WOOSTER, Ohio — The agreement reached this summer between Ohio’s agriculture leaders, Gov. Ted Strickland and the Humane Society of the United States on the care of livestock still stands — at least according to the three main parties who formed it.
Ohio Governor-elect John Kasich was not part of the agreement, and has not yet announced his decision on its proposals. He is still putting together his administration and won’t take office until January.
Moving forward
But the parties in power say they are moving forward with what they agreed to do, some of which has a deadline of Dec. 31.
“Our commitment to the agreement wasn’t effected by the election,” said Joe Cornely, senior director of communications for Ohio Farm Bureau Federation.
He said Kasich’s stance is not yet known, and is something that will be up to him and his new staff.
“The agreement was a three-party deal and how Governor Kasich will choose to view the agreement, we have no idea,” Cornely said. “That will be entirely a question for his administration.”
Filling commitments
Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS, spoke about the agreement during a news conference at the statehouse Oct. 26. He called upon Strickland to enact legislation prohibiting the ownership of exotic animals in Ohio — one of the provisions in the agreement.
Pacelle said he didn’t expect action to come until after elections, after which he anticipated the governor will act on his promise.
He said any part of the agreement not fulfilled will break the agreement, and potentially bring about a farm animal ballot initiative — something the agreement was designed to prevent.
“We stated when the agreement was announced in this building that we wanted to see all of these reforms advanced by the end of the year,” he said. “And if they were, then we would not proceed with a farm animal welfare ballot measure.”
Decision to come
Strickland’s press secretary, Amanda Wurst, said the governor’s administration “will continue moving forward on every aspect of the agreement.”
Per the exotic animals, she said “the governor has said he is committed to ensuring rules are in place by the end of the year on the exotic (issue),” which could come in the form of an executive order.
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Then it may be time for the people to initiate their own initiative….to tell HSUS again to get out of town. To have a “supposedly” a chairty organiztion who is a Utopian Vegan Animal Rights Social Movement to tell our government officials what to do, really is a head scratcher.
Farmer – Go ahead and resist reforming yourselves and we’ll just stop buying your products all together. You think you can remain in the stone age regarding your treatment of animals and we’ll still continue to buy your products? Guess again. We can go vegan or buy meat at places like Fulton Farm in Nebraska, fully endorsed by HSUS. Fulton’s is organic and humane.
No attack. And we won’t starve. We’ll just buy meat from humane farmers or live on vegetables. It’ consumer rights not emotionalism. The emotional person is the one using tons of exclamation points and caps in their post.
No you increase the cost of meat and dairy products, so people can’t afford them. If you don’t like how we do business in Ohio, move out, that is if you even live in Ohio. Go ahead and buy your meat from someone else, wait your a vegan, so your not a customer anyway.
So now exactly how is a Vegan a customer of Ohio’s Meat industry?
Why should Ohio’s meat industry care about the opinions of people that don’t eat meat?
There are already options in place for people to choose what they want to purchase in stores around the state. When you go by the supply and demand methods- you will see that while many people claim to want organic or any other type of food that they deem “humanely raised” – the stores can tell you different. Call a few major supermarkets in Ohio: Meijer, Kroger, Walmart, etc and find out wht percentages of sales are for those types of items…you’ll find, as I did that while people profess to wanting those items that the stores end up losing money on carrying many of those items. They end up reducing the price to sell the items before they go bad – and in many cases tht is still not enough and the store ends up throwing the items out.
I think we in Ohio need to stand up and say to HSUS ‘bring it on!’ How long will we live under the blackmail of the ballot initiative? If they get it to pass, we will be no worse of than we are now.
It is WRONG to ban all exotics! If they are kept in sanctuary situations, facilities inspected, proper care provided, there is nothing wrong with having exotics.
And exactly what IS an exotic? Anything not native to Ohio? Does that include parrots and other birds? Reptiles that aren’t even harmful? What exactly does that include?
