Facts
Q: What does Prop B (the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act) require?
Prop B builds on the current state-mandated regulations set forth in the Animal Care Facilities Act and simply provides stronger standards of care for dogs at large-scale commercial breeding facilities. The measure requires that breeding dogs receive sufficient food and clean water, adequate space to turn around and stretch their limbs, adequate housing, protection from the elements, regular exercise, and necessary veterinary care. It prohibits the harmful practices of using stacked cages, which encourages overcrowding, and using wire flooring, which causes discomfort and often injures the dogs’ feet. It will also limit a commercial breeder to 50 adult breeding dogs.
Q: Who is covered under this new measure?
Any person having custody or ownership of more than ten female dogs for the purpose of breeding the animals and selling their offspring as pets will be required to meet these modest humane standards beginning in November 2011. Reputable breeders already meet or exceed these basic requirements, and this law will not affect small family, amateur, or hobby breeders. Hunting dog breeders are exempt.
Q: How many puppies will a breeder be able to sell?
The initiative does not allow female dogs to be bred more than twice in an 18-month period. Assuming 40 of the maximum 50 breeding dogs are female, and with an average litter size of five puppies, commercial breeders will be able to sell roughly 200 to 400 puppies a year. With these sales, a commercial breeder can earn more than $100,000 a year, well over twice the median income of the average Missouri family.
Q: How can breeders afford to upgrade their kennels?
Prop B does not require breeders to upgrade their kennels if they provide basic standards of care outlined by the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act. The average person assumes, and expects, that anyone caring for a live animal will provide decent and reasonable care. These breeders make a good income from their dogs and if they are not providing sufficient humane housing and care, they can, and should, make any needed improvements for the wellbeing of their animals and the overall success of their businesses. Other industries are expected to re-invest in their businesses from time to time. The commercial breeding industry should be no exception. With humane standards under Prop B raising the bar for the bad actors, consumers will have more confidence in Missouri’s dog breeders and it will help their long-term business outlook.
Q: Doesn’t Prop B require an unreasonable amount of space for each dog?
No. Prop B does require that dogs have more space so they will no longer be crammed into small and filthy cages, 24 hours a day, for their entire lives. It also requires them to have access to both an indoor and outdoor area, but even the largest outdoor enclosure required by Prop B is still smaller than a parking space at your local grocery store. The space requirements under Prop B are determined by the size of the dog. For example, a small dog requires indoor space the size of a sleeping bag and outdoor space that measures about half the size of the bed of a pickup truck. A medium sized dog requires indoor space the size of a twin bed mattress and outdoor space the size of a pool table. And a large dog requires indoor space the size of a standard elevator floor and outdoor space the size of a compact car. Giving dogs enough space to turn around, stretch their limbs, and exercise is just common sense.
Q: Why set a limit of 50 breeding dogs?
Many of the problems with puppy mills have occurred at the largest operations. A review of state and federal inspection reports reveals that the larger breeding facilities are routinely cited for a far greater number of animal welfare violations than the smaller facilities. Dogs are destined for the home, and they need individual attention and socialization. With hundreds of dogs, and often with no labor, the large operations just cannot provide that kind of attention. Many puppy mills do not hire any employees and the owners of the operation are the only people tending to the dogs. Even with two people working eight-hour shifts, they just don’t have enough time in the day to provide individual care for dozens of dogs. That’s precisely why they put them in wire cages, so they don’t even need to clean up after the animals.
Q: How big an impact will Prop B have on commercial breeders with more than 50 dogs?
The vast majority of breeding facilities are already below or close to this limit, and will not be affected by the new law. The Missouri Department of Agriculture estimates that 36% of licensed breeders have more than 50 breeding dogs, while independent review of the inventory figures provided by licensed breeders found that only 18% had more than 50 adult dogs. So between two-thirds and four-fifths of all licensed breeders in the state already have fewer than 50 breeding dogs and will not need to make any changes in the number of dogs they have.
