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Originally Posted by Wylie's Mom  Um, the Grabers? Daviess County?
Better yet, just enter "puppy mills in Indiana" on google or yahoo - and read for yourself. Especially interesting are the descriptions of those who filed repeated complaints with the USDA regarding Indiana mills, about which the USDA did nothing. I would think since this is the area of your focus, you'd be well aware of all this. 
Read about the Grabers and see how ineffective the entire process was in Indiana. They didn't even want a jury trial, bc they pretty much knew no jury in that county would convict someone of animal cruelty....I guess bc the mills are so "accepted" in that area.  |
I have never denied that bad breeders exist in Indiana. What I dispute is the portrayal of Indiana as being covered in them, which is the impression that is coming from various posts.
If the USDA is not effective in administering their own regulations, that is a USDA issue and it needs to be addressed by our federal government.
When an attempt at bringing state law cruelty charges was made against the Grabers, I believe the prosecutor was the one that declined to bring them.
I agree that we need better enforcement of our existing laws. I do not agree that it makes sense to create new laws without some showing that the current laws are being enforced but are falling short.
As a side note, in the first video that was linked to (I can't recall who the poster was) there is footage of a shih tzu. If I am remembering this right, that is the same dog (but in a photo) that Rep. Lawson used as an example of a dog taken from a mill but I thought she said it was more recent than that film would be. She seemed really nervous about her presentation so she might have just made an error. But now I am a little confused about how many mills have been "busted" and when.
I think the second video is from Pennsylvania.
The puppy pipeline video shows footage from the same Odon facility as the first video. The Isleys that are in the first segment of the first puppy pipeline video that are shown as examples of good breeders have sent a letter to the Star editor concerning their opposition to HB 1468 by the way:
Hidden agenda attacks responsible dog breeders | IndyStar.com | The Indianapolis Star