Prop B in MO... disturbing.

[Samba]

The "you know who" has come to Missouri. They paid to bring in out of state people to canvas the state for signatures. I hate it that Missouri is so infamous for the puppy mills. This makes it a perfect place for AR extremists to get a foothold in the law and legislature. Who would vote FOR puppy cruelty?

Arrrrgh. Wayne P. has been in several cities. This is not an effort by Missourians for Missouri animals but rather an effort but a large organization from the outside.

seMissourian.com: Op/Ed Column: Proposition B opposition (10/04/10)

[Arkaneinc]

am I reading it correctly? they want to get rid of all licensed breeders?

[BlackPuppy]

The language of "Prop B" is not posted, or I missed it. But the goal of PETA and HSUS is to totally eliminate dogs and cats as pets, among other things.

[Samba]

Yes, they want to get rid of all licensed breeders and may be successful if this passes.

Then the bill is a law and can be expanded by amendment to all other breeding endeavors. My own city just recently toyed with idea that anyone who breeds a litter in the city limits must be inspected and registered as a breeder and meet breeder housing requirements. Wow.

The Truth about Prop B - Alliance for Truth

[BlackPuppy]

Yes, they try to pass something to get a foot in the door, so to say. Then later they can make changes to it to make things worse.

[dogs_dolls]

no they dont want to elimate all breeders. Not the ones who get proper vet care for their dogs, not the ones who allow their dogs access to the outdoors, not the ones who give their dogs enough room in their crates to actually stand up and turn around, not the ones who let their females recover before breeding them again, and on and on. A breeder who cares for their animals is already doing most everything the bill mentions. What we do want to eliminate are the ones like the guys in Tuscumbia with the 100+ dogs living in absolute horror. That is what we would like to eliminate. And if you have less then 9 breeders why you can do just about anything you darn well please to those little lives even under these new laws.
By the way I am not PETA or any other group. Just a Missourian who would like our state to NOT be known as a puppy mill haven.

[dogs_dolls]

I would urge each of you to read the bill, really read it and then tell me what you would want done differently if it was YOUR dog. The language of the bill is not radical and all the fear mongering that we are hearing is just that. Really it isn't a bad thing. Lots of Mo Vets are behind this bill as are many (maybe ALL) rescue groups. Giving a dog a kennel that is large enough for him to lie down in and stretch his legs is hardly extremist. This is a pretty conservative state and the bill may not pass. and that would be very sad for a lot of lives.

[selzer]

Large scale is eleven females??? Owning eleven females does not equal breeding eleven females.

Whatever.

[Andaka]

(4) ”Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements” means constant and unfettered access to an indoor enclosure that has a solid floor; is not stacked or otherwise placed on top of or below another animal’s enclosure; is cleaned of waste at least once a day while the dog is outside the enclosure; and does not fall below 45 degrees Fahrenheit, or rise above 85 degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that breeders will have to provide a kennel building for their dogs -- a dog house will not be considered adequate shelter under this provision.

(6) ”Regular exercise” means constant and unfettered access to an outdoor exercise area that is composed of a solid, ground level surface with adequate drainage; provides some protection against sun, wind, rain, and snow; and provides each dog at least twice the square footage of the indoor floor space provided to that dog.
We are back to the kennel building again with indoor/outdoor capabilities. Dogs could not be kept in the home as they would not have "regular exercise" as required in the bill.

Other parts of the bill require that crates not be stacked. I understand the feeling that it is important from the pictures used in the ads as support (by the way, the HSUS is paying for those ads), but I have friends that breed Schipperkes. It is hard to bend over to open crates that are on the floor -- so having all of them on the floor would be difficult.

My German Shepherds are in big crates -- 26 x 42 x 34, but they would not be big enough according to the bill. Just something to think about.

[Samba]

The dogs will also have to have constant access to the outdoors. How many of us provide that? Newly whelped pups able to get outside in the winter.

I am not for puppy mills. I do believe this bill is just a foot in the door to stop most breeding. Unfortunately, what looks good on the surface gets public support especially in the cities. They use the horror of some puppy breeder situations to advance a larger agenda.

We have very adequate animal cruelty laws on the books here. More legislation is not needed at all to protect animals. The problems come from other sources. Unfortunately, if one is not aware of who and what is behind the bill, it reads fine on the surface. All of the vets in my area are against the legislation.