St. Louis Animal Abuse Hotline

HELP STOP ANIMAL ABUSE IN YOUR ST. LOUIS NEIGHBORHOOD
St. Louis City & St. Louis County Inaugurate Hot Lines

City and County residents of St. Louis can now report animal abuse and neglect on a 24/7 hotline. In St. Louis County, the public can report the mistreatment of animals as well as violations of tethering ordinances at 314-615-1777. County Executive Charlie Dooley has promised that all reported cases of ill-treatment or ordinance violations will be investigated within 48 hours. The St. Louis County hot line is a partnership with Animal Care & Control Services and several animal welfare organizations, including The Humane Society of Missouri (HSMO); Animal Protective Association (APA); Operation Stop Pet Overpopulation Today (SPOT); Dogs Deserve Better; Benefitting Animals Through Responsibility and Compassion (BARC) and Metro Animal.

In St. Louis City, the public can report cases of abuse and neglect at (314) 771-6121, ext. 232. The hot line in the City is operated by Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

Please spread the word and help publicize these numbers. Hopefully the public's involvement in reporting the maltreatment of animals will ensure a humane environment for animals within the confines of St. Louis City and County.

Enhanced AWA Enforcement Plan

In May 2010, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U. S. Department of Agriculture issued an extremely critical report of their own agency with respect to their failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA has now announced an "Enhanced Animal Welfare Act Enforcement Plan" to respond to the OIG report. The USDA notes specific actions that will be implemented to accomplish the goal of effective enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. You can read their entire plan at APHIS’ Enhanced Animal Welfare Act Enforcement Plan.

AVMA - The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently (November 2010) revised the Veterinarian's Oath which all graduates of U. S. Veterinary Schools take upon graduation.

The Oath now reads, "Being admitted to the profession of veterinary medicine, I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, the prevention and relief of animal suffering, the conservation of animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical knowledge."

The AVMA Executive Board, at its December meeting, added the words "welfare" and "the prevention and relief of animal suffering" to its oath. Dr. Gail Golab, Director of the AVMA's Animal Welfare Division, stated, "These changes make it clear that the scope of veterinarians' efforts toward improving animal welfare include not only treatment, but also prevention of suffering and promotion of good welfare, which is consistent with today's approach to veterinary practice."

While the Alliance applauds the expansion of the AVMA's Veterinarian's Oath to include animal welfare and the prevention and relief of animal suffering, it is somewhat ironic that the AVMA approved this new oath just weeks after condemning Prop B and falsely asserting that "Proposition B doesn't do much to actually provide for the care of animals."

Even more ironic, after approving the new Oath containing the wording, "prevention…of animal suffering," the AVMA Executive Board approved as "appropriate" the administration of powerful anti-inflammatory analgesic drugs to be administered to racehorses. These drugs enable injured horses to participate in races in spite of their infirmities. Too often, this practice results in horses exacerbating their injuries and frequently results in catastrophic breakdowns. The Associated Press reported that in the years 2007 & 2008, racetracks in the United States experienced more than 1200 horses being killed or subsequently euthanized after tragic breakdowns. Even less fortunate than the horses that are humanely destroyed are the horses that are less severely injured and are forced, through the use of drugs deemed appropriate by the AVMA, to continue their racing careers in spite of chronic and painful injuries.

It is time for the AVMA to do more than develop good words in an oath, they need to show that they intend for it to actually mean something.

St. Louis County Council Approves Tethering Ordinance

The St. Louis County Council approved a bill Tuesday evening, January 4th (2011), to strengthen their tethering ordinance. Under the new ordinance, dogs will not be allowed to be chained out "during extreme weather conditions, including when the actual or effective outdoor temperature is 32 degrees or lower or when the actual or effective temperature is 90 degrees or higher." The Council also decreased the number of hours that dogs are allowed to be tethered in a day. Fines and penalties were included into the tethering ordinance to ensure compliance. While it falls short of what advocates originally requested, it is certainly a step in the right direction.

Chained dogs are the dogs most likely to be neglected - left out in the cold with scarce water and food or human contact. Animal Control Officers report that chaining is usually the first sign of neglect. In addition, tethering can cause psychological damage to the dog. Dogs are by nature pack animals and social creatures and fare poorly in isolated environments. The United States Department of Agriculture has even reported, "Our experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane."

Chaining of dogs can also lead to aggressive behavior due to constant confinement and lack of socialization with humans. Dogs have a fight or flight response and their inability to escape from perceived threats often results in aggression. The Centers for Disease Control report that chained dogs are almost three times more likely to attack humans.

We are grateful to Council Member Barbara Fraser for sponsoring this bill and to the entire County Council for their approval of this measure. We wish to acknowledge Connie Davie and Joan McKenna for their valuable work on this issue. We also want to recognize Midnight, the dog that spent it's entire life on a chain and who was the inspiration for this ordinance. Thanks to Nancy Schnell for her persistence on behalf of Midnight.

Newsletter

The Alliance Winter Newsletter--Prop B Special Edition is now available online.