What happens when HSUS requests Ohioans to become vegans or they will go forward with their initiative? I say we tell HSUS to put that initiative where the sun don’t shine! Who gave them the power to rule over Ohioans?
I pray that Kasich gives HSUS the boot!
SPEAK FOR YOUR SELF !!!!!!
OK, so Farm Bureau and HSUS are unmoved from Strickland’s position.
Why can’t Farm Bureau at least make the statement:
“Our position is unchanged, but we will support the ultimate decision of the OLCSB once they complete their deliberative process.”
Isn’t that what the voters of Ohio asked for a year ago?
@FFA’73 – Ohio Farm Bureau Executive Vice President Jack Fisher provided public comment at a meeting of the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board shortly after the agreement, during which he submitted the recommendations it contains.
During the same comment period, Fisher also told the board “A recommendation is just that. No more, no less.”
Farm groups are also adamant that the Livestock Care Standards Board should keep its authority to determine animal care policy, as called for by Ohio voters.
Ohio Farm Bureau also believes it is important to allow others to continue to offer ideas for consideration.
“Citizen input must be allowed and the privilege protected,” Fisher told the board.
These quotes and more about Ohio Farm Bureau’s position can be found in the article at: http://ofbf.org/news-and-events/news/821/
I hope Mr. Fisher’s comments, and the position of Ohio Farm Bureau outlined in the link above help address the questions/concerns in your previous comment.
The problem is that we voted and passed Issue 2 – to start the Livestock Cares Board – to keep HSUS out of any dealings in our state. So at what point in time did it become acceptable for the board to go behind the backs of the voters and start a relationship with HSUS. It is almost like HSUS threw down the gauntlet, and we accepted – only to have them take it back and decide to come on in and speak their minds about how Ohio should run it’s agriculture. Why is that?
Why is that? Because government doesn’t listen to ‘we the people’. We the people voted to keep HSUS out. Government decided they knew what was better for us and let them in. If we would be careful with who we vote in and learn what their platform really means to us, we would be way ahead of the game. So glad Strickland will soon be gone. I hope he got the ‘message’.
The far majority of Ohio farmers practice humane animal husbandry. People in cities have zero knowledge about animal husbandry, and the HSUS draws on the emotional appeal of expecting farm animals to be treated like the pets in our homes. They think cows and pigs should live in a Disney movie setting. Stupid. I even question the videos that show abuse because these videographers can so easily stage them. And the fact that they wait a month before saying anything makes them accomplices and further raises the question as to whether they were staged. It only takes two, a paid abuser and apaid videographer to make those movies. Note that the one with the cows poked by pitchforks had NO BLOOD. Calves housed together suck each others’ navels causing horrendous injury. They also lick each other a lot and end up getting huge hairballs. Neither of these sounds humane to me. Farmers practice animal husbandry based on the need to produce safe and healthy meat and keep the animal comfortable for its lifetime. There is no profit in abusing or neglecting animals. Cage-free hens lay eggs on contaminated soil, in chicken manure, and on soil that has probably seen its share of chemicals. Studies prove that eggs laid by cage-free hens are more dangerous than those laid in the coops. We have a ton of people lately that get on their soap-boxes and have NO KNOWLEDGE of the subject. How many farms have you visited? How many farmers do you know? Keep pushing the AR agenda and there will be no meat, no eggs, no milk, and there WILL be wide-spread starvation. The vegan life-style is not health, per a lot of doctors. The supplementation required to maintain it is as inorganic as you can get. Children raised on vegan diets are not healthy, they need the enzymes and other valuable components of animal products to thrive. I know people that raise their dogs, who are opportunistic carnivores, on vegan diets. Ludicrous!
