Group urges final action on Ohio farm animal deal

COLUMBUS (AP) — The Humane Society is threatening to revive a planned Ohio ballot issue against animal cruelty if a deal with farmers fails to win final state approval.

Wayne Pacelle, chief of the Humane Society of the United States, on Tuesday urged the Ohio Livestock Care Standards Board to adopt the agreement on farm animal protections. It was hammered out in June with help from Gov. Ted Strickland.

Ohio Agriculture Director Robert Boggs tells The Columbus Dispatch that the board will consider other proposals, too.

Pacelle told the panel the deal is both good politics and good policy.

Its provisions include bans on certain crates and cages and the use of strangulation to put animals down.