JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - Animal advocates are asking the Missouri Supreme Court to strike down a law that has allowed state licensing fees to be charged to animal shelters.

An attorney representing animal shelters and the Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday that the state licensing fees are causing “financial stress” for some nonprofit shelters.

The shelters were exempt from the fees until a 2010 state law. The fees then were raised as part of a 2011 law dealing with dog-breeders.

Earlier this year, a Cole County judge rejected a suit claiming the 2010 law was unconstitutional. The judge ruled the claim was moot because the 2011 law repealed and re-imposed the fees at a higher rate.

Appeal documents filed this week ask the Supreme Court to overturn that decision.

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