Florida Governor Rick Scott just approved an agricultural bill, which permits animals to be dyed neon green and dayglo pink.
But don't dip any live Easter peeps into dye just yet -- the bill legalizing such Technicolor pets doesn't go into effect until July 1.
Florida Sen. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, snuck Amendment 303390, repealing a 45-year-old ban on artificially dying or coloring certain animals or fowl, onto HB Bill 1197, which revises certain agriculture codes in the state. Her amendment also permits chicks to be sold before they are 4 weeks old.
Florida Senate Democratic Minority Leader Nan Rich, who tried to block the amendment, said the original ban was to ensure "that we don't have a lot of adorable ducks, rabbits and chickens that are given away at Easter time and look so cute, and then 2 or 3 or 4 months later nobody wants them.”
Bogdanoff maintained that she was just looking out for the rights of dog groomers, who should be able to compete in shows and parades.
Animal rights groups petitioned Scott to veto the bill.
“Humane societies are overflowing with these animals after Easter every year,” Don Anthony of the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida told the New York Times. “This law has protected thousands of animals from neglect and abuse, and it shouldn’t be lifted on the whim of one dog groomer who wants to dye poodles purple.”
While groups like the Humane Society hold that the practice results in discarded pets and undue stress for the fowl, experts say the practice really has no lasting harm for the birds as long as the dye used is nontoxic.
To achieve unnaturally bright colors, eggs are either injected with a dye before the chicks are born or newborns are sprayed with a colored mist. In both cases, the neon green and dayglo pink feathers eventually grow out as adult feathers grow in.
Watch the below videos of artificially dyed cats, dogs, chickens, and bunnies.
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