Election Results Favor Animal Protection

By sister initiate Jeanne Minier, Georgia, USA (Originally in English)

In the November 5, 2002 election in the United States, millions of voters in five states supported initiatives for the protection of animals.

In Arizona, voters overwhelmingly said "No" to expanding gambling at greyhound dog race tracks, where thousands of animals are mistreated and killed each year.

Also, pigs won a victory in Florida: the passing of Amendment 10, the first measure ever adopted in the United States that outlaws the confinement of animals on factory farms. This Amendment bans the caging of pregnant pigs in gestation crates, which are so small that the animals cannot turn around in them.

In Georgia, voters agreed to create an automobile license plate that will generate revenue to pay for neutering programs to prevent the birth and euthanasia of tens of thousands of unwanted cats and dogs. Twenty states now offer such plates to help resolve the problem of animal overpopulation and the suffering it causes.

Oklahoma became the 48th state to ban cockfighting, and establish stiff felony penalties for cockfighting violations. This state also defeated an anti-animal proposal that would have required nearly twice the number of signatures to qualify an animal protection measure to be put on a ballot for voting.

And finally, a request for Sunday hunting on the ballot in six counties in West Virginia was defeated.

Hopefully, these victories are just the beginning of more compassionate reforms for animals in the future.

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