeders would be considered misdemeanor offenses and could carry a maximum penalty of 15 days in jail and a $300 fine, according to the Associated Press.

It has the backing of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society of the United States, the Humane Society of Missouri, Best Friends Animal Society, the American Humane Assn. and other animal-protection organizations and has received the support of several celebrity spokespeople.

Betty White, a longtime animal welfare advocate who is a trustee for the Morris Animal Foundation, recently gave voice to a robocall message that went out to about half a million female voters in the state, according to the Humane Society. St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who founded the no-kill shelter facility Tony La Russa's Animal Rescue Foundation with his wife, Elaine, in the early 1990s, appeared in a commercial (below) in support of the proposition.

Proposition B is opposed by the American Kennel Club, which noted a number of reasons for its position in a statement on its website. Among those reasons: The AKC says it "finds the term 'puppy mill cruelty' used in Proposition B to be offensive to responsible breeders," who, it argues, "should be viewed as assets to their communities."

The AKC also noted in its statement that it objects to the proposed limit the number of dogs an individual can own, a position it says "confuses the real issue of animal welfare, which focuses on the quality of care given to animals, not the number of animals an individual owns. Responsible breeders are not defined by the number of dogs kept, or whether they make a profit in selling dogs." (Emphasis is the AKC's, not ours.)

Another group called the Alliance for Truth argues that the puppy-mill bill is just part of what it terms the "radical agenda" of the Humane Society, which it says "seeks only to raise the cost of breeding dogs, making it ever more difficult for middle-class American families to be dog-owners."

Among the Alliance's supporters, as our colleague Patt Morrison noted on Unleashed last month, is Samuel Wurzelbacher, better known as Joe the Plumber. Wurzelbacher wrote that the Humane Society, through its support of Proposition B, is "cowardly [sic] hiding behind animal cruelty, lying to our citizens and taking our constitutional rights away -- one state at a time."

Purebred-dog breeders groups and the Missouri Veterinary Medical Assn. also oppose the proposition, the Associated Press notes.

The Midwest is widely considered the nation's puppy-mill capital, with Missouri a particular hot spot for the large-scale commercial breeding operations. The Humane Society recently released a report (PDF) that said nearly 9,000 puppies from Missouri breeding operations were shipped to California for sale in pet stores or to private buyers through the Internet in 2009. More than two-thirds of those puppies were bound for destinations in Southern California.

[Update 11/3: Missouri voters narrowly approved Proposition B, which is scheduled to go into effect in November 2011.]

RELATED DOG NEWS:
Government agency hasn't done enough to crack down on puppy mill abuses, report says
Poll: More than half of survey respondents say they plan to adopt their next pet from a shelter

-- Lindsay Barnett

Photo: A dog in an Ava, Mo., kennel in 2009. Credit: Jeff Roberson / Associated Press

Comments

[S]

This is a terrible, misrepresentative article on this so called proposition. The author should do his/her research before reporting such trash. The laws Missouri currently has in place are much more well thought out and legitamit--their sole problem comes from a lack of funding--something the new proposition fails misrably to address. Furthermore, the new proposition actually decreases the misdemenor from a class A to a class B--that means even when someone is prosecuted, punishment is far less severe. Even the Missouri Veterinarians Medical Association (MVMA) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)--respectable veterinarian organisation--people who devote their lives to animal welfare and well being, were stated with opposing this legislation. Missouri Proposition B is trash.

[Shelley]

Wow, even here in the LA Times, the misinformation troops continue their battle.

The AVMA made no stand on Proposition B, and it was only the executive council of the MVMA that came out against Proposition B.

The Class C misdemeanor is an addition to the existing Class A misdemeanor. Currently the only time a breeder can be charged is for selling puppies without a license. With current laws, criminal charges have nothing to do with animal care. Proposition B changes this. This gives law enforcement power to charge commercial breeders for their miserable handling of their dogs.

Funding is a problem now, Proposition B doesn't really add to the inspector burden. However, agribusiness interests have shot down any funding bills in the state legislator. Hopefully now that there's been so much attention to the problem the state legislator and/or government will have to do something.

This was a good vote in Missouri. And now have a lot of work to do.

[Scott Terry]

do people that support this not relize that it will raise to bigger things. soon there will be laws against cattle and other livestock. then our economy in missouri will plumit lower than the United States did. everyone where i live is a farmer and has livestock. and all of them has alot of there livestock. when prop b goes on to farmers, it will be a time of sadness in missouri.

[HonestyHelps]

If the current laws are so well thought out and all, then why is Missouri the armpit of the country on puppy mill cruelty? I am guessing that MVMA is in league with the AVMA, headed by a guy who left the position with the USDA in a scandel for lack of doing their job investigating these Missouri puppy mills. In other words, the AVMA and MVMA are protecting puppy millers. They are far from being "respectable". Yes, the public is getting wise to these agribusiness vets doing nothing more than protecting the AKC aka puppy mills. They don't devote their lives except for the almighty dollar.

[Anne]

The existing Missouri laws haven't been effective at protecting the tens of thousands of dogs in Missouri's puppy mills, many who are suffering in terrible conditions. Proposition B will apply to both licensed and unlicensed puppy mills and give law enforcement the tools to enforce basic care standards for dogs.

Thank you to all of the Missourians who voted YES on Prop B!

[Hack]

This is not about raising cattle, I would never treat one of my cattle like this you ignorant REDNECK