Measure Seeks to Thwart Possible Humane Society Campaign

Ohio voters will cast ballots Tuesday on whether to create a state livestock care board -- a proposal backed by major agricultural groups -- to define animal care standards in the state. The Ohio constitutional amendment Issue 2 will be watched closely by all sides of the animal rights debate, considering that it was backed by Ohio farmer groups as a pre-emptive attempt to head off the Humane Society of the United States. With a simple majority passage, Issue 2 would create a 13-member Livestock Care Standards board specifically to define animal-care standards in the state. The state Department of Agriculture would implement those standards. Unlike Humane Society-backed ballot measures in states such as Arizona and California that won large voter support, Issue 2 does not ban or target any specific livestock practices such as sow gestation crates...read more