As November creeps closer, people in Missouri are becoming more divided on Proposition B, which will appear on the Nov 2 ballot. Known as the “puppy mill” bill I have written about it many times; you can find out the details about it in my previous articles. Now another crinkle has been added to the debate-linked, but not directly.
An alderman, Alderman Nick Guccione, Ward 3 Wentzville, MO is proposing a ban on selling dogs and cats in pet stores. The theory behind this is that if there is no market, then there is no motivation for the puppy mills to raise their “livestock”. Because unfortunately many pet stores do buy from puppy mills.
The opposing view is that this will penalize legitimate breeders who are following the law, and won’t do anything to stop the back yard breeders. Some vets oppose the ban, but the argument there is that vets treat sick pets so it is in their best interests if puppy mills exist. I personally have a hard time believing this particular argument, at least about the vets I personally know. But I throw that in here so you can see how complicated and volatile this entire issue is becoming.
Some think that if more money was thrown towards the Dept of Agriculture to hire more inspectors then they could stop the bad breeders without additional legislation. Others feel that the inspectors that are already on board just aren’t doing their job.
It is a tough subject, one likely to get more so as November draws closer. The ban in Wentzville will be interesting. They are already expecting enough of a crowd to show up to debate the subject next week that they are moving it to a larger meeting space.
When it comes to puppy mills there are no easy answers. There should be. If people treated animals humanely to begin with we wouldn’t even be debating the issue. In a perfect world.
Thanks for reading. keepsake16@yahoo.com
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