Dear Friends,

Over the past several months, I've been inspired by the outpouring of support for the Ohioans for Humane Farms ballot measure to curb some of the most abusive practices on the state's factory farms. Hundreds of you have sacrificed your time and energy to gather signatures for the campaign. Many of our friends in the animal welfare, food safety, family farming, farm worker, faith, and environmental communities have endorsed the campaign.

I'm pleased to let you know that because of your determined efforts in gathering hundreds of thousands of signatures, it became clear to all concerned parties that we were likely to qualify for the ballot. As a result, Gov. Ted Strickland's office approached me about implementing a broad array of animal welfare reforms in the state in exchange for us holding off on submitting our ballot measure for 2010. (Signatures do not expire in Ohio, so if the agreement is not honored, the signatures we've collected remain valid and a ballot initiative can be pursued in 2011 or 2012.)

Because of your incredible work, the agreement reached by the Governor, HSUS, Ohioans for Humane Farms, and the Ohio Farm Bureau includes a commitment to achieve the following reforms:

- A ban on veal crates by 2017 (the same timing as the ballot measure required)
- A ban on new gestation crates in the state after December 31, 2010. Existing facilities are grandfathered, but must cease use of these crates within 15 years.
- A moratorium on permits for new battery cage confinement facilities for laying hens.
- A ban on strangulation of farm animals and mandatory humane euthanasia methods for sick or injured animals.
- A ban on the transport of downer cows for slaughter.
- Enactment of a legislation establishing felony-level penalties for cock fighters.
- Enactment of legislation cracking down on puppy mills.
- Enactment of a ban on the acquisition of dangerous exotic animals as pets, such as primates, bears, lions, tigers, large constricting and venomous snakes, crocodiles, and alligators.

As you can see, this is a broad array of very meaningful animal welfare reforms that has been made possible only through your signature gathering efforts. I can't thank you enough for your hard work, and credit goes to you for these historic animal welfare advances in a state that has badly lagged on these issues. This agreement moves us forward on all of the components of the proposed ballot measure as well as other important advances for animals, too, and will have a direct effect on the lives of huge numbers of animals now in and in the future.

Over a very short amount of time, because of you, Ohio is now on track to go from having some of the weakest animal welfare laws in the nation to being a state with much stronger protection for animals.

Again, thank you so much. I will be in touch soon as we work to make sure this important agreement is fully implemented and enforced. I look forward to working with you on that, and other animal welfare campaigns, too. Please know that your voice and actions are still needed for animals, and I'm eager to continue working with you on campaigns to keep on building a more humane society.

Thank you,

Wayne Pacelle
President & CEO
The Humane Society of the United States