Q: Have other states placed limits on large-scale commercial dog-breeding operations?
Yes. Prior to Missouri’s passage of Prop B, Virginia, Louisiana, Oregon, and Washington enacted legislation through their state legislatures setting reasonable caps on the number of breeding dogs.
Q: Does limiting the number of breeding dogs per person violate the the state or federal constitution?
No. There is no constitutional right to breed an unlimited number of dogs, and the measure does not take anyone’s property. It just places a sensible upper limit on the use of dogs for breeding at any one operation. The argument that the state is not permitted to impose a cap is like saying the state cannot limit the number of children in a day care facility, the number of smokestacks at a factory, or the number of people in a dance hall at any one time. Moreover, Prop B limits only the number of sexually intact adult dogs used for breeding, and imposes absolutely no limit on the total number of dogs a person can own. A breeder can keep as many dogs as they want over the limit of 50, as long as those excess dogs are pets and not used for breeding.
Q: Will Prop B make it a crime to have a hair or a piece of food in a dog’s water bowl?
“Clean water” is not a new requirement. It is already required under pre-Prop B law in Missouri, and Missouri’s law already includes criminal penalties. Prop B updates the law to require clean water to be constantly available so that dogs may always have water available to drink. In addition, people can only realistically be charged if they knowingly violate the statute.
Q: But Prop B creates a class C misdemeanor crime of “cruelty” for any violation of the statute. Doesn’t that mean that breeders could be charged for having a cobweb in the corner of a building, or a scratch on a painted surface?
No. Prop B’s requirements are extremely modest and, unlike the current regulatory scheme which is complex and difficult to understand, the new requirements provide clear and consistent guidance to inspectors and to breeders. The measure requires access to nutritious food daily and continuous access to drinkable water, veterinary care for illness or injury, adequate space and exercise. Enforcement officials have discretion on when a violation is severe enough to warrant action, and will prioritize the most extreme cases of puppy mill cruelty since there is no shortage of those in Missouri.
Q: Prop B targets those who are already licensed and inspected by the Missouri Department of Agriculture. Why doesn’t it address the real problem—unlicensed breeders?
The state already allows for Class A misdemeanor penalties for large-scale breeding operations that are unlicensed. The Missouri Department of Agriculture has been working hard to crack down on these unlicensed operations, and it is humane organizations, like the Humane Society of Missouri, that bear the cost in almost every case of taking in and finding homes for the dogs from these operations.
There is also a separate problem, and that is the weak standards in the pre-Prop B law. Prop B strengthens these current standards, since many licensed breeders are not providing proper care for their animals. It is legal under pre-Prop B standards to deny animals veterinary care, stack them in small wire cages, and allow dogs to be outside during the bitter winter and exposed to extremes of freezing cold. A 24-inch-long dog can be confined in a 30-inch cage. These facilities may have hundreds of animals, never getting any human attention or exercise. Prop B was passed to address these problems and to lift the standards.
Q: Can’t we just improve the enforcement of pre-Prop B laws?
Current Missouri laws have not been effective in stopping puppy mill cruelty. There have been three Missouri State Auditor reports, a Better Business Bureau report, and a U.S. Department of Agriculture report that have condemned enforcement efforts through the years—which is exactly why animal welfare groups and Missouri citizens launched the Prop B campaign. We do need better enforcement, and one element of that is stronger standards of animal care. Prop B provides that stronger animal care.
Q: Why does Prop B require veterinary visits?
Although puppy mills claim to provide medical treatment, federal and state agriculture inspectors have documented severe, untreated medical issues in dogs at Missouri’s puppy mills, including open, oozing sores, infectious mange, leg entrapment resulting in permanent mutilation, underfed dogs with their entire skeletal structures visible on their starving bodies, and dogs so covered in filthy, feces-encrusted matted fur that they are unable to move about or even move their bowels. Puppy mill owners sometimes attempt to provide treatment without a veterinarian, causing even greater problems for these already suffering dogs. To help set standards for care, Prop B requires an annual veterinary examination for each dog and prompt treatment for any illness or injury—basics of care that any responsible animal owner provides to their dogs.
