04/19/2025
Advocating for rabbits is part of education. Once a year, it is Humane Day at the state capital of Missouri in Jefferson City. Many animal advocates come to speak with their representatives. Having an actual table in the rotunda is limited to just a few organizations. Missouri House Rabbit Rescue has one of those tables by invitation only. We are honored to be one of the groups in the rotunda on Humane Day. We are assigned specific reps to visit to encourage them to vote on legislation that will help animals and reject those that harm animals. Christine Morabito, Dixie Geisler, Nicole Schwer, and Joy Gioia made the trek to Jefferson City on Wednesday to represent rabbits as well as all animals. We spoke with many people advocating for rabbits and animals in Missouri, as well as telling them more about Missouri House Rabbit Rescue and what we do to help rabbits.
If you'd like to read more about the bills currently under consideration that would be bad for animals, please see below. 'tshop
HB325 (BAD)
Legislation regarding the regulation of medical professions by local government should
not include the veterinary profession. All other medical professionals have some form
of state or additional oversight, while the veterinary profession has no meaningful
oversight at the state level or elsewhere. If local control is eliminated, veterinarians
would, in effect, be entirely unregulated.
#1. While other medical professions have accountability, such as the state criminal
code, which prohibits physical abuse of their patients, shockingly, veterinarians are
exempt from the state criminal code for physically abusing or neglecting their
patients—the animals that are under their care. (578.007)
#2 Regrettably, the Veterinary Practices Act does not mandate that the Veterinary
Medical Board investigate complaints of animal abuse or neglect by a veterinarian.
And if there is a decision to investigate such a complaint and there is probable cause to
believe that a violation has occurred, there is still no mandate that such a case be
referred for an administrative hearing. And, if there is a hearing and the Board finds
that the veterinarian abused an animal, the Board is only required to issue a non-public
warning to the veterinarian.
HB489 (BAD)
• Effectively eliminates the current disposition process, which could result in
abused/neglected animals being left in the hands of their abusers until a criminal
trial, which could be a year or longer.
If the animal is abused/neglected, what are the chances of that animal surviving a year or longer
if left with the owner that whole time until a trial occurs?