Prop B would curb puppy-mill cruelty

By Barbara Schmitz

I am writing on behalf of Missourians for the Protection of Dogs/YES! on Prop B to provide background on the measure that will appear on the statewide Nov. 2 ballot. We hope the Southeast Missourian will support Prop B and encourage Missouri voters to help dogs suffering in commercial puppy mills throughout the state.

This measure aims to establish stronger animal care standards on high-volume commercial dog-breeding operations. Specifically, Prop B would require that major breeders provide dogs with the basics of humane care, including sufficient food, water and shelter from the elements, veterinary care and exercise. The provisions established in this measure would limit the number of breeding dogs to 50 per facility, but they do not apply to breeders with 10 or fewer intact female dogs. In short, Prop B is not aimed at hobby or show breeders but at the large commercial operations, which sell about 40 percent of all dogs in the nation's pet trade. Below are some of the key arguments in favor of the measure:

Puppy mills are inhumane. Puppy mills frequently raise dogs in shockingly poor conditions. The breeding dogs in puppy mills are typically confined to small wire cages for life without adequate veterinary care, exercise or individual attention, solely to produce puppies for the pet trade. Approximately 40 percent of all pet store puppies are bred in Missouri, where almost 200,000 breeding dogs produce up to a million puppies a year. Consumers across the country have reported purchasing Missouri puppy mill puppies with significant health and/or genetic conditions, causing emotional devastation and high veterinary bills for the families involved. A recent report from the Better Business Bureau chapters of Kansas City, Springfield and St. Louis outlined the problems consumers face when they purchase dogs from Missouri's large-scale breeders. Improving Missouri's puppy mill laws would prevent needless animal suffering and will better protect consumers.

Prop B would require puppy mills to meet dogs' most basic needs. In Missouri, tens of thousands of breeding dogs are forced to live in cramped, barren wire cages for years on end. These dogs often don't have the basics of clean food and water, shelter from the blistering heat or bitter cold, regular veterinary care or exercise outside their cages. Most pet owners would never consider putting their own dogs in a cage for the rest of their natural lives, yet thousands of consumers unknowingly purchase puppies every year that were bred in these conditions.

Once used up, the breeding dogs in puppy mills are often cruelly killed, abandoned or sold at auction. After being bred again and again, sometimes until their uteruses literally protrude from their bodies, used up breeding dogs are often quickly discarded or killed when they can no longer turn a profit for their owners. Puppy mill owners often kill these dogs themselves to save on veterinary bills. Currently there is no specific law in Missouri that prevents puppy mill operators from destroying "used up" dogs themselves. Prop B would prevent the euthanasia of unwanted dogs by anyone other than a licensed veterinarian.

More and more states are passing laws to crack down on puppy mill cruelty. In the last three years, 15 states -- including major puppy-mill states such as Iowa, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania -- have passed laws to crack down on puppy mills by requiring basic care standards at mass-breeding facilities and/or limiting the number of breeding dogs that can be kept at a single facility. Most states have handled these policy reforms through their state legislatures, but Missouri lawmakers are beholden to the special-interest puppy mill lobby and have failed to respond to public opinion and citizen demands for better care for companion animals. Prop B is similar to the laws that have been passed in other states and would give Missouri citizens the opportunity to do what the legislature has not.

Opponents of this measure are supported and funded by some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri. Several large-scale puppy mills that have been cited for failing to properly care for their dogs or have even been compelled to surrender their USDA breeding licenses continue to be licensed and operate in Missouri. Some of Missouri's largest puppy mill operators are Prop B's most vociferous critics.

Current Missouri laws have not been effective in stopping puppy-mill cruelty. In September 2009, more than 100 neglected dogs were removed from a kennel in Phelps County. The dogs were found in deplorable conditions, yet until recently the kennel was licensed and regularly inspected by both the USDA and the Missouri Department of Agriculture, both of which cited the owner for repeated violations of basic humane and sanitation standards year after year. This case is but one example of the types of abject animal suffering and neglect that current laws allowed to exist unchecked for years. In contrast to current law, which requires proof of "substantial harm to an animal" before cruelty charges can be filed, Prop B would improve enforcement by creating a misdemeanor charge of "puppy mill cruelty" for any violation of basic care standards outlined in the proposed law.

Prop B would not affect small hobby breeders or sportsmen. Small breeders who have fewer than 10 female breeding dogs would not be affected by the measure, nor would sportsmen who keep kennels of dogs for purposes other than breeding them and selling the puppies as family pets. Truly reputable breeders who have more than ten females already provide care that exceeds the proposed standards, so they would not be adversely affected.

Prop B has broad and mainstream support. Prop B is supported by more than 100 Missouri veterinarians and veterinary clinics and more than 100 animal-welfare charities and organizations, including the Humane Society of Missouri, the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, Central Missouri Humane Society, Humane Society of Southwest Missouri, Wayside Waifs, the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Humane Society of the United States. It also is supported by prominent Missouri citizens such as Tony LaRussa and Linda Bond as well as responsible dog breeders, religious leaders and Missouri businesses. Polling shows that 89 percent of Missouri voters support the protections outlined in Prop B.

More information, including the full language of the proposed statute, is available online at yesonpropb.com.

Barbara Schmitz of St. Louis is the campaign manager for Yes! on Prop B.