Historic Ohio Animal Laws

This week, the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) announced that it had reached a series of agreements dramatically increasing animal welfare laws by working with Ohioans for Humane Farms, state agriculture leaders, and Ohio Governor Ted Strickland. The landmark resolutions include phasing out extreme confinement systems for breeding pigs and veal calves, an immediate moratorium on battery cage construction, a ban on downer cows being sent to slaughter, and establishing felonious penalties for cockfighting. Additionally, gestation crates will be banned after December 21, 2010, and the new agreement suspends a scheduled factory farming initiative slated for an upcoming ballot.