Deal on puppy-mill law, which pit Mo. urbanites against rural animal owners, takes effect

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon signed a compromise concerning the state's puppy mill referendum into law on Wednesday. Last week we reported the battle over the referendum on Proposition B had largely been divided on rural-urban lines. Nixon actually signed two bills into law; SB 113 substantially watered down the restrictions enacted by voters last fall, and SB 161, contained compromise language brokered by Nixon.
"Nixon downplayed the initial bill signing on Wednesday, but was effusive in his praise for the final bill," Jason Noble of The Kansas City Star reports. The governor said, "At a time in which people spend a lot of their time figuring out the easiest way to disagree, everybody here gave up a little to make sure we found ways to agree. That’s really, really important."
Proposition B "enacted strict new regulations on the state’s dog breeders, including a limit on the number of breeding dogs, requirements for greater animal enclosures and access to the outdoors, stronger veterinary oversight and criminal penalties for violations," Noble writes. SB 113 was passed under pressure from agriculture groups and removed Prop B's strictest elements. "The compromise legislation, SB 161, puts no limits on the number of dogs, but boosts requirements for veterinary care at breeding operations and phases in larger space requirements for animal enclosures." (Read more)