From: "HumaneLines"

Issue 320 --- November 3, 2004
A Project of The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals
http://www.humanelines.org/

ELECTION DAY A MIXED BAG FOR ANIMALS:
November 2 provided few victories for animals. However, we can take heart in the few significant gains for animals, including the defeat of pro-cockfighting legislator Chris John in Louisiana, as well as the defeat of U.S. Rep. Charles Stenholm, who used his position as the ranking Democrat on the House Agriculture Committee to repeatedly sabotage important animal protection measures, including the Downed Animal Protection Act.

On the ballot measures, the best results came from Arizona and Florida. In Arizona, voters rejected Proposition 104, which would have made it more difficult to place citizen initiatives on the ballot. At press time, animal advocates are hoping Florida’s Amendment 4, a measure to provide massive new revenue for the greyhound racing industry by allowing slot machines at the tracks, will fail. Wealthy greyhound track owners and other gambling interests spent in excess of $20 million in an attempt to pass the measure. The measure is now too close to call, with absentee and provisional ballots still being counted. If the measure does fail, animal activists will have made the difference and denied the greyhound industry hundreds of millions in new revenue. Florida has one third of the nation’s greyhound tracks, and the passage of this measure would make it very difficult indeed to outlaw greyhound racing in the future.

In the meantime, activists are regrouping and rallying their forces in Alaska where a ballot measure to ban bear trapping failed and in Maine where a measure to ban trapping, baiting and hounding of bears was defeated. In both situations, public opinion was influenced against the animals by massive propaganda campaigns led by hunting and gun groups, who outspent animal advocates by a margin of 2 to 1 in Maine and a margin of 8 to 1 in Alaska.

A quick wrap-up of the results of state ballot measures is listed below:

Alaska
Ballot Measure 3, to outlaw cruel bear baiting (urged "yes" vote) - LOSS, 41.46 to 58.54

Ballot Measure 1, to make it harder to place citizen initiatives on the ballot (urged "no" vote) - LOSS, 51.27 to 48.73

Arizona
Proposition 101, to require any voter-approved measure that expends state funds to provide its own special funding source (urged "no" vote) - LOSS, 54.9 to 45.1

Proposition 104, to make it much more difficult to gather signatures for citizen initiatives (urged "no" vote) - WIN, 31.8 to 68.2

California
Proposition 64, to stop citizens from being able to challenge unfair business practices--including those that might harm animals (urged "no" vote) - LOSS, 58.9 to 41.1

Florida
Amendment 2, to make it much harder for activists to collect signatures to place a measure on the ballot (urged "no" vote) - LOSS, 68.3 to 31.7

Amendment 4, to allow slot machines at greyhound racing tracks (urged "no" vote) – Tentative WIN, but recount in effect

Maine
Question 2, to ban baiting, hounding and trapping to kill bears (urged "yes" vote) - LOSS, 47 to 53

Montana
C-41, to make hunting, fishing and trapping a constitutional right (urged "no" vote) - LOSS, 80.64 to 19.36