Signs opposing a proposition on the Missouri ballot backed by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) are popping up all over the state with election day just around the corner.
Like David against Goliath, Missouri’s agriculture groups, united under the banner Missourians for Animal Care, are fighting against the heavily-funded HSUS campaign with yard signs and a volunteer phone campaign. Proposition B, the “Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act,” is aimed at dog breeders, but livestock interests fear it is just the first step in furthering the HSUS anti-animal agriculture agenda in Missouri. They also contend that the regulations for legitimate dog breeders are so strict that it will basically put them out of business, while the unlicensed breeders who already are breaking the laws on the books will just continue to do so.
The Missourians for Animal Care group and others opposed to the proposition are fighting an uphill battle as proponents are saturating the airwaves with a multi-million dollar, mostly out-of-state funded, campaign featuring sad and heartbreaking stories and images of puppies raised in substandard conditions. But they are fighting anyway and we have our sign in the front yard. All we can do is hope and pray that good sense will prevail! Umm, yeah.