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Tea Partiers Support Missouri’s Puppy Mills
Next Tuesday Missourians will have the opportunity to crack down on puppy mill cruelty in their state by voting Yes on Proposition B.
Dogs in puppy mills live in crammed, filthy cages, with no veterinary care or human interaction. Over the past three years, 15 states have passed laws that require care standards at mass-breeding facilities and/or limit the number of breeding dogs that can be kept at a single facility.
With the passage of Prop B, Missouri – which the ASPCA calls the largest puppy mill state in the U.S. – could be the 16th state to impose restrictions on puppy mills. But that won’t happen if Tea Party members, who support puppy mills, get their way.
“Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher, who you may recall from John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, has joined Alliance for Truth, a Missouri-based group that opposes the puppy mill legislation, considering it to be an unwelcome government intrusion.
“While unemployment rates continue to rise, Proposition B will cause more small businesses to go under and put many Missourians out of their jobs,” according to the Alliance for Truth website.
The group claims the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has a “radical agenda” and only wants to “raise the cost of breeding dogs, making it ever-more difficult for middle-class American families to be dog-owners.” Wurzelbacher writes on the Alliance for Truth website that HSUS is “cowardly hiding behind animal cruelty, lying to our citizens and taking our constitutional rights away – one state at a time.”
Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, called these allegations “laughable and absurd” in an editorial on the Huffington Post.
“Their coalition talks about an end to animal agriculture, even though the only species mentioned in Prop B is the domesticated dog,” Pacelle wrote. He said that many Prop B opponents also fought against a 1998 initiative to ban cockfighting, “and they made the same far-fetched claims then that they are making now.”
On the Los Angeles Times’ L.A. Unleashed blog, Patt Morrison wondered if we’re being punk’d. She wrote, “Humane organizations would love for every middle-class American family to be a dog owner, and there’s a really easy way, a cheap way, to make that happen – without having to pay the hundreds or even thousands of dollars that puppy mills can charge per pet. Millions of American-born dogs are waiting for you – to live with your middle-class American family – in shelters and with rescue groups all across America.”
PHOTO: yesonpropb.com
Laura Goldman
Laura Goldman is senior social media writer for i Love Dogs, Inc. She does love dogs. And elephants and turtles. Along with writing about the loves of her life, Laura likes to play with her two pound pups and tell anyone who’ll listen just how awesome Pit Bulls are.
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The title of this article alone is shameful. I am a proud supporter of the Tea Party movement as well as smaller government. However I am for this legislation. Do not assume that everyone in an organization share the same ideals especially when they are not indicative of the the broader movement. I am disappointed in i Love Dogs for publishing this article. In good faith I cannot support a company that clearly has a political agenda.
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LikeI absolutely cannot believe the ignorance of the people who, first of all, believe the HSUS cares about saving dogs. They do not. They are a multi-million dollar business that gave less than $500,000 last year to actually support saving dogs - while their executives received millions in paychecks. Hundreds of thousands were donated to helping dogs during Hurricane Katrina and - oh darn - they have misappropriated those funds. Imagine that. They have already spent more money on this BOGUS Proposition than they will spend on actually saving dogs! Secondly, I'm ecstatic that 15 states passed legislation in the last three years to crack down on puppy mills and the care of dogs. They are only 15 YEARS BEHIND MISSOURI!!! YES, we have 23 pages already on the books that are STRICTER than Proposition B ever thought about being. It's called the ACFA - The Animal Care Facilities Act - and Prop B doesn't come close to its standards of care for dogs and breeders. Why in the world would we downgrade??? HSUS is using Missourian's ignorance and the liberal media to air commercials of horror and sadly, a lot of Missourians are buying their scam. If Prop B is so good, WHY does the HSUS EXEMPT THEMSELVES from it???? WAKE UP --- Vote NO on Prop B! And, then - if you really want to make a lasting change -- help get more positions for inspectors. THAT IS THE CRUX of the problem -- Missouri only has 12 positions for inspectors of 1600 legitimate dog breeders, 1400 pet stores and animal shelters, and finding and uncovering the puppy mills. If you really want to do something for a change --- help get positions for more inspectors -- sponsor a request for a tax specifically for new positions -- (and, I HATE taxes - but I would vote for that one!) And if you suspect a person is running an illegal puppy mill call BARK ALERT: 573-751-3377 or go to barkalert.mo.gov. If you love dogs - vote NO on PROP B - it only downgrades what is currently on the books. Sad but true. The HSUS is trying to pull one over on Missouri voters.
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LikeAs much as some people want to make this issue a partisan issue about everything under the sun, the fact is that it is about puppy mills. Nothing more, nothing less. Fifteen states recently passed strong laws cracking down on abusive puppy mills, including major agricultural states, giving dogs basic humane standards of care such as food, water, veterinary care, exercise and shelter. It is a sad reality, but Missouri is the largest puppy mill state, and is lagging behind on dog protection—that’s why Prop B is needed. It’s absurd to think that these new policies have any effect on policies related to livestock. Read the act for yourself at http://yesonpropb.com/about/qa where you will also be able to find answers to common questions, and vote YES on Prop B.
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