I'm not much for regulating how nice we are to the animals, making it somehow less guiltifying to consume eggs or such, but I don't mind banning certain practices entirely. It's like chipping away at an institution until there's nothing left. So it's great to see that the voters of Arizona passed Proposition 204 - banning veal crates and gestation crates for pregnant pigs - with 62 percent of the vote. That's a very solid and supportive number.
That number was even higher in Michigan, where 69 percent of voters shot down Proposal 3, which would have opened the first target shooting season on the mourning dove, which has been a protected species since 1905. Ironically, hunting groups like the National Rifle Association (headquartered in Virginia), the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance (Ohio) and the Safari Club International (Arizona), all of which poured money into supporting the proposal, were attempting to legalize killing the state's official bird of peace. Voters in all 83 counties rejected that proposal, telling the bloodthirsty what they can do with their guns. In fact, Prop 3 received more votes than any statewide candidate!
Thank you to all the animal-friendly voters out there who went on record yesterday to oppose violence toward both human and non-human animals, as this election clearly demonstrated.
Labels: animal law