Q: Prop B requires access to an outside exercise area—won’t that be deadly to newborn and non-weaned puppies that may crawl outside and cannot find their way back inside? What about upper respiratory stress and pneumonia for puppies who are exposed to the outdoors?
Prop B only applies to dogs over 6 months of age, and does not require that non-weaned puppies have unfettered outdoor access or be housed within the new temperature parameters. Further, upper respiratory illnesses are not caused by fresh air. More often in the extreme confinement conditions typical of large-scale puppy mills, respiratory illnesses are caused by poor ventilation and the repeated circulation of airborne disease molecules. The idea that providing fresh air will be detrimental to the health of dogs is absurd. Anyone who walks their dog or lets their dog play outside understands that.
Q: Isn’t it unfair to restrict the frequency of breeding?
Prop B simply requires that no dog be bred to have more than two litters of puppies in any 18 month period, which generally means that dogs get one heat cycle of rest after every two breeding cycles. Over-bred dogs who have been rescued from puppy mills are commonly found in poor physical condition, missing all or most of their teeth by the time they are only a few years old, and seriously undernourished due to the physical demands that constant breeding and nursing places on the mother dog’s system.
More than fifty (50) national breed clubs recommend breeding a female dog no more than twice in a 12 to 18 month period and/or resting the female between litters, including the Siberian Husky Club of America, the West Highland White Terrier Club of America, the American Fox Terrier Club of America, the Yorkshire Terrier Club of America, the Afghan Hound Club of America, the Bernese Mountain Dog Club of America, the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America, and many more. Prop B is consistent with the breeding practices of responsible breeders.
Q: Shouldn’t Prop B be overturned since it was defeated throughout rural Missouri?
No. Our system is built on majority rule, and a majority of Missouri citizens voted “yes” on Prop B. In fact, voters in a majority of state Senate, state House, and Congressional districts favored Prop B. It lost in rural areas, partly because people were told it would restrict the keeping of livestock and that uncertainty prompted them to vote “no.” Prop B deals only with the care of dogs—no other species of animal. It does not deal with cattle, chickens, or pigs, and the sponsors of Prop B have pledged not to proceed with any new ballot initiative on farm animal issues.
Q: Won’t Prop B cost the state money and take funds away from important programs?
No. Prop B does not create any new government program or cost any additional money for enforcement. The Missouri Department of Agriculture already has an inspection and licensing program in place, and Prop B simply improves the quality of the standards and makes enforcement easier. If the speed limit changes, it doesn’t mean any additional state police are needed on the highways—the animal care standards of Prop B are implemented the same way, since the state inspectors and enforcement mechanism is already in place and they just apply the new standards.
Q: Shouldn’t legislators be allowed to make changes to Prop B?
Elected officials should respect the will of the people. Subverting the judgment of voters is not right, and it is anti-democratic. The voters acted precisely because the legislature has failed to stop puppy mill abuses. It is undemocratic, and would be wrong of lawmakers to usurp the power of the people and ignore their expressed will. Moreover, Prop B does not take effect until November 2011, and it’s premature to discuss a repeal of any provision before it’s even implemented and there’s an opportunity to see if issues arise.
Q: Why does Prop B exempt animal shelters?
Prop B was narrowly crafted to address problems at large-scale commercial dog breeding operations, not to broadly cover every business or facility in the state that deals with animals. Animal shelters, retail stores, and other facilities are licensed and inspected under Missouri law. Moreover, dogs at animal shelters are typically there for a temporary period of time, perhaps a few days or weeks, before they are adopted to a new family. They don’t live in the same cage for up to 10 or 12 years, as is the case with breeding dogs at puppy mills. Animal shelters are nonprofit organizations and don’t sell dogs for profit. They are open to the public so there is a greater level of transparency in the level of animal care provided, whereas the problems at puppy mills are easily concealed from public view.