Animal agriculture is THE ONLY INDUSTRY that wants its consumers to have NO say about the product they are selling but expect us to SHUT UP and buy it anyway. Bill Clinton- the former leader of the free world is vegan, Russell Simmons – the king of hip-hop is vegan, Steve Wynn – the king of Las Vegas is vegan, Ellen Degeneres – queen of television is vegan. We don’t need your product and a lot of influential people say so. Better start listening to your customer or you won’t have any. We want the EXTREME CONFINEMENT of farm animals to end (just as Temple Grandin does and she has a degree in animal science). And humanely euthanize them which doesn’t include hanging!
So what’s your point? Do you want me to list all the influential people that eat meat and animal products? Bill Clinton – yeah, he ate all the meat he wanted for his entire lifetime, now he is old and turns vegan? Give me a break. Here’s what I so dislike about you vegans. I am perfectly content to let you eat that style if that is what you want. Vegan, vegetarian, I could care LESS what YOU eat. How dare you people dictate to me what WE must eat! Who gave you that right? NO ONE! I’m done here, can’t argue with anyone with a closed mind.
GET EDUCATED!!! If you want YOUR animal products from farms that raise them how YOU want, based on YOUR emotional viewpoint-YOU have EVERY right to PURCHASE that food…However, YOU DO NOT-I repeat-DO NOT have ANY right to force your emotional-based ideals on the rest of us!!!! The thought that YOU (and others that think like you) have the right to tell other people how to live is PURE COMMUNISM. You need to move to a communistic country if you feel that it is OK to impose on others’ rights of freedom..
There’s a ballot initiative to outlaw meat eating? Nobody told me about that one.
Here’s an example of emotional – “They are going to take all our meat and pets away”!!!!!!”
And I’m seeing people everywhere now in the suburbs who have chickens running around in their yard. So, OK, we’ll raise them they way we want while you go out of business for being the only industry who doesn’t listen to its customers.
Dont tell us how to live and we wont tell you how to live-that includes raising animals and eating whatever type of food we want. Hopefully you got the point…One last thing-dont worry about OUR businesses…we KNOW what our customers want, and, contrary to YOUR perception, it is NOT the same as yours. You will find farms that raise food like YOU want-just be prepared to pay the price. Perhaps in the future you will learn that not everyone has the same opinion as yours, and learn to tolerate that fact and let them live as they see fit without making rude comments about their lifestyle.
I didn’t Know we were trying to outlaw meat either. I think if you want to know what communism is you should move to a communist country.
To Sick of Farmers’ Attitudes: They don’t have to come collect all the animals, and they don’t have to outright ban them either. They are passing new regulations that make it impossible for farmers and breeders/commercial kennels to comply due to the huge cost of installing the changes. They pass limit laws for how many pets you can have in your home, and now how many dogs a breeder can have. Little by little, they whittle away until they just give up and close down. PA had many commercial kennels that closed, MO will now follow. Small home breeders have a list of people waiting for puppies and those homes are hand-picked and usually are show homes, homes where the dogs will compete in a dog venue, or owners that have previously owned that breeder’s puppies. Mandatory spay/neuter is spreading. Breed-specific legislation causes thousands of GOOD dogs to be killed. The ‘ability’ to breed or own dogs due to costs, licenses, regulations etc. is what is being attacked and it is working, unfortunately. Farmers will give up and close down. Those lands will sell to developments and will never be available for farming again. I have been following these issues for at least 10 years, and the agenda for the animal rights fanatics is clearly set and can be found on the HSUS site. The abolishment of all animal ownership and use is the ultimate goal, a very public goal. How will we feed this nation, let alone large parts of the world? Where will our next dogs come from? Will they only be available to the very rich (supply & demand)? WHY must we give in to this horrible agenda? What RIGHT do the ARs have to force their wills on all people? WHY do animal owners no longer have constitutional rights? As for puppy mills, before you bring that up, the standard of care is what is important, not ‘numbers’ of dogs. Writing new laws will do NOTHING to reduce abuse and negligence without the inspection and enforcement. If they could fund inspection and enforcement, there would be NO abuse and cruelty in commercial dog kennels or in the rare cases of farms. If we continue down this path, in 10 years dogs and cats as pets will be very rare, a luxury for the rich. Meat prices will force families to give it up because they won’t be able to afford it. Another luxury for the very rich. This insanity needs to stop!
