WASHINGTON—The animal protection movement scored a series of
major ballot measure victories on Election Day, winning five of
six contests in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and
Oklahoma. In Florida, voters approved a ban on the intensive
confinement of pigs in "gestation crates." While in Oklahoma,
voters made that state the 48th to ban the inhumane and
barbaric practice of cockfighting.
Voters rejected a counter measure in Oklahoma by
cockfighters and other groups that would have effectively
barred animal advocates from using the initiative process. In
Georgia, voters approved a statewide spaying and neutering
program, and in Arizona, voters rejected a move by the
greyhound racing industry to develop new revenue streams to
prop up that industry. The only adverse result came in
Arkansas, where voters rejected a measure to upgrade penalties
for animal cruelty.
"Voters again have demonstrated they care about the
protection of animals, whether the abuse involves intensive
confinement on factory farms or staged animal fights," states
Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice president of The Humane Society of
the United States. Voters have approved about 20 animal
protection measures since 1990.
"The people of Oklahoma have outlawed the barbaric practice
of cockfighting," adds Michael Markarian, president of The Fund
for Animals, a leading national animal protection organization
that strongly backed all of the animal protection ballot
measures. "The law is closing in on cockfighters, and there are
now only two states that allow these gladiatorial
spectacles."
Adds Gene Bauston, president of Farm Sanctuary, the nation's
leading farm animal advocacy organization, "The passage of
Amendment 10 in Florida marks the first time that any state has
halted the intensive confinement of animals on factory farms.
It is an historic step in the effort to combat cruelty to farm
animals."
Below we provide a more detailed summary of the results.
ARIZONA: Proposition 201—VICTORY—20% to 80 %. Voters
rejected Proposition 201, which would have expanded gambling at
greyhound racing tracks and provided a new revenue stream for
the greyhound racing industry, which mistreats and kills
thousands of dogs a year.
ARKANSAS: Initiated Act 1—DEFEAT—38% to 62%. The failure of
Initiated Act 1, to make extreme acts of animal cruelty a class
D felony, is the result of widespread misinformation from
animal abuse industries, led by the Arkansas Farm Bureau.
Initiated Act 1 would also have toughened laws against
cockfighting, creating penalties equivalent to those for
dogfighting, in addition to making egregious acts of animal
abuse a felony.
FLORIDA: Amendment 10—VICTORY—55% to 45%. The first measure
ever to be adopted in the United States to ban the confinement
of animals on factory farms, Amendment 10 bans the caging of
pigs in gestation crates—tiny, two-foot by seven-foot cages in
which pregnant pigs are housed for almost all of their dismal
existence. The Animal Rights Foundation of Florida led the
campaign with The HSUS, The Fund for Animals, and Farm
Sanctuary.
GEORGIA: Amendment 6—VICTORY—71% to 29%. Amendment 6 creates
a special spay/neuter license plate, with proceeds from sales
to subsidize low-cost companion animal sterilization programs
in the state. Georgia joins nineteen other states that already
have a special animal-friendly license plate.
OKLAHOMA: State Question 687—VICTORY—56.2% to 43.8%. SQ 687
passed handily, making Oklahoma the 48th state to ban the cruel
practice of cockfighting. Only Louisiana and a few counties in
New Mexico remain as legal havens for cockfighters among the 50
states.
OKLAHOMA: State Question 698—VICTORY—46% to 54%. State
Question 698, rejected by voters, would have doubled the number
of signatures needed to qualify an animal protection initiative
for the ballot.
