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Is South Dakota next on HSUS’ list?
Missouri ag groups have experience pushing back on attempts by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) to restrict animal agriculture practices. The Missouri Farmers Care Coalition is lending its resources to animal ag groups in North Dakota that are fighting an HSUS-backed ballot measure there. Could South Dakota be the next HSUS target?
“We kind of feel like South Dakota might be next on the list. They do not have a ballot initiative there this year but it would not surprise me if they had one there in two or four years,” says Missouri Farmers Care Operations Manager Dan Kleinsorge. Hehas spent two weeks in North Dakota helping ag groups there work to defeat “Measure 5” which they believe would open the door to strict regulations on livestock agriculture in that state.
“You know,” Kleinsorge tells Brownfield Ag News, “One of the things that HSUS really pushes is that every state should have felony animal cruelty statutes and there are only two states that don’t: North Dakota and South Dakota. North Dakota is working to rectify that on their own.”
Kleinsorge says a broad coalition in North Dakota is working on animal welfare legislation for all animal species that would be threatened if Measure 5 is passed. The HSUS-backed Measure 5, which goes before voters next month, would create a cruelty felony statute for the mistreatment of dogs, cats and horses.
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