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Dogs Could Be Classified as Livestock

Des Moines, May 9, 2006 - Dairy, poultry, grains all common farm products in Iowa. Now a new controversial product could be added to the list.

Is your family pet about to become classified as livestock? Iowa dog breeders want to add puppies to the list of farm products. The measure passed through the legislature this past session. Governor Vilsack has yet to sign the bill. Animal rights groups are doing what they can to talk him out.

Say the word livestock and cows and pigs are what most people think of, but soon dogs could be considered livestock. Legislation on the governor’s desk would put cattle and canines in the same category. “Dogs should not be raised as hogs in the state of Iowa and should not be considered livestock,” said Tom Colvin of the Animal Rescue League is an outspoken critic of reclassifying dogs as “farm products”. If that happens he’s worried that dogs being bred won’t be as protected since abuse and cruelty laws for animals classified as livestock aren’t as strict.

(Read this article …)