Older newsletters are still online:

• Summer 2010

• Winter 2009

• Summer 2009

Alliance Takes Issue with AVMA on Prop B

Press Release on November 17,2010:

Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation Questions Criticism of Prop B by the Leadership of the American Veterinary Medical Association

The Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation (Alliance) today questioned the views expressed by the leader of the American Veterinary Medical Association in its recently released statement entitled "AVMA Questions Power of Prop B to Improve Welfare of Missouri's Dogs."

Dr. Ron DeHaven, chief executive officer of the AVMA, stated that, "Unfortunately, Proposition B doesn't do much to actually provide for the care of animals... ." According to Bob Baker, executive director of the Alliance, "That is an astonishingly inaccurate statement on the part of any veterinarian, much less the leader of a national veterinary association."

Mr. Baker points out that under current law, breeding dogs can legally be confined in tiny wire floor cages for their entire existence. The law only requires the mother dogs to be provided a cage six inches longer than the dog herself. In contrast, Prop B will now require dogs to be provided with large primary enclosures, a solid surface to rest and walk on, and access to an outdoor exercise run. These provisions are dramatic improvements for dogs confined in Missouri's numerous commercial breeding establishments. In addition, Prop B closes many loop holes in current law related to basic animal care, such as access to water, nutritious food, and protection from temperature extremes.

Most important, according to Baker, is Prop B's requirement for an annual physical exam and prompt veterinary care for breeding dogs that are ill or injured. Current Missouri law and regulations provide only that a veterinarian visit the facility annually and sign off on a written program of veterinary care. The veterinarian is currently not required to examine any of the dogs or to treat illnesses or injuries. "For the leader of the AVMA to dismiss a requirement for veterinary care by saying that Prop B 'doesn't do much to provide for the care of animals' is truly incomprehensible," said Baker.

Mr. Baker notes that Dr. DeHaven's statement appears to be consistent with Dr. DeHaven's regrettable failure to enforce the federal Animal Welfare Act during his tenure at the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). From April 2004 to August 2007, Dr. DeHaven was the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). APHIS is the agency within USDA charged with enforcing the federal law that regulates wholesale commercial dog breeding operations. This past May, the USDA's Office of Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing report documenting the USDA's gross failure to enforce the Animal Welfare Act. This internal government report exposed dogs living and dying in dreadful conditions due to USDA's failure to ensure the humane care and treatment of dogs confined in federally licensed and inspected facilities. The OIG report noted that the Agency "chose to take little or no enforcement action against most violators."

Federal investigators reported that the USDA often ignored serious and chronic violations, waived penalties, and did not properly document inhumane treatment of dogs. In one case cited by the Inspector General, USDA personnel had inspected a dog breeder on several occasions and yet walked by and left 22 dogs, which were in severe distress, to eventually die.

The OIG review, conducted between 2006 and 2008, found that many substandard breeders flouted the law with impunity due to lax enforcement efforts on the part of USDA personnel. The report documents gruesome conditions at several breeding operations, including dogs with hair loss over their entire bodies, dogs with gaping wounds, dogs with massive tick infestation, flesh wounds rotting away to the bone, dogs living among pools of feces, and even cannibalism.

Interestingly, during two of the three years so negatively reviewed by the OIG, Dr. Ron DeHaven was in charge of enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act. In addition to the OIG report, separate exposes conducted by ABC's 20/20 and NBC's Dateline revealed grossly substandard conditions at commercial dog operations that were allowed to occur under Dr. DeHaven's watch at USDA.

"Dr. DeHaven's statements, criticizing Prop B's dramatic improvements in care and conditions for dogs at commercial breeding facilities in Missouri, are consistent with his past lack of action when faced with the suffering of literally hundreds of thousands of animals during his tenure at USDA," said Baker.

According to Baker, "It is disappointing that the AVMA selected as their chief executive officer someone whose previous tenure with the USDA, according to that agency's own internal reports, lacked meaningful and vigorous enforcement of the very laws designed to protect the welfare of animals. The level of enforcement starts at the top. It is equally distressing to know that Dr. DeHaven is now using his position with the AVMA to distort and discount the beneficial animal welfare provisions of Prop B."

It Is Official - Proposition B Passes

Read the letter from Executive Director, Bob Baker, at Proposition B Passes.

Missouri "Pet Friendly" License Plates

Tell Everyone You're "Pet Friendly": The Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation is proud to announce the arrival of Pet Friendly license plates in Missouri, with proceeds going to spay and neuter services throughout the state.

We would like to thank all our supporters who helped the Alliance pass legislation to make this possible and encourage each of you to order these plates to help wipe out pet overpopulation.

This specialty plate is just $25 - and $20 from the sale of each pet-friendly license plate is deposited into a fund that pays for spay and neuter services for dogs and cats across Missouri!

This program is administered by the Missouri State Humane Association. More information can be found at http://www.mostatehumane.org/

More News

Also see Upcoming Events and Missouri's Puppy Mill Problem for more news.