From the meat and diary news – http://www.meattradenewsdaily.co.uk, Ohio HSUS Director “The initiative aims to amend the state’s constitution, but would not prevent the board from doing its work, according to campaign manager Karen Minton, state director for the Humane Society of the United States”.
Later she says, “The only way for us to give this board minimum standards to work from is to go into the constitution and amend it.”
If HSUS is willing to hijack the board by ballot measures, which they sued the state so they could get signatures, what makes you think they wouldn’t stop all animal ownership.
Clevandland newspaper says, “Phasing out exotic-animal ownership is one of the goals of a June agreement between Gov. Ted Strickland, the Humane Society of the United States and the Ohio Farm Bureau.”
Why? Because there have been 4 deaths in the last 13 years by exotic animals makes them a public danger? We have had more deaths due to dogs in this state in the last 13 years.
It is all about chipping away our freedoms, taking our animals, and making us vegans. If HSUS was truly concerned about the animal’s welfare, they would work with USDA who regulates Exotic Animals and Most Farm Animals along with State Dept of Ag’s who do regulate. That’s why we created the Board in 2009.
I think that the Ohio Farmers shouldn’t renew their dues. As they just keep on making Back Room Deals, and selling out the Farmer in this state Its sad to thing that, The Ohio Farm Bureau would take the side of a out of state animal right groups And not the side of OHIO FARMERS Is Ohio The Next CA.AZ.CO.MI FL ?? All animal owners need to stand up and fight for their rights The Farm Bureau just keeps on selling us down the river When will it stop? Why give your money to Ohio Farm Bureau. Just send it to HSUS I am not sure both maybe the same They both sell out animal owners in Ohio Other Farm Bureaus stand up to the Animal Rights Groups Not OHIO”S !!!
Thats what I have said all along but the Keith Stimpert Of the Ohio Farm Bureau said Keep the Customer happy the Heck with the Farmer Keep them Vegans HAPPY I have One Question Is it OFBF/HSUS or is it HSUS/OFBF
Hey “sick of farmers attitude” I’m not a farmer, but I can tell you need a tutorial on real farming. Every farmer I know, isn’t in it for the money, the do out of love and respect for the land and animals.
Every abuse case has happened at corporate farms that are pushing the family farm out of business. Corporate farms exist because of the average consumer wants cheap food without any concern for quality or animal welfare. If you want to see real farming, I can show you many fine examples. But don’t wait to long, they will be extinct in just a few short years.
If you check the internet – you guys have been saying meat eating and animals will be extinct any minute. Years later millions of unwanted dog and cats are being euthanized and you can get a double cheese burger at McD’s for a buck.
And the HSUS continues to spend millions on campaign ads and commercials instead of building kennels that these dogs and cats can be kept in longer and more attempts can be made to find them homes. Yes, they do spend millions of dollars to go after the puppy mills that produce pure breeds that get sold, but these are not the dogs that end up getting euthanized. It is the mutts that get euthanized for the most part.
As for the dollar burger at Mcdonalds, is it not great that we live in a country where free markets exist and people are allowed to make their own personal choices on what they put in their bodies. It is also really cool that in this country I can choose how to run my business with minimal interferance from the government. I can even decide to sell my product to a target group, like say I sell beef, I can target my sales towards them and not vegans. If I want to breed and sell exotic snakes, I can in areas of the country that have politicians that have not caved in to small interest groups.
For some reason small interests keep trying to come in and change this country and create more laws and bills. I personnally think government needs to work on getting rid of 90% of the laws and bills created over the last 100 years. Then maybe we could be the greatest country in the world again.