Last fall, the citizens of Missouri voted to strengthen the state’s ability to enforce minimum standards for dog breeders through a highly-publicized issue that became known as Proposition B, which we wrote about here.
Amazing work by Matson - The People's House and The Dog's House
Now, a well-funded opposition group is working to undermine the outcome of that vote. Check out this recent editorial in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri’s largest and most respected newspaper, which discusses and disagrees with the recent steps a number of legislators have taken against the will of the people.
Those opposed to Prop B have legitimate arguments, most notably that the regulation was passed by a narrow margin of Missourians. However, their constant conflation of large-scale dog breeding facilities with all other types of breeders is hard to believe and diminishes the validity of what they are saying. Dogs are not livestock — they are pets and members of their owner’s family, not a meal (as could be the case with cows or chickens, to name two).
Most proponents of Prop B don’t want to stop breeders from earning a living; they simply want to implement a minimum set of standards that ensure that the animals within those facilities can have quality lives, whether they are moms and dads or puppies. Conditions like those at the farm where Zoey was born are unacceptable for any living being.
Zoey's father at a puppy mill auction
The standards set forth in Prop B aren’t outrageous or overly onerous. So why is providing some level of care for animals that can’t care or speak for themselves such a big deal? Let’s hope that reason can overcome a well-funded opposition.