11-6-09
Issue 2: Ohio voters approve livestock care board
COLUMBUS (AP)
Ohio voters have delivered a victory to large farm operators, approving a new industry-dominated board to oversee livestock care.
The measure was designed to thwart efforts of animal rights groups such as the Humane Society of the United States that are intent on outlawing the close confinement of laying hens, breeding sows and veal calves.
Laws outlawing keeping those animals in cramped cages or crates have passed in seven states.
The ballot issue was viewed as a blueprint for other rural states to avoid such laws being imposed.
Ohio’s livestock care board will have 13 members of both parties representing farmers, veterinarians, food safety experts and consumers. It will have one animal rights advocate.
The Humane Society vowed Tuesday to mount a future Ohio ballot campaign instituting farm animal protections.
Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation President Bill Bruins, commnented, “The Ohio Farm Bureau and the entire agricultural community in the Buckeye State are to be commended for reminding Ohioans about the essential relationship between excellent farm animal care and economically viable farms that produce a safe, affordable food supply grown within its state’s borders.”
He continued, “The successful passage of Issue 2 clearly shows that voters in Ohio understand the importance of livestock agriculture to their state and our nation. They have wisely chose to have a board of experts make decisions on behalf of animal agriculture, rather than let out-of-state activist groups bring a ballot initiative to set rigid, inflexible and impractical rules for how livestock and poultry are housed.”
Bruins concluded, “It’s important to also note that Wisconsin’s livestock organizations have already been proactive in initiating voluntary and science-based programs for farmers to ensure the best care for livestock on their farms.”
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