Missouri HB1513 and Representative Ward Franz: “The rights of animal owners are clearly under attack by groups like HSUS and PETA”

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– Gameness til the End

West Plains State Rep.: Allow Animals No More Rights Than Humans In Missouri

by Gene Hartley
newsalerts@ky3.com
4:33 p.m. CST, January 25, 2012

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. – A state representative from Howell County wants to prohibit animals in Missouri from having no more rights than a person. Rep. Ward Franz, R-West Plains, filed a bill on Wednesday that he hopes the Legislature and the governor will adopt.

“The rights of animal owners are clearly under attack by groups like HSUS and PETA,” said

Rep. Ward Franz. “The tactics used to trick voters during Prop. B are still being used in their new ballot initiative Your Vote Counts. My hope is that this bill will stop these attempts to undermine our rights to own and raise animals once and for all.”

The bill would prevent an animal from having “any right, privilege or legal status that is equal to or greater than any right, privilege or legal status of a human being,” Franz said.

He says it also would uphold laws that protect the welfare of animals in Missouri.

HB 1513

Prohibits any state law from providing an animal a right, privilege, or legal status that is equivalent to or exceeds those of a human being

Sponsor:	Franz, Ward (151)
Co-Sponsor:	Loehner, Tom (112) … et al.
Proposed Effective Date:	8/28/2012
LR Number:	4940H.01P
Last Action:	3/08/2012 – Reported to the Senate and First Read (S)
Bill String:	HB 1513
Next Hearing:	Hearing not scheduled
Calendar:	Bill currently not on a House calendar

Bill Summaries

Summary of the Perfected Version of the Bill

HB 1513 — ANIMAL RIGHTS (Franz)

COMMITTEE OF ORIGIN: Committee on General Laws

This bill prohibits any state law from providing an animal a
right, privilege, or legal status that is equivalent to or
exceeds those of a human being.

FISCAL NOTE: No impact on state funds in FY 2013, FY 2014, and
FY 2015.

Bill Text

SECOND REGULAR SESSION
[PERFECTED]
HOUSE BILL NO. 1513
96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES FRANZ (Sponsor), LOEHNER AND SCHAD (Co-sponsors).
D. ADAM CRUMBLISS, Chief Clerk

AN ACT

To amend chapter 1, RSMo, by adding thereto one new section relating to animal rights.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:

Section A.

Chapter 1, RSMo, is amended by adding thereto one new section, to be known as section 1.195, to read as follows:

1.195. The laws of this state shall not confer upon any animal a right, privilege, or legal status that is equivalent or that exceeds a right, privilege, or legal status as that which this state confers by law upon a human being. This provision shall not be construed as limiting laws that protect the welfare of animals in the state.

Missouri bill would limit scope of animal rights

John Maday, Managing Editor, Drovers CattleNetwork
Updated: March 9, 2012

Missouri state representative Ward Franz has introduced a bill, HB 1513, that would prevent future legislation granting rights to animals similar to those for humans. Specifically, the proposed bill states:

“The laws of this state shall not confer upon any animal a right, privilege, or legal status that is equivalent or that exceeds a right, privilege, or legal status as that which this state confers by law upon a human being. This provision shall not be construed as limiting laws that protect the welfare of animals in the state.”

In an interview on AgriTalk radio this week, Franz says the idea came about after he watched outside animal-rights organizations coming into the state trying to impose their will on Missouri’s people and businesses. In particular, he cites the case of “Proposition B,” the Missouri ballot initiative to regulate dog breeders that passed in November 2010 with aggressive support from the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).

Franz also cites the lawsuit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) filed against SeaWorld in San Diego, claiming that orca whales at the facility should be protected by the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that bans slavery and involuntary servitude. A U.S. district judge threw out that case, but Franz believes it is conceivable that groups could file suits against farmers or pursue legislation granting human-like rights to livestock, leading to claims that livestock are unjustly detained on farms.

Franz says he wants to be proactive in protecting the number-one revenue producer in Missouri, which is agriculture. “With the climate in our country,” he says, “it’s getting kind of scary for people who put their careers on the line trying to make a living in agriculture.

Franz also stresses that the bill would not weaken any existing animal-welfare laws, encourage or allow abuse of animals.

While he believes proactive legislation of this type is necessary, Franz acknowledges these issues sometimes seem to push the limits of reality. “It’s ridiculous that we have to be at this point. Growing up on the farm and raising cattle like we were, I never dreamed we would have to have a discussion on (whether) animals have equal or more rights as a human.”

Franz says he has received positive support for the bill, both within the Missouri legislature and from around the state and country. He expects it to move smoothly through the state House and Senate, although animal-rights proponents have begun mounting some opposition.

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