I’ve been traveling in Missouri this week meeting with animal advocates, humane societies, and dog lovers across the state to launch our signature gathering drive to place the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act on the November 2010 statewide ballot. We’ve had hundreds of volunteers attend our kick-off meetings, and there’s so much enthusiasm and support for passing a law to crack down on abusive puppy mills. The Columbia Tribune, Kansas City’s Action News, and other media outlets covered our events and reported on this landmark effort by Missouri voters to help dogs.
Animal advocates in Missouri are working to gather
130,000 signatures to place the Puppy Mill Cruelty
Prevention Act on the November 2010 statewide ballot.
Missouri’s puppy mills are cruel and inhumane, and Missouri leads the nation with about 3,000 mills in the state. It’s estimated that 40 percent of all puppy mill puppies sold nationwide come from Missouri’s mills, where dogs are forced to live in small wire cages for years on end, and are often exposed to extremes of heat and cold. Our survey work shows that nearly nine out of ten Missouri voters support this new law, and agree that all dogs deserve humane treatment and basic standards of care.
But in order to give them the chance to vote on this issue in November, first we need to collect 130,000 signatures of registered Missouri voters, between now and the end of April. It’s going to take thousands of volunteers in Missouri to make sure we meet our goal, and give all the voters in the state the opportunity to do the right thing for dogs.
If you live in Missouri and can join this effort to make history on the puppy mill issue, please contact Missourians for the Protection of Dogs, the coalition supported by The HSUS, ASPCA, Humane Society of Missouri, Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation, and other animal protection groups and citizens. You can call the campaign office at 314-725-8880 or visit the campaign web site at missourifordogs.com.
