Wednesday, February 08, 2012

East coast group ranks South Dakota least humane state

The Humane Society of the United States considers South Dakota the least humane state in the nation, partly because the state does not have a number of recommended farming restrictions. Farmers in the state say the idea that a Washington, D.C., group can legislate good ranching practices is absurd. "I think there are a lot of misinformed people that have never seen a cow and they have no idea," said Carl Sanders, a 34-year-old rancher from near Hot Springs. "They come up with all these grandiose ideas of what they think it should be." The state meets just eight standards on a 66-item list of humane animal policies released by the Humane Society of the United States, which ranked South Dakota 51st among the states and Washington D.C. in 2011. Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota are also among the bottom 10. North Dakota meets 13 standards and Montana and Wyoming each met 19. Nebraska meets 29 standards and Minnesota meets 24. Even though South Dakota does not meet the national humane society's standards, the state still considers itself animal-friendly, especially with farming and ranching policies, said state veterinarian Dustin Oedekoven. "Although our state law may not align with a national humane organization's legislative agenda, it works very well for South Dakota," he said. The Humane Society of the United States' checklist includes a dozen recommended animal-fighting restrictions, a half dozen animal-cruelty penalties, 18 hunting, trapping and sale restrictions and seven farm animal restrictions. The list also includes rules for horse protection, dog breeding, exotic pet ownership and animal research...more

Other rankings:
Colo        6
Arizona 19
NM      25
Tex       25
Okla    29
Nev     30
Utah    38

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