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2008 Missouri Legislative SessionLegislative SummaryThe Missouri General Assembly convened on Wednesday, January 9 and concluded on May 16, 2008. Listed below is a summary of animal welfare bills that were filed for consideration. See The Alliance's Legislative Priorities for 2008 for a description of our major priorities for this legislative year. Horse Impoundment Status: Hearing 2-20-08 Conservation and Natural Resources Makes it harder to remove horses or other large animals from a situation where they have suffered serious abuse or neglect. Currently, local law enforcement officers have the ability to seek a court order to impound abused animals, after seeking the advice of a local veterinarian. This bill would interject politics into this process by requiring the Department of Agriculture to review the situation and delay the impoundment of horses even if they are visibly malnourished or suffering needlessly. Animal Neglect Status: Hearing 3-04-08 Crime Prevention and Public Safety This bill would add clarification to the animal neglect statute, giving prosecutors more options in situations where the facts would support charges of either abuse or neglect. Similar improvements in the law were endorsed last year by the Missouri Bar. Spay/Neuter Incentive Status: Committee hearing 4-22-08 Special Committee on Urban Education Reform Requires a $50 deposit be paid when adopting a dog or cat that would be returned upon verification that the animal had been spayed or neutered. Animals returned to their owners after being picked up for the third time must be spayed or neutered.
Dog Fighting Status: Passed the House 5-15-08, Removed in Conference Committee This bill increases all of the criminal penalties for repeated convictions relating to dog fighting activity in Missouri, including an increase in the penalty for being a spectator at a dog fight from a misdemeanor to a felony for the second offense. This bill would also create the crime of possessing dog fighting paraphernalia (such as treadmills). HJR 39 & 40 - Barriers to Voter-Initiative Petitions Status: Hearing 1-29-08 Committee on Elections These measures would limit the democratic process for promoting state-wide initiatives, making it harder for the public to initiate changes in the law related to animal welfare. HJR 39 would double or triple the number of signatures necessary to place such a proposal on the ballot. HJR 40 would require voters to pass such initiatives by greater than a 60% majority, instead of the current simple majority. Four-Sevenths Supermajority for Wildlife Initiatives Status: Hearing 2-20-08 Conservation and Natural Resources This resolution would place a constitutional amendment on the November 2008 ballot, requiring a 4/7ths "supermajority" vote for any future ballot initiatives relating to harvesting bird, fish, game wildlife or forestry resources. For purposes of comparison, the very popular anti-cockfighting initiative received 63% of the vote and would not have passed a supermajority requirment. Like HRJ 40 (above), this measure would violate the concept of majority rule (one person, one vote). By dealing with only certain topics, it would also violate notions of equal protection. Dangerous Animal Registration Status: Hearing 2-25-08 Judiciary & Civil & Criminal Jurisprudence Improves the law requiring registration of dangerous wild animals-notably large carnivores such as lions and tigers, in hopes that less reputable owners will be discouraged from mistreating these creatures. It clarifies that only certain accredited institutions are exempt from the law, and it requires annual renewal of registation. Each dangerous animal must be equipped with a microchip or other reliable identification device. In order to protect public safety, no contact between the animals and the public would be permitted. SB 819 - Dog Fighting Status: Placed on Senate Perfection Calendar 3-27-08 SB 819, SB 834 and SB 982 were passed out of committee as one bill. SB 819 would toughen Missouri's dog fighting law, increasing the penality from a misdeamor to a felony for the second offense of being a spectator at a dog fight and makes it easier to seize the property of individuals involved in this brutal activity. This bill focuses on the welfare of the victimized animals, requiring a hearing within 30 days to determine what happens to these animals, instead of waiting months or years for the criminal charges to be resolved.
SB 834 - Liability of Dog Attacks Status: Combined with SBs 982 and 819, Senate Perfection calendar Creates penalties for owners of dogs that injure people or property and creates an absolute defense against civil liability or prosecution for killing a dog in certain circumstances. Breed Specific Ordinance Ban Status: Hearing 2-20-08 Economic Development, Tourism & Local Government This bill would prevent municipalities from enacting ordinances or regulations that restrict the ownership of certain dog breeds, instead of focusing on the specific behavior of each animal. The Alliance believes that it is the inhumane acts of humans, as opposed to genectics, that are generally to blame for aggressive or dangerous dogs. A more positive response to the problem of dangerous dogs is a system of procedures for identifiying and controlling individual dogs that have shown dangerous or agressive tendencies. Healthy Pet Act Status: Referred Agriculture, Conservation, Parks & Nat. Resources This bill would provide better remedies to consumers who purchase a dog or cat from a pet shop and discover within 20 days that it was sold with a latent disease or within 2 years that it has a congenital or hereditary condition for which hospitalization or surgery was required. Sadly, Missouri puppy mills currently churnout far too many sick animals because of the deplorable conditions in which they are raised and consumers are left with only the remedy of replacement, which is unacceptable to the families that have already become attached to the pet. Write your legislators about your concerns for animal welfare. To find your state legislators, enter your 9 digit zip code (xxxxx-xxxx) below and click the Find button. If you don't know your 9 digit zip code, use the Zip Code Lookup. |
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