Political Animals: What's on the Ballot Tuesday for Animals

Come Tuesday, it'll be over — the election, that is. Millions upon millions of dollars have been spent, the various candidates have more or less effectively demonized their opponents, and the pundits are on standby to rub their hands together and chortle about how they were right all along. (Regardless of whether they actually were, of course.)

But, it's crucial to remember that this is about a whole lot more than tallying up the political score at the end of the day. It's about the kind of policy you want and the kind of country you want us to be. It's about taking advantage of the opportunity to show, with your vote, that you're committed to lasting, positive social change.

How we treat the species we share the planet with is a part of who we are. And, sometimes, we give them a pretty raw deal. Here's where you can spot the change on your ballot next Tuesday, November 2nd:

Missouri: "Prop B" will put puppy mills out of business (Vote: Yes)

The Humane Society of the United States will tell you that Missouri is the number-one puppy producer and exporter in the United States (HSUS estimates that over two-thirds of pet store dogs for sale in New York City come from Missouri, for example). Too many of those dogs are coming out of "puppy mills," where the push for profit means that dogs are treated like factory machinery. Sanitary conditions are appalling, negligence is the rule, and human interaction is virtually non-existent. Proposition B would require that breeders treat their dogs in a humane way, and hopefully force the unscrupulous puppy mill barons out of business, while allowing responsible and humane breeders to continue operating.

Opposing the measure (and spending quite a bit of money to do so) are various agribusiness interests and faded conservative icon "Joe the Plumber." On the side of the good guys, you have the HSUS, state and local animal protection groups, and (we hope) more than 50 percent of the voters, not to mention St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa. If you live in the Show-Me State, this is a no-brainer.

Various States: Hunting and fishing as a constitutional right (Vote: No)

The states of Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina and Tennessee are all letting the voters decide whether the right to hunt and fish should be enshrined in the states' constitutions. Ten states have similar protections in their constitutions; only one, Vermont's, is more than 15 years old.

Depending on who you ask, the constitutional right to hunt and fish is either a solution in search of a problem, or a really big potential problem for wildlife protection advocates. Some experts suggest that to pass this kind of constitutional amendment will give the more radical pro-hunting elements a leg up in litigation and the ability to take any change to hunting laws (or possibly even minor changes to length of hunting seasons or quotas) to court, while hampering the ability of wildlife advocates to protect animals.

North Dakota: Canned hunting could get canned (Vote: Yes)

This issue has been fairly quiet outside of North Dakota, but responsible hunters and others, including the Humane Society Legislative Fund, are fighting to put an end to "canned hunting," the process of raising more-or-less tame deer and elk and keeping them fenced in to make them easier to hunt.

What's especially interesting about this ballot initiative to ban canned hunts is that it's being spearheaded and supported by hunters, including one very famous name: Theodore Roosevelt, IV, who penned an op-ed recently. We can, and do, argue back and forth about the morality of hunting in general, but can't we at least get on the same page and say that fencing the game in so it's easier to kill them is bad?

In your neighborhood: Go vote

The final, and perhaps most important, animal/political issue to watch is your own elected officials. Before you cast a vote, make sure you're comfortable with where your politicians stand on the issues. If you're talking about Congress, a good place to start is with the Humane Society Legislative Fund scorecard, which will give you a snapshot of where your federal elected officials stand. With issues like the "PUPS" Act and a crush video ban on the radar, Congress is going to play a big role in animal policy in coming months.

If you want the kind of lasting social change that we all say we do, it starts by electing representation who are ready to create that change. And, it's about more than just animal policy. Good animal policy is good people policy, too.

Now, go vote.

Photo credit: Florian