2015 Legislative Recap
The Missouri General Assembly wrapped up its 2015 legislative session today at 6:00 pm. Opponents of the animal welfare movement have continually tried to chip away at our animal cruelty laws, and 2015 was no exception. Bills were filed that would have moved Missouri one step closer to horse slaughter, created an exemption to the Large Carnivore Act for mini-circuses, massively weakened the disposition process for animal cruelty and neglect cases, punished counties who have health and zoning ordinances against factory farms, and even one that exempted all animal and environmental records from Missouri’s Sunshine Law. Thank you to everyone who took part in this process by participating in Humane Lobby Day, contacting your legislators, and sharing our action alerts. We couldn’t do it without you! Here’s a brief summary of some of the worst bills we were able to stop this year:
HB 79- This bill made detrimental changes to Missouri’s animal cruelty laws and would have left animals in the hands of their abusers by forcing changes to the disposition process on cruelty and neglect cases. Final status: FAILED!
HB 196- This bill would have prohibited the Department of Natural Resources from denying waste water permits based on the species of animal being processed. It is a pro-horse slaughter bill that has been filed two years in a row in direct response to DNR denying Rains Natural Meats a permit to slaughter horses in Gallatin, MO. Final status: FAILED!
HB 479- This bill would have exempted all environmental records and animal health inspection reports from Missouri’s Sunshine Law. This bill was a threat to public health, and is designed to protect factory farms and puppy mills from public scrutiny. Final status: FAILED!
HB 882- House Bill 882 would have created an “Agri-Ready County” designation for any county that had not adopted any health, environmental, or zoning ordinances against factory farms. It would have encouraged counties to roll out the red carpet for factory farming by unfairly giving these counties priority status when applying for grants from the Department of Agriculture, Department of Natural Resources, and Department of Conservation, and punished those counties that have taken steps to protect their citizens. Final status: FAILED!on Animal
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