Animals won at the polls as Arizona voters defeated Prop 105 by a landslide margin of 66% - 34%.  Prop 105 was the most dangerous threat yet to our citizen initiative process which is our best device for protecting animals, enabling Arizonans to pass laws that have banned traps and poisons on public lands, cockfighting, and the confinement of pregnant pigs and calves raised for veal.  Had Prop 105 been in place, none of these initiatives would have passed. The tobacco, fast-food, and alcohol industries that placed this deceptive measure on the ballot underestimated Arizonans who recognize how sacred our voting rights are and refuse to give up that power granted by our state’s founders. Thanks to all the ADLA volunteers and The Voters of Arizona Coalition for their efforts to defeat Prop 105!

And voters in South Tucson passed Prop 401, the Tucson Dog Protection Act which bans some of the cruelest abuses of the racing greyhound industry. Prop 401 requires that dogs be let out of their crates for six hours a day (currently dogs are caged up to 23 hours daily); bans feeding dogs raw 4 D meat (from dead, dying, or diseased animals), and outlaws the use of anabolic steroids.  For more information visit the Tucson Dog Protection website for today’s Arizona Daily Star article click here .  Thanks to all the volunteers that worked tirelessly to pass this important measure!  You can read a message from Prop 401 volunteer Jamie Massey on the ADLA Blog, as well as post comments.

There were more victories for animals at the national level. California voters passed Prop 2 by a landslide margin, which follows Arizona in banning the cruel confinement of pregnant pigs and calves raised for veal. Prop 2 also outlaws battery cages for hens, an historic victory for farm animals.  And in Massachusetts voters passed a measure to ban greyhound racing despite heavy opposition from dog tracks. For more information on the plight of racing dogs visit Greyhound Network News.