New Bill Crushes Missouri’s Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act

The Missouri House of Representatives voted 85-71 to pass SB 113, a bill that would remove important provisions from the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, otherwise known as Prop B.

“The House decided to defy the will of the voters and dismantle Proposition B piece by piece, dealing a blow to dogs suffering in substandard facilities and also to the democratic process in Missouri. Not only did some lawmakers choose to overturn a statewide vote, but some of them even voted against their districts. It is now up to Governor Jay Nixon to stop this assault on voting rights. If the repeal bill is enacted, we are prepared to immediately begin gathering signatures for a referendum to bring this issue back to Missouri voters and allow the people to have the final say,” said Barbara Schmitz in a statement issued by the Missourians for the Protection of Dogs.

TAKE ACTION

Please send a letter to Governor Jay Nixon asking him to stand with the majority of voters and veto SB 113.

Sign the petition letting Missouri legislators know how you feel about puppy mills.

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On November 2, Missourians cast their votes and passed Prop B, the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, a citizen initiative brought to voters to stand up for dogs languishing in puppy mills in their state.

Over 190,000 signatures were delivered to the Secretary of State in Missouri to get Prop B on November’s ballot in the country’s worst state for puppy mills. With an estimated 3000 puppy mills licensed by the USDA and the Missouri Department of Agriculture, it’s been called the puppy mill capital of America.

Prop B didn’t pass by a landslide, but it did pass. Now legislators are convinced that the good people of Missouri who voted to pass a law protecting dogs were somehow duped into doing so and must not have had their wits about them at the time. Almost 200,000 people duped!

They’ve taken it upon themselves, with the support of breeders and farmers, to kill Prop B with the passage of SB 113, the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act.

Prop B didn’t make insane demands on breeders. It called for providing food and constant access to clean water, vet care, protection from the elements, exercise, “constant and unfettered access” to the outdoors, room to move around and stretch and rest between breeding cycles. It would apply to breeders with more than 10 dogs and limit the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility. Violations would result in up to 15 days in jail and a fine of $300.

SB 113, on the other hand, removes the limit on the amount of breeding dogs per facility, removes mandatory annual vet exams, substituting a bi-annual “visual” exam, removes restrictions on how often dogs can be bred and removes unfettered access to the outdoors.

It also removes a provision stating that dogs should have access to water at all times that is free of “debris, feces, algae and other contaminants” and requires breeders to give water every eight hours instead, which can apparently be clean or dirty. It also removes added space to move, which would have done away with stacked cages.

“We’re overturning the voice of the people; it disenfranchises them,” said Sen. Robin Wright-Jones, D-St. Louis. “We need to live with what our people say. That’s the process and we’re turning it around.”

On Wednesday, the Humane Society and Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, filed a petition with the governor asking him to keep Prop B in tact.

The House is expected to pass the bill, according to Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, but they are hopeful that Gov. Jay Nixon will veto it if it does pass, and if he doesn’t, they will make efforts to bring the issue back to voters as soon as they can.

Photo credit: Erick J Pleitez

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

caterina c.

1:57PM PDT on May 3, 2011

Sent the lettere and signed petition thanks

send a green star

Annmari L.

12:28AM PDT on May 1, 2011

I suggest changing the voting system. Have a lottery, local, statewide and national. Every ticket $1. Tickets are dedicated towards running candidates. Only one ticket per voter allowed. On the ticket will also be a box where you can register what you want proceeds from ticket sales to be used for. Candidates will be limited to one TV and one radio ad, and no heavy billboards that cause accidents and all debates will be held in public, easy accessible forums.
No more costly campaigns, nasty ads and dirty money being spread by polluting big business.
Then, if a candidate gets elected and misuses her/his trust, just replace her/him with the one that came in second in the lottery ticket sale.
Since today's election are designed to get the wealthiest elected and campaigns reduce debate to mudslinging, I see that ticket election would eliminate at least a few of the backsides of present election habits.
Please feel free to use this idea. Won't charge a penny!

Carrie C.

1:37AM PDT on Apr 26, 2011

Floods, tornado's.......you think Karma has come to visit the puppy mill state?

Julia R.

11:43PM PDT on Apr 25, 2011

Governor Nixon and Representative James Smith have given their outrageous permission for egregious animal cruelty to continue so that unscrupulous people could continue to profit at the expense of thousands of animals suffering every year in Missouri's puppy mills! Maybe there should be some voter recall here especially since Gov. Jay Nixon promised that he would really reform and eliminate such inhumane conditions at puppy mills but that of course was back before he got elected! Please contact him and your representatives if you live in the state of Missouri and remind them that the people of Missouri have spoken and they want to keep Prop B as it was passed and not some compromise that keeps horrible cruelty in business!

9:32PM PDT on Apr 25, 2011

Gurrr!

Carrie Anne B.

8:27AM PDT on Apr 24, 2011

Signed, thanks for sharing =] i couldn't write the letter as i'm from the UK but thanks for the article =]

Tina L.

8:35PM PDT on Apr 21, 2011

Those bastards who proposed and passed SB 113 should suffer the way dogs in puppy mills suffer!!!!!

Dana W.

3:45PM PDT on Apr 21, 2011

Sent letter to the Governor and signed petition.

Lisa Z.

11:38PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

Sent a letter to the Governor & Shared on Facebook.

Holly D.

6:06PM PDT on Apr 18, 2011

I signed the petition. It's a horrible thing the way they treat these poor animals. A woman at work just bought a puppy from "the puppy barn" she said she knows they're puppy mill puppies but well this place has been in her town forever...so sad...