>If the animal welfare laws are so lacking, why hasn't animal lovers in
>that state worked to get them change by now. It takes time and if a
>problem has been run into before such as DM's animal abuse why haven't
>people gone after these state officials back then. Then we may have
>some laws in place to go after Dm. I hope Ohioians will do something
>now about their laws (and they very may have tried already). I hope
>the shelters and owners here will start something big in that state.

I'm not an expert but I know that while some states have improved their
laws somewhat, from most pet owners perspective they are sadly lacking.
Missouri was and had been for a long time the number one puppy mill
state. I won't spend a dime there. Missouri is also a rural
agricultural state and I think legislators refuse to change the rules
because its how people make a living and they don't have anything else
to offer in terms of jobs. Ohio is the 7th most populated state and
46th in unemployment. I suspect that lawmakers are reluctant to make it
harder on fur farmers and animal retailers. I also suspect that they
are unwilling to look like they care more about animals than people
(something that typically gets thrown out as an accusation by other
groups vying for legislation attention). If Dog groups can't get puppy
mills shut down, well you can see how hard it will be for ferret
groups. Because Dog groups try, they try all the time. And run into
some of the same divisions that we see here - people not willing to
work together because of the same, the exact same, disagreements
voiced here on FML.

Mary in Nebraska

[Posted in FML 5530]