puppy mill bills: TX up, MO down

it's official - missouri gov. jay nixon has signed off on changes that would gut mo's puppy mill law was passed by voters last year. shame on you, missouri. progress isn't taking one step forward and two steps back.

in good news, the lone star state is on the cusp of passing its own puppy mill bill to regulate large scale breeders. the bill would classify dog and cat breeders who have 11 or more unspayed females as "commercial breeders" and require that they be licensed by the state and undergo regular inspections and criminal background checks.

the rep who introduced the bill commented that it would not enforce anything more than the humane treatment of animals and protection of consumers. never a bad thing, right?

groundbreaking no kill legislation introduced in TX

a new bill introduced in texas legislature would "abolish the gas chamber, ban 'convenience killing' (when there are empty cages), mandate collaboration by requiring shelters to work with non-profit rescue organizations, mandate transparency by requiring shelters to report how many animals they kill and more."

wow. just wow.

it is based on model legislation written by the no kill advocacy center. similar practices have resulted in a 92% save rate in some communities. this is a giant step forward for a no kill nation.