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JEFFERSON CITY — The General Assembly today approved legislation that would provide additional protections for animals throughout the state.
Voters in November last year made their way to the polls to support Proposition B, a ballot measure that amended Missouri law to require large-scale dog breeding operations to provide each dog under their care with various provisions, prohibit any breeder from having more than 50 breeding dogs for the purpose of selling their puppies, and create a misdemeanor crime of “puppy mill cruelty” for any violations.
Lawmakers in the Senate gave their approval to Senate Bill 113, which would modify the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA) and the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act.
The act changes the name of the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act to the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act, as well as changes many of the act’s definitions. One such change would require anyone subject to this act to retain all veterinary and sales records for the most recent previous two years and make the records available upon request.
The measure also removes the prohibition of anyone having more than 50 dogs for the purpose of breeding and selling the resulting puppies.
Senate Bill 113 also removes the current criminal penalty provision under the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act and adds new penalty and enforcement provisions to the ACFA and the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act. Additionally, the act creates the crime of canine cruelty (when someone repeatedly violates the ACFA or Canine Cruelty Prevention Act by posing a risk to the health and welfare of animals in that person’s custody) with the punishment of a Class C misdemeanor. A second or subsequent offense would result in a Class A misdemeanor.
This act also makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone required to have a license under the ACFA to keep his or her animals in stacked cages where there is no impenetrable layer between the cages, except if cleaning the cages.
Finally, SB 113 increases the ACFA maximum fee for obtaining a license to operate certain dog facilities from $500 to $2,500 per year. In addition, the bill requires a licensee to pay a $25 fee each year to be used by the Department of Agriculture for Operation Bark Alert, a program created in 2009 that helps animal care inspectors locate unlicensed breeders in Missouri.
The bill now moves to the governor’s desk for his signature.
For more information about the Missouri Senate, visit www.senate.mo.gov. To contact the Senate Newsroom, call (573) 751-3824 or e-mail newsroom@senate.mo.gov.
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