Victory in The House:Exotic Bill Passes!

With a vote of 145-9, HCS HB 426 was passed by the Missouri House of
Representatives on Thursday, April 23, 2009. The bill has been reported to the
Senate for consideration.

The sponsor of the bill, Representative Mike Sutherland (R-99), has long
championed a reasonable registration system for exotics, and last week he
succeeded in getting his proposal passed by the House. The bill would have
the Department of Agriculture and its designated veterinarians regulate the
ownership, transportation, and treatment of these animals. Owners would be
required to provide an ID for their animals and to carry liability
insurance.

"Passage of the exotic bill by an overwhelming majority of the House is
such a meaningful victory for animal welfare advocates in Missouri," stated
Julie Leicht, Alliance executive director. "The Alliance appreciates the
dedication and hard work of Rep. Sutherland who skillfully maneuvered the
bill through the House. A special thank you to our animal welfare friends who
contacted their representatives in support of this legislation," commented
Leicht.

The roll call vote for HCS HB 426 is listed below. Please note how your
representative voted and thank him/her for their support. For more
information on this bill or other animal welfare bills introduced, visit
www.maal.org.

On motion of Representative Sutherland, HCS HB 426 was read the third time
and passed by the following vote:

AYES: 145
Allen
Atkins
Aull
Biermann
Bivins
Brandom
Bringer
Brown 30
Brown 50
Brown 73
Brown 149
Bruns
Burnett
Calloway
Carter
Casey
Chappelle-Nadal
Colona
Cooper
Corcoran
Cox
Cunningham
Davis
Day
Deeken
Denison
Dethrow
Dieckhaus
Dixon
Dougherty
Dugger
Dusenberg
El-Amin
Emery
Englund
Ervin
Faith
Fallert
Fischer 107
Fisher 125
Flanigan
Flook
Frame
Franz
Funderburk
Gatschenberger
Grill
Guernsey
Guest
Harris
Hodges
Holsman
Hoskins 80
Hoskins 121
Hughes
Hummel
Icet
Jones 63
Jones 89
Jones 117
Kander
Keeney
Kelly
Kingery
Kirkton
Koenig
Komo
Kratky
Kraus
Kuessner
Lair
Largent
Leara
LeBlanc
LeVota
Liese
Lipke
Loehner
Low
McClanahan
McDonald
McGhee
McNary
McNeil
Meadows
Meiners
Morris
Nance
Nasheed
Nieves
Nolte
Norr
Oxford
Pace
Parkinson
Parson
Pratt
Quinn
Roorda
Rucker
Ruestman
Ruzicka
Salva
Sander
Sater
Scavuzzo
Schaaf
Schad
Scharnhorst
Schieffer
Schlottach
Schoemehl
Schupp
Shively
Silvey
Skaggs
Smith 14
Stevenson
Still
Storch
Stream
Sutherland
Swinger
Talboy
Thomson
Tilley
Todd
Tracy
Vogt
Walsh
Walton Gray
Wasson
Webber
Wells
Weter
Wildberger
Wilson 130
Witte
Wood
Wright
Yaeger
Yates
Zerr
Zimmerman
Mr Speaker

NOES: 009
Burlison
Molendorp
Munzlinger
Pollock
Schoeller
Self
Smith 150
Viebrock
Wilson 119

PRESENT: 000

ABSENT WITH LEAVE: 009
Curls
Diehl
Grisamore
Hobbs
Lampe