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Compromise Reached by Missouri Groups Over Dog Breeding Proposition

Missouri lawmakers said Missouri voters didn't know what they were approving when they voted in favor of Proposition B in November. That's why Senate Bill 113 was introduced and passed by the House and Senate, but the Humane Society of the United States was planning to step in to prevent the measure from taking effect until a 2012 vote of the people.

Missouri Corn Growers Association CEO Gary Marshall says that would have allowed Prop B to take effect Nov.1 of this year. He says that would have been a big problem.

"Not a single puppy breeder in the state of Missouri could come into compliance and be licensed under Prop B," Marshall said. "So therefore starting in November of this year every single puppy breeder in Missouri would be out of business for one year. So we had to find a way to work with all the different groups, and I have to give the governor a lot of credit, he brought the Missouri Humane Society as well as the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation together with the two major puppy breeder groups in the state, got them to sign on to the agreement and then the agriculture folks did as well."

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon says the compromise will strengthen the requirements for the care and treatment of dogs and protect agriculture in the state.

"If you are really concerned about puppies then this compromise is really good," Marshall said. "If all you're caring about is raising money like HSUS then you need to go do something else. We're worried about the puppies and this requires feeding twice a day, which is more than was in Prop B and also requires vets to make visits to the puppies. It's really a good piece of compromise legislation that the Missouri Humane Society, the Missouri Puppy Breeders and all these other groups decided they could live with."

Don Nikodim, Chairman of Missouri Farmers Care, says the compromise improves Prop B, which he says was very poorly written and that Senate Bill 113 brought everyone to the table.

Nikodim says Prop B didn't include funds for the Department of Agriculture for enforcement.Now Senate Bill 113 will be tweaked and voted on again. There's not much time left in the current legislative session to get this through the House and Senate, but Marshall and Nikodim believe it can be done. While the issue is controversial, they say it's a compromise between the proposition and the legislation already approved. Governor Nixon has announced that at least 70 lawmakers support the compromise. Legislative leaders thanked the Governor for coming up with what is being called the "Missouri Solution."

"I think one of the key elements of the whole discussion that lead up this new direction is that Governor Nixon and his staff have said they want a Missouri solution for Missourians," Nikodim said. "They don't want some outside animal rights activist groups like PETA or HSUS coming in here with their millions telling us how to run our business. Bottom line it's a Missouri Solution for Missourians, I think that's important to keep thinking of it in that respect and it doesn't involve the animal rights activist groups from out of state as they put this project together."

Even so, the fight isn't over. Opponents to the compromise are encouraging people from all over the country to call Governor Nixon. Nikodim and Marshall encourage those involved in Missouri agriculture to stay engaged in the process too. Both sides of the issue rallied at the State Capitol Wednesday.