Missouri Senate pushes a bill forward to change Proposition B

ALERT – For the rest of this post, go to the new Pack Mentality website.

The story posted on the St. Louis Business Journal website reports the Missouri Senate gave a preliminary thumbs up Tuesday to a new bill that could make drastic changes to the anti-puppy mill measure known as Proposition B.

If the bill gets past the State House and the governor’s signature, it would eliminate the 50-dog limit for breeders and decriminalizes the violations voted into law last November by voters.

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Great letter to the editor in Missouri

Bob Groh of Blue Springs, Mo. submitted a great letter to the editor, which was published Saturday on the Examiner.net website.

Groh responds to a previous editorial suggesting the “voters were duped” into voting for Proposition B in Missouri. He notes he looked the pros and cons of the measure, which sets better standards for dog breeding and goes after puppy mill operations.

Florida greyhound tracks losing in the millions each year

Typically, businesses that are losing millions of dollars each year eventually get the picture. The reality has been slow to catch on in greyhound racing, partly because in too many cases it gets state government protection.

A Broward Palm Beach New Times blogger offers some of the losing numbers at two Florida tracks, in an entry posted Friday. The Mardi Gras track in Hallandale Beach will lose $2.5 million this year and the Flagler track in Miami has been in the red at a pace of $2 million each year.

Bill filed in Texas to permit video lottery terminals at horse and greyhound race tracks

Here we go again. Another state – or at least elected officials in a state – that will consider any means to prop up the dog-racing industry and now horse-racing industry.

A bill has been filed in the Texas legislature to allow video lottery terminals at horse and dog-racing tracks.

I wonder what would happen if the owner of a chain of 8-track tape stores went to a state government office somewhere and asked if he could install slot machines in this stores because people weren’t buying his 8-track tapes anymore? Would the state go out of its way to help the store owner? – NO.

State representative thinks puppy mill laws in Pennsylvania should be scaled back

The Pack of Putrid Punditry Award for the day goes to Pennsylvania state representative Gordon Denlinger, who has introduced a resolution to reopen discussion on the state’s puppy mill regulations, which were enacted in 2008.

It seems, as reported by The Morning Call, Denlinger and others of like (and warped) mind want to study the economic impact of shutting down puppy mills. They say the state lost millions in sales tax dollars and the puppy millers lots millions in sales.

An article posted on LancasterOnline.com seems to show Denlinger meandering around his true intentions –

Minnesota legislature debating new puppy mill regulations

House File 388 is bouncing around the Minnesota state legislature and if passed it could help in the battle against puppy mills.

An editorial from the Park Rapids Enterprise reports – “A shocking 75 percent of commercial breeders reviewed were not in compliance with Minnesota sales tax laws.”

A bill to target these breeders where they have been cheating the tax payers of the state could help shut some of them down. I hope.

Mississippi House sends bill forward to toughen up animal cruelty laws

Senate Bill 2821 creates “an offense of aggravated cruelty if an individual, with malice, intentionally tortures, mutilates, maims, burns, starves or disfigures any domesticated dog or cat,” according to a story from ClarionLedger.com.

Additionally, anyone convicted of aggravated cruelty twice in a five-year period would face felony charges and could be fined up to $5,000 and face one to five years in prison. Now the issue apparently moves back to the Senate.

Bills on dog breeding and animal fighting in West Virginia legislature

The West Virginia legislature is debating bills that would make animal fighting a felony and better regulate puppy mills.

WVHS TV news reports a bill to impose regular inspections for breeding operations with 11 or more unsterilized dogs passed in the House Judiciary Committee on February 22. The bill would also limit breeders to 50 dogs older than a year old.

In the West Virginia Senate, a bill passed recently which makes betting on animal fighting a felony (with up to one year in prison and fines from $1,000 to $5,000.

The plot thickens in Missouri, where a State House representative has ties to a dog-breeding business

This story is very interesting and is representative of how far our political landscape has degraded.

The St Louis Post-Dispatch is reporting Rep. Jason Smith – the majority whip in the Missouri House – is leading the attack against the anti-puppy mill measure Proposition B, which was approved by the state’s voters in November.

Smith has been arguing against Prop B in the House Agriculture Committee – and f0r major changes to it. Trouble is, he is not a member of the committee. But since he is the Majority Whip, he can participate as an “ex officio member.”

NC’s Chamberlin’s Law could improve animal welfare in the state

At last report – thanks to efforts of Susie’s Miracle Fund and the Guilford County Animal Shelter and North Carolina Voters for Animal Welfare – a dog is recovering from abuse and legislation named in his honor is hopefully getting closer to passage.

Chamberlin’s Law specifically deals with the abandonment of animals and sets minimum standards for shelter and fills in some holes in current laws in North Carolina.

Warning– the video below contains images of an injured Chamberlin and may not be suitable or all viewers. He was left alone to die in a field High Point, N.C.