The Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation believes that society has a responsibility to protect animals from cruelty, abuse, neglect, and inhumane exploitation. The welfare of animals should include:
- responsible care
- proper housing
- nutrition
- disease prevention and treatment
- humane handling and when necessary, humane euthanasia
Additionally, the Alliance expects the authorities to enforce animal protection laws, maintain oversight and public scrutiny of the use of companion animals (dogs and cats). Specifically, the Alliance believes companion animals:
- should be kept by responsible persons
- should be spayed and neutered when not being bred
- should be bred by responsible breeders only
- should not be released or purchased from animal shelters or pounds to be used for animal experimentation or testing
The Alliance also:
- recognizes traditional hunting and fishing activities as regulated by the Missouri Department of Conservation and expects the rules and regulations to be strictly enforced
- believes farm animals should be bred, raised, transported and slaughtered humanely and that the rules and regulations governing these activities should ensure humane treatment
- opposes all blood sports, i.e. dog fighting and cockfighting
- believes stricter regulations are needed for exotic animals as pets including, but not limited to, a ban on breeding, liability insurance requirements and limits on the number of exotic pets
- recognizes that Missouri has the largest concentration of commercial dog breeding facilities (aka puppy mills) in the country and expects that the Missouri Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will strictly enforce the rules and regulations that govern this industry, and enact any necessary changes to the standards to ensure the health and welfare of the dogs.
