[News] Puppy Mill Bills Across the Nation

[yorkiesmiles]

Proposed: Hitting a pet & fleeing would be a crime in Calif. -- very interesting legislation being proposed

California legislators focus on helping critters

ANIMAL RIGHTS

California legislators focus on helping critters
State considering a range of bills covering pets, farm animals and wild birds.
By Eric Bailey, Patrick McGreevy

LOS ANGELES TIMES


Sunday, March 08, 2009

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Puppy hit-and-run could soon be a crime.

Pushing animal rights in a whole new direction, a state legislator has proposed hitting California motorists with a fine and possible jail time if they flee the scene after hitting a dog, cat or any other pet or farm animal.

The measure by Democrat Mike Eng would require that drivers attempt to provide medical aid to an injured animal and notify the owner or animal control authorities.

It's one of a number of bills introduced this year that could test the boundaries of what constitutes humane treatment of animals in California.

Legislators from both parties are pushing changes for Fido, felines and even flocks of geese.

One legislator wants to crack down on dogfighting. Another proposes a ban on cutting the tails of dairy cows. Another hopes to make animal adoption fees tax deductible. Democrats want to curb puppy mills and pet sales at flea markets and make it illegal to let a cat older than 6 months run free unless it is spayed or neutered.

Not all proposals would protect animals.

Republican Sen. Dave Cox said he is more concerned about bird flocks bringing down jets. Two months after a jetliner ditched in New York's Hudson River after an encounter with Canadian geese, Cox has introduced a bill allowing airports to kill birds that pose a hazard.

Animal rights groups are taking aim at his proposal. Audubon California wants it to exempt endangered species and make the use of lethal force a last resort.

Eng's bill to add animal hit-and-run penalties to California's vehicle code also faces questions.

The assemblyman said he wrote the bill out of respect for the central role pets can play in family life.

New York has a similar law, as do Germany and Singapore.

Eng said it is troubling that California makes it a misdemeanor to flee an accident involving property loss — a dented fender or crushed mailbox — but there is no law against a hit-and-run involving a pet.

"You can wantonly hit an animal and leave, and face no consequences," he said. "An inanimate object has more rights."

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

OK - I do not live in Illinois nor have I read all these bills for different states - but I was just doing a search on these bills & this letter to the editor regarding the Illinois bill shocked me - I had no idea that some of these bills are trying to stop tail docking & ear cropping. Here's an interesting letter, and if you go to the website - lots of comments already



Law would harm law-abiding breeders
Letter to the Editor

Daily Herald | Law would harm law-abiding breeders

My husband and I are retired, and show our boxers in conformation and obedience, and have won several AKC titles. We breed a litter of puppies twice a year. We place them in pet homes on spay/neuter contracts, and people seek us out because they know we care about our Boxers and breed carefully, always health-testing our dogs before mating them.

Now we have lawmakers trying to usurp our rights to own this breed the way the American Boxer Club has designated since it was formed. We oppose Senate Bill 139, which renders the common practice of docking the tails of dogs and cropping ears as torture and a felony. More than 17 breeds dock or crop or both and remove dew claws. This has been safely and humanely done for centuries. Additionally, the American Kennel Club forbids the participation of a cropped dog in its events if the state prohibits the procedure. Thus, those dogs that come from all over the country, including Illinois, would be prohibited from participation in any AKC field trials, obedience trials, agility trials and conformation shows that are held in Illinois. These events bring millions of dollars to Illinois every year, revenue that would be lost at a time when our state needs all the help it can get.

If that isn't bad enough, Rep. John A. Fritchey is seeking to enact a law (HB 0198) that would require me to be fingerprinted, have my home searched, a criminal background check run, and pay a fee for this. We are not a part of the puppy mill problem and do not sell through pet stores. We are a local in-house breeder, which is always the best place to purchase a pet. We have strict ethics rules regarding the breeding and placement of our puppies. Our puppies are micro chipped, inoculated and health cleared by a veterinarian before they go to their devoted families.

Bill and Barbara O'Connor

Villa Park

This is why it important to be involved in the laws being made. I don't know if what this writer is saying is true or not. So many people say that a law would do this or that, and when you actually read the law, it would not do what they were saying. However, if there is truth in this, someone needs to check it out. We cannot blindly accept or reject these laws, just because a few people say it will do this. I know the rumors spread about the Indiana law were unfounded, but that doesn't mean these are not true.

