Repeal of Proposition B an insult to voters

Never before have I been so irked by our arrogant, redneck leaders.

Missouri citizens voted in favor of Proposition B to help prevent the current animal cruelty in puppy mills, and now elected officials are going against the will of the people and trying to repeal it.

I am both outraged and mystified as to why our government is going against the majority of Missouri citizens and allowing this cruelty to continue. The audacity and disrespect to Missouri voters is appalling.  Subverting the judgment of voters is wrong, as is the suffering puppy mill puppies go through.

People are being told that existing regulations on dog breeding are adequate. This is simply not so. Under current rules, a dog can be in a wire cage with only six inches more space than his or her entire body. The discomfort of the cage is one thing, but the dog's inability to move is asinine. The dog can be confined in this same cage for years and never let out to exercise or see a veterinarian. It is absurd to think that these are okay ways to treat man's best friend.

Prop B regulations are sensible guidelines that responsible Missouri breeders should already be following. These include: requiring adequate and clean food and water, exercise, properly sized and sanitary cages, veterinary care, and protection from extreme heat and cold.  It is designed to prohibit inhumane treatment and conditions, not restrict agriculture or attack good breeders.

The re-write of Prop B allows uncomfortable wire cages, allows them to be stacked on top of one another (allowing bottom bunkers to suffer through upstairs bunkers' potty time), and eliminates both the requisite that dogs have enough room to maneuver and turn around in their cages and the 50 dog cap on breeding… and that's just to name a few.

Some seem to be in the mindset that Prop B is anti-agriculture, but it is aimed specifically at puppies- not cattle, pigs, or chickens. It is an amendment in the Missouri Revised Statutes.  The amendment is applied to Chapter 273, "Dogs-Cats."  The word "dog" is used 33 times in this bill, and no other animal is even mentioned.  So go on, Missouri, keep raising your livestock and eating your steak.  This bill has nothing to do with that.

Missouri is known as the Puppy Mill Capitol of the U.S. If people are against the mistreatment these dogs are put through in our state- and it has already been shown that the majority are- then our elected officials should respect our votes and uphold Prop B.

The legislature has obviously failed to stop widespread puppy mill abuses in the past, and this is why Missouri citizens spoke as they did, demanding better protection for the dogs and puppies in our state, on Election Day.

WTF, Missouri representatives?  

By the way, TR Hanrahan rocks.