Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Prop B no good for dog breeders

The Maneater Column: Prop B no good for dog breeders By Ryan Schuessler
Published Aug. 31, 2010

Can you define the term "puppy mill?"

If you say something along the lines of a cramped, dirty, abusive farm where dogs are bred and sold, then you're wrong. In reality, there is no legal definition of a puppy mill.

Let me get this out of the way first: no animal should be abused. Ever. The picture of puppy mills that has been implanted in people's heads is undoubtedly, wrong, immoral and shouldn't be allowed. Every animal in the care of a human deserves the utmost respect and basic right to a decent life on this Earth, as does every living creature.

But don't be fooled. The Puppy Mill Prevention Act or Prop B, which will be appearing on the November ballot in Missouri, isn't a good idea.

It's not that Missouri doesn't have laws regulating the facilities and care of dog breeding establishments already. A set of laws was passed over 18 years ago that mandated breeders to provide enough food, water, shelter and veterinary care.

They're also required to provide regular exercise, socialization and enough space for each dog to turn, stand, sit and lie in a comfortable position and walk freely in a normal matter. And that's just the beginning of a list of regulations already in place. This law is about 22 pages long (I've seen a copy) and addresses virtually everything that Prop B wished to handle. It was created by a group of 13 people from all corners of the dog-breeding world; from breeders to shelter workers, veterinarians to department of health employees.

Missouri's "puppy mill" problem does not come from a lack of legislation. It stems directly from a lack of enforcement and funding of adequate legislation already in place.

The biggest problem with Prop B is that it limits every dog breeder, no matter how well they treat their animals, to having a maximum of 50 animals at a time. Even if there is a staff member assigned to each dog, it still isn't allowed.

Full article at link

4 comments:

  1. The fact of the matter is, all animals are abused in one form or another at every level, be it in dog breeding, cattle feed lots, hog confinement, Zoos and in poultry indudtries. The only way to stop this is to eliminate all animals from the face of the earth. Be a vegan.You will be healthier, thinner and live a longer life. Your children will not reach puberty at such young age. What more do you want? Wake up people and stop being stupid. Vote smart, vote vegan. The HSUS and Peta have all the answers. Be smart enough to read and understand and support them. They have done all the thinking for you. Vote yes on Prop B!

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  2. What?? Anonymous-get some red meat-your brain is not working properly!!By all means, if you believe PETA and HSUS have all the answers, please follow them....long walk off a short pier!
    I prefer to take my dogs hunting for the meat that I eat, and will continue to do so-
    Like my friend Walt Hutchens says:
    "Animal rights is mental illness masquerading as philosophy."
    (he's not vegan either!)

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  3. Do you have any idea just how crazy that is? You want to eliminate all animals from the face of the earth? If you want to be a vegan, that's fine. But please don't try to impose your beliefs on others. Using animals for dog breeding or in agriculture is not "abuse." We have copious regulations regarding how animals are treated, whether they're pets or kept for agricultural purposes. Beyond regulations, most people have a basic level of compassion for animals and a desire to treat them well. It's not the farmer or the dog breeder who wants to eliminate animals from the face of the earth. It's the animal rights extremist.

    HSUS and PETA have all the answers and have done all the thinking for us? That is absolutely chilling. You'd have to be a fool to let some lobbying organizations make your decisions for you, especially those groups that favor the seizing and killing of animals.

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  4. It is bone chilling and disturbing to read the first post. "Brain washed" comes to mind. How frightening to realize there are hundreds of thousands of those who love animals that now embrace those same sentiments.

    Responsible animal ownership takes on deeper meaning when one realizes that the AR extremists want to eliminate all animal use. This is not limited to breeders or farmers. Being responsible now must also involve knowing what is going on in your town, state, region concerning the ever increasing encroachment of the animal right extremist mindset. HSUS and PETA and other groups like them are very often sought out and looked upon as the professionals and experts when it comes to animal welfare, animal husbandry etc. Very often those of 'us' who have years of actual hands on experience caring well for the animals we own are looked up as extremists - but you don't find that out until you are in the halls of your state house fighting tooth and nail to protect the rights of every animal owning person in your state WHILE working to eliminate animal abuse and cruelty. People are slowly but surely being swept away into the dangerous tide of the animal rights industry 'mindset'. People with good intentions end up saying things such as the first poster.

    I could go on but I won't. Suffice to say Missouri has a good strong foundation of those who are willing to stand up against PROP B. But there is always going to be room for more people to get involved, no matter what state you live in.

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