In the past, people have said a certain law forbids tail cropping, for example, but the law actually says that unless done before the age of 5 days, cropping would have to be done by a certified vet. So let's make sure we understand what the law says before we panic.

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

This is why it important to be involved in the laws being made. I don't know if what this writer is saying is true or not. So many people say that a law would do this or that, and when you actually read the law, it would not do what they were saying. However, if there is truth in this, someone needs to check it out. We cannot blindly accept or reject these laws, just because a few people say it will do this. I know the rumors spread about the Indiana law were unfounded, but that doesn't mean these are not true.

In the past, people have said a certain law forbids tail cropping, for example, but the law actually says that unless done before the age of 5 days, cropping would have to be done by a certified vet. So let's make sure we understand what the law says before we panic.

GREAT ADVICE

[yorkiekist]

So are you supposed to stop in rush hour traffic, more than likey causing a huge accident because you hit a dog or cat that runs out in front of you? How about fining the OWNER of the dog or cat that lets them run loose?

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by yorkiekist

So are you supposed to stop in rush hour traffic, more than likey causing a huge accident because you hit a dog or cat that runs out in front of you? How about fining the OWNER of the dog or cat that lets them run loose?

Hit and run is different than driving to a safe location and stopping and reporting the accident. I agree the owner should face fines, and other penaties, and when this was introduced in California as part of a leash law, who do you think was the most vocal against it?

[yorkiekist]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Hit and run is different than driving to a safe location and stopping and reporting the accident. I agree the owner should face fines, and other penaties, and when this was introduced in California as part of a leash law, who do you think was the most vocal against it?

I wonder if "badly worded legislation" was included with the leash law?

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by yorkiekist

So are you supposed to stop in rush hour traffic, more than likey causing a huge accident because you hit a dog or cat that runs out in front of you? How about fining the OWNER of the dog or cat that lets them run loose?

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Hit and run is different than driving to a safe location and stopping and reporting the accident. I agree the owner should face fines, and other penaties, and when this was introduced in California as part of a leash law, who do you think was the most vocal against it?

I would certainly think they are talking about the idiot that speeds off down a residential street - even when people are watching. I have so rarely seen a dog or cat hit on the freeway around here - yes, while traveling across the country on the interstate.

But, I don't know that we need a law for any of this. Just more laws.

[yorkiekist]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

I would certainly think they are talking about the idiot that speeds off down a residential street - even when people are watching. I have so rarely seen a dog or cat hit on the freeway around here - yes, while traveling across the country on the interstate.

But, I don't know that we need a law for any of this. Just more laws.

I love the people that purposely try to hit a cat or dog on the side of the road. My neighbors kid tried to hit my cat a few years ago. After I had words with his mother, he will not even speak to me. But he has always been a problem child.

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by yorkiekist

I love the people that purposely try to hit a cat or dog on the side of the road. My neighbors kid tried to hit my cat a few years ago. After I had words with his mother, he will not even speak to me. But he has always been a problem child.

yes, I thought of those people too - but somewhere in my mind I would like to think they don't exist. Wouldn't you like to see that kid be addressed by the law? See I have mixed feelings about this. Because sometimes someone has an animal that rushes out of the house, a gate gets unlatched, etc. - it is not always an animal running loose. I remember as a little girl I would see dogs running around - and the occasional dog that chased cars - but I haven't seen that in years

[yorkiekist]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

yes, I thought of those people too - but somewhere in my mind I would like to think they don't exist. Wouldn't you like to see that kid be addressed by the law? See I have mixed feelings about this. Because sometimes someone has an animal that rushes out of the house, a gate gets unlatched, etc. - it is not always an animal running loose. I remember as a little girl I would see dogs running around - and the occasional dog that chased cars - but I haven't seen that in years

I think that my neighbors kid will be arrested someday for something. There has always been something not quite right with him. He is a problem waiting to happen. I love my neighbors too. The whole family is great except that one kid. He has zero common sense and is anti-social.
I also remember seeing dogs chase cars. I grew up in the country and that was common.

