Corner Post editorial —
Prop B, Voters Protection Act and HSUS:
What's going on in our state?
by Paige Childs, posted Sept. 23, 2011
On Nov. 4, 2010, a proposition was passed through the state of Missouri that would be a footstep in the door of government for members of the Humane Society of the United States, HSUS.
We see their commercials, we see their sad animals and we send our money away to help. So how much of your money really goes to help those sad animals?
Humanewatch.org posts, “In 2008, the Humane Society of the United States had an operating budget of $99,664,400, but it paid less than one-half of one percent of all that money to organizations that do hands-on dog and cat sheltering — the functions its TV ads suggest are HSUS's main focus.”
A small percent for an organization that claims its primary focus is “the animals.”
Proposition B was passed by the majority of the state excluding the Kansas City area, St. Louis area and a few counties down in the Bootheel. For those of you who are unaware of what Proposition B is, here are the main bullet points of the bill as posted by sos.mo.gov:
“(1) Sufficient food and clean water; (2) Necessary veterinary care; (3) Sufficient housing, including protection from the elements; (4) Sufficient space to turn and stretch freely, lie down, and fully extend his or her limbs; (5) Regular exercise; (6) Adequate rest between breeding cycles.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person may have custody of more than fifty covered dogs for the purpose of breeding those animals and selling any offspring for use as a pet
“Pet” means any domesticated animal normally maintained “in or near the household of the owner thereof.”
Defining the term “pet” as originally proposed in the bill could have had a downward spiral effect on many farmers. Not only would buying new equipment to meet the new propositions’ standards have set them back in profits for the year, but being limited to 50 breeding animals to a farm would cause even more problems for future income.
“One family can’t live off the profit of 50 breeding animals, let alone three families,” said Chris Chinn, fifth generation family hog farm owner.
Chinn runs the farm with her husband, mother and father-in-law and brother in-law. Before a revision was made to the proposition, they worried that this would be the last generation.
Missouri’s roughly estimated 1,300 breeders “pushed back, warning lawmakers the voter-approved law could shutter the industry by limiting the number of the breeding dogs they can own and forcing costly housing upgrades,” Huffingtonpost.com posted. “They (breeders) said some requirements could worsen care, including mandating solid floors in indoor enclosures that could slow the draining of fluids and lead to cold and sick dogs.”
Gov. Jay Nixon supported the breeders views by working with legislation to propose a compromise of Proposition B and animal breeders called SM 113. Here are the new regulations listed as posted by ballotpedia.org:
- repeal the maximum limit of 50 breeding dogs per business
- repeal a provision to send first-time dog care violators to jail
- double existing space requirements for current businesses by January 2012 and tripled by January 2016 (Any facilities constructed after April 15, 2011 would have to immediately comply with the tripled space requirements.)
- require food and water access at least twice daily
- require at least one yearly exam and prompt treatment for "serious illness or injury
The House voted in favor of the bill 108 to 42 and the Senate voted 24-10. On April 27, 2011, Nixon signed the revision of Proposition B.
Now the Humane Society is on to their next task, removing the ability to change propositions after they are passed in the state of Missouri. Signatures are currently being collected to put the new proposition on the ballot for the 2012 election date.
All voters should listen up because this will affect your food source, the fields and farms you may have never seen in your lifetime but eat food from daily. The passing of the “Voters Protection Act” will allow no changes to any proposition, meaning if they pass a ban on hunting deer or fishing then that is the end of it, no compromise to be talked about. You will no longer hunt deer or fish.
HSUS has claimed that they do not have current plans to get rid of animal agriculture, but every little step closer means there is a bigger chance you won’t be eating steak or chicken for your meals anymore.
Many people don’t realize where their food is coming from.
“I’ve never even saw a farm,” said Bradley Jacobsen, MU student from St. Louis.
That seems shocking to anyone who’s lived in a small town around farms their whole lives, but many people from inner cities aren’t exposed to the cattle and chickens that provide them hamburgers and eggs. The population of the United States is growing rapidly and the need for food is larger than ever.
“[The extinction of animal agriculture] makes no sense to me when we’re in a world that’s going from 6.5 billion people to 9 billion people, in a world that by 2050 is going to need double the protein,” said Alan Wessler, Missouri Farmers Association (MFA) vice-president of the Livestock Department.
Without our daily sources of meat and protein, we’ll lack efficient iron levels, which are crucial in the early development of the brain for young children. Lack of iron can also lead to health issues, such as anemia.
The amount of land needed to grow the crops to feed an entire nation is an issue as well.
“A large amount of the land mass is not suitable for growing crops around the globe, it’s only suitable for raising grasses for feeding cattle, sheep, etc.,” Wessler said.
The Voters Protection Act will be on the November 2012 ballot, and if it passes, there are no chances to reverse future propositions. Many people will fall for the emotions that the HSUS commercials of puppies and kittens provoke when we watch them. If we want to continue having animal agriculture, hunting, fishing, rodeos, McDoubles, KFC chicken, and eggs, then voting no to the Voters Protection Act will help us maintain our voting power and keep animal agriculture growing strong in the state of Missouri.
{back to homepage}
