Missouri story revives tension between dog breeders and animal advocates

The message in the Tri County Pet Breeders’ newsletter stoked old fears among advocates who protect dogs in Missouri.

The association in southern Missouri had a meeting last fall with Texas County Sheriff James Sigman, it reported.

“Sheriff Sigman assured us that he will contact MPBA (the Missouri Pet Breeders Association) in the future instead of the state whenever they have issues with kennels,” the newsletter said. “It’s great to have someone like Sheriff Sigman on our side.”

Animal advocates such as Amy Cox with the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation reacted to the language as a common concern from the past and remain wary that local law enforcement might sometimes have a “cozy relationship” with breeders.

“I know it exists,” Cox said. “(But) I know it’s better than it used to be.”

Sigman told The Star that he would help dogs at risk to be relocated with other breeders in the area but that any abuse or neglect of dogs would be reported to the Missouri Department of Agriculture.

“I’m not covering things up for anyone,” he said. “The state is always called.”

The county seat of Texas County, Houston, Mo., is about 140 miles south of Columbia.

Animal protection agencies said the newsletter reaffirmed the importance of new state-level powers to initiate and prosecute animal abuse complaints.

The Canine Cruelty Prevention Act of 2011 — compromise legislation after lawmakers repealed the 2010 voter-enacted Proposition B animal protection act — has protected both dogs and responsible breeders, said Bob Baker, executive director of the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation.

“It’s made a dramatic difference,” Baker said.

The state increased the number of inspectors and strengthened its veterinary staff, and the Missouri attorney general’s office can prosecute cases on its own and has an attorney dedicated to animal protection cases, Baker said.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture has links online that people can use to report concerns directly to the state called Operation Bark Alert.

Amanda Kincaid, the author of the newsletter in Texas County, said the breeders association does not want to protect any breeder who is cruel to animals or isn’t properly licensed and isn’t getting animals appropriate veterinary care.

The intent in the message, she said, was to allow opportunities for a good breeder who has encountered a problem caring for his dogs to get help from neighboring breeders and avoid bad publicity that can come when a confirmed complaint becomes a public record and is targeted by an advocacy group like the Humane Society of the United States.

The association has set up a “kennel assistance plan” to help each other care for their animals.

“We’re trying to help people who are doing it the right way,” Kincaid said.

Sigman told The Star he assured the breeders that he would be willing to help ensure that dogs that need to be relocated are placed in local kennels rather than taken by “some outside agency,” he said.

“If they interpreted that to say I’m going to sidestep (a state investigation), that’s not true,” he said. “I’m not going to sidestep anyone.”

The idea of breeders helping breeders in trouble can be good, said John Goodwin with the Humane Society of the United States, but not to the point of covering over necessary investigations.

“Neighbors should help neighbors, but don’t wait until the point you should be calling law enforcement,” he said.

The state lists 809 licensed breeders in Missouri, which Baker said is down from around 2,000 before the stiffer regulations were put in place.

The breeders who were “after quick money” have departed now that requirements for regular veterinary visits and other measures are in place, he said. That’s been good not just for the dogs, he said, but for the responsible breeders who remain.

This story was originally published May 13, 2016 at 1:42 PM with the headline "Missouri story revives tension between dog breeders and animal advocates."