[yorkiesmiles]

WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and Sports-Clark County Holding Another Dog Auction this Week

Clark County Holding Another Dog Auction this Week
Posted: March 8, 2009 05:06 PM

Clark County (WQOW) - Clark County is just 3 days away from having another dog auction.

The county is known as the Puppy Mill Capitol of the state. Not only does it have the largest number of puppy mills in the state, but it's also home to the largest breeder in the state.

Rep. Jeff Smith is working on a bill to make Wisconsin the next state to regulate dog breeding, putting an end to puppy mills or large breeding facilities.

On Wednesday, about 130 dogs will be up for auction at the Thorp Dog Auction. It's held twice a year. The dogs being sold are either puppies, usually sold to breeders and brokers, or dogs no longer of use to the breeders.

Through information obtained for a story News 18 did during the last Thorp Dog Auction, we found older dogs sold because they had been bred out, or had diseases and could no longer be bred. Some dogs were in such poor condition, they could not be sold at the auction. They were pulled by USDA inspectors.

"The dogs we have discovered happen to be the dogs that have been discarded. They wore them out for one reason or another, they reached an age limit, or they have some sort of health problems," says Rep. Smith.

Through an open records request, News 18 found in 2008 2,198 kennel licenses were issued in Clark County. Thats one new dog for every 15 residents per year. The majority of those licenses went to 18 addresses. A number of those names showed up on this week's auction list. Among them is Tammy Kautzer. She applied for 95 dog licenses last year. To clairify, licenses are usually issed for dogs that stay on the property or older dogs that live in these conditions. On Wednesday, Kautzer will have 31 dogs up for auction.

The Horst Farm owns 154 adult dogs. They also host the Thorp Auction. They are selling 20 on Wednesday, mostly older dogs.

According to records obtained from the USDA, Alvin Martin is the largest single dog breeder in the state right now. He has 305 adult dogs registered.

This all has Rep. Smith wanting to put an end to selling dogs at auctions and mass breeding.

Smith's bill calls for a maximum of 25 dogs bred per facility or breeder a year. He says that's the number that works for others states that regulate dog breeding.

Here's what you need to know: when buying a dog from anyone ask for papers, especially pet stores. Most dogs sold from farms go to pet stores.

On Wednesday, News 18's Jamie Paige and Rep. Smith will be at the dog auction. We'll hear from a woman who rescued a dog from a puppy mill at 3-years old. 3 years after his rescue, the dog still has not recovered.

[yorkiesmiles]

I've posted a lot about puppy mills - I'm not going to editorialize what I think about this story (at least not first ) -- but I thought the tv station did an interesting job trying to present both sides of the issue in Indiana. They interviewed this couple & a legislator. I'll include the story - but I encourage you to go to the website & watch the video - both the version that ran apparently for their viewers & the 2 sets of raw video (it's really hard to hear the lady talk - but other than that you can hear most of it.) One of the interesting things that was left out of what they aired to the viewers - was the man trying to explain their return policy (course, I haven't seen their contract.) - ok, enough from me.

Puppy Mill? Local couple worried about breeding legislation | WSBT South Bend - Your Local News Leader | Local News

Puppy Mill? Local couple worried about breeding legislation
by Kelli Cheatham (kcheatham@wsbt.com)

Story Created: Mar 10, 2009 at 6:30 AM EDT

KOSCIUSKO COUNTY — It's a controversial issue happening locally — breeders raising hundreds of puppies and then selling them for a profit. Some call those operations puppy mills and are pushing to shut them down.

Some Indiana lawmakers are trying to at least cut down on the number of dogs those breeders have. But local breeders we talked with say they love what they do, and claim their puppies are in the most humane conditions possible.

A Kosciusko County couple gave WSBT an exclusive look inside their large breeding facility. They say they started raising puppies 20 years ago.

"It's our goal to raise the nicest, healthiest, cutest little puppies," said the woman, who did not want WSBT to use her name.

Her husband said they have just a little over 200 adult dogs. That number doesn't include the dozens of puppies kept in the front room where customers can see them.

"The wire [in the cages] keeps them out of their feces, keeps them out of their urine," explained the other owner.

He also pointed out each pen's automatic water and feeder.

The couple said they started with just 18 dogs. It's grown into a huge operation.

"Even with a down economy we have not had any problems selling dogs," the man said.

