January 19, 2001


Governor Bob Holden
P.O. Box 720
Jefferson City, MO 65101



Dear Governor Holden,

This past March I wrote your predecessor, the late Governor Carnahan, (see-enclosed) regarding the lack of enforcement of the Animal Care Facilities Act (ACFA) by the Missouri Department of Agriculture (MDA). Since passage and implementation of ACFA I have visited numerous federally and state licensed facilities that failed to meet the minimum standards of care. I have assisted local, regional and national media to expose the horrible conditions in which breeding animals are housed to satiate the demand for puppies in pet stores throughout the United States and abroad. Public sentiment is increasingly insisting that animal protection laws be enforced and even strengthened.

I urge you to utilize the authority which you wield as Governor of the State of Missouri to dismiss officials with the Missouri Department of Agriculture who have flagrantly ignored their responsibility to enforce state laws. Their demeanor clearly reflects protecting interests of the commercial pet production industry rather than the health and well being of animals in their care. Dr. John Hunt and other MDA officials have consistently defended colleagues with direct ties to commercial kennels. By appointing these individuals to inspection and management positions in the ACFA Program Dr. Hunt has lost any semblance of credibility he may have previously enjoyed. The assertion that those directly associated with the industry are best qualified clearly demonstrates an industry-tilted bias within MDA and therefore unpalatable to a majority of the constituents of this state.

As your term in office has just recently commenced I shall anxiously and optimistically watch for positive developments with regulatory officials at MDA in the near future. Please feel free to contact me for additional information or background regarding MDA, ACFA and federal enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act.

Respectfully,



Marshall G. Smith
Director of Investigations
(573) 636-9291

Letter to Mel Carnahan