Brandom: Defending Animal Agriculture in Missouri

In November 2010, Missouri passed Proposition B. We saw an enormous amount of money from the HSUS in Washington D.C. poured into Kansas City and St. Louis in order to influence its passage. True to form, the only areas that saw great support of this bill were in those metropolitan areas.

Without a doubt, Proposition B is the first attempt to end animal agriculture in the state of Missouri. There are over 100,000 agriculture farmers in Missouri – many of them raise livestock. In the words of the organizations that sponsored the
measure:

• “My goal is the abolition of all animal agriculture.” – John “J.P.” Goodwin, HSUS grassroots coordinator, statement made on AR-Views, an animal rights internet discussion group
• “If we could shut down all sport hunting in a moment, we would.” - Wayne Pacelle, president of HSUS, Associated Press
• “The life of an ant and that of my child should be granted equal consideration.” Michael W. Fox, HSUS senior scholar, Associated Press

This week the Missouri House amended Prop B to increase funding for inspections of dog breeders while still allowing legitimate dog breeders to continue their operations [SB113]. The current “puppy mills” in Missouri are already operating in violation of our laws.

Since the launch of Operation Bark Alert, more than 4,300 dogs have been rescued in across Missouri. In 2009, Missouri saw a decrease of 164 commercial breeders thanks to Operation Bark Alert. In 2010, the trend continued with more than 200 commercial breeders no longer in business in Missouri. This was without the measures in proposition B, designed to end animal farming.

We can stop illegal breeders from operating here without hurting legitimate businesses. The Humane Society of the United State thinks that we cannot legitimately raise animals for food; they think that animals are equal to humans. This is insane.

Most of Missouri’s dog breeders are small family operations that raise dogs because they love them, and they want to supplement their income. Proposition B will literally put them out of business – while those already operating illegally will continue to do so. Unchanged, Proposition B hurts all dog breeders. Our proposal increases funding to look for puppy mills and shut them down without hurting legitimate farmers.

If you suspect someone is operating an illegal puppy mill and want to help us shut them down, you can report unlicensed breeders to state officials at from operation bark alert at: http://mda.mo.gov/animals/ACFA/barkalert/reportbreeder.php


I would like to thank everyone who visited my office this past week. It is always a pleasure to have friends, neighbors, and constituents visit.


Artists Linda Cantrell from Blogett, Pat Provance from Clarkton, and Barbara Ross from Sikeston met with Representative Brandom in the Capitol. The artists were in the Jefferson City for Southwest Missouri Artist Day.