They took our crew through the whelping area — 30 crates where mothers give birth — all full during our visit.

He explained they try to keep that area quiet so the youngest puppies and their mothers are not disturbed by customers.

There's also a grooming and bathing area in that same room. Another nearby studio is set up for a full time photographer to take pictures of the puppies for the couple's website.

Rarely does anyone see the rest of the breeding facility.

The couple first took WSBT to a room with 40 kennels, full of adult dogs. The owner said about 90 dogs were in that one room.

Through the glass behind closed doors, our cameras also saw two more rooms with adult dogs in the back of the farm. One had about the same number of kennels as the first. The other one allowed the dogs to be inside or out.

It was the first time the couple opened the entire facility to news media. We set up the day and time we would be there two days before our visit.

When asked why they decided to open their facilities to us, the woman said they think they have a nice, clean facility where they take care of their dogs.

"It seems like the news media just wants to find the worst things they can find," she said.

The couple said they employ about 18 people — 10 of those are local kids called "puppy players" — paid to help socialize the dogs.

"If you come and the puppy doesn't like you, you're not gonna like the puppy," the man explained. "We spend a lot of time and money keeping our puppies socialized."

But the couple faces plenty of opposition. A billboard that says "Stop Puppy Mills" sits about two miles from their farm. The message is clearly directed at them.

"We feel the people that would be opposed to us would have more of a thought process that animals are equal with humans," said the man. "We are Christians and we know the Bible does not make it that way."

The couple insists their breeding facility is not a puppy mill.

"We feel a puppy mill is someone who is raising dogs, who really doesn't care about them. Their idea of raising dogs is 'All I'm in this for is just to raise the dogs when I come home from work and slip in a couple extra dollars,'" he said.

But local animal rescuers, the Kosciusko County Animal Welfare League and even some state lawmakers disagree.

Representative Jackie Walorski, a Republican from Elkhart, was one of 81 legislators in the Indiana house who voted in February to regulate these so-called "puppy mills" or breeding facilities.

"I'm looking at puppy mill as if you have x amount of animals, purely for the motive of making profit," Walorski told WSBT. "They're not family pets, they're not a domesticated part of your family unit, they're not for really any other reason than commercial enterprise."

Walorski said she's concerned about the industry.

"[It] begins to blur the lines between what we've done historically in the state of Indiana and now commercially selling, breeding, puppy milling domestic animals that the community is raising questions about," she said.

Walorski visited the same Kosciusko County facility two weeks ago, the same day WSBT did. The couple who owns the facility invited her.

"It has a reputation for being clean, a lot of local people buy from there," said Walorski. "I just really wanted to kind of see it and get an idea — what is the good side of the industry?"

When asked about her impression of what she saw, Walorski said it was what she thought it would be.

"I'm very familiar with puppy mills," she continued.

But she did say it's much different than some of the other Indiana puppy mills she's seen.

"For the most part, these dogs are all in good condition. And they're clean, the place is clean," she said.

Too many others, she said, are not. Pictures from some of those puppy mills were shown to lawmakers in the Indiana House of Representatives. Walorski said those photographs showed chewed off legs, embedded collars splitting necks, lack of medical treatment, malnutrition.

But the couple running the Kosciusko County facility said they do everything possible to make sure their dogs don't look like that.

When it passed the House, the so-called
"puppy mill bill" said Indiana breeders can't have more than 30 adult dogs on their property, and dogs over 12 weeks old must have access to a grassy area for at least one hour a day. It also said commercial dog breeders must register with the state Board of Animal Health every four years.

"One of the big problems [with this legislation]," said the man who runs the Kosciusko County breeding facility with his wife, "is we're gonna have some dogs we'll need to move, or sell or to give away."

And guess who already foots the bill when unwanted animals end up at local humane societies and shelters?

"At the end of the day," said Walorski, "the taxpayer on this issue is still holding the bag with the unwanted, unused, no longer worth anything older female dogs. And it's costing people money."

The Kosciusko County couple agrees there are kennels that need to be regulated.

"And there's not a system in place in Indiana to regulate dogs," said the man. There is a need in Indiana for this kind of bill."

But how restrictive should it be? The owners of the Kosciusko County facility said they buy almost everything local — including their dog food from a supplier in Mishawaka. All their employees are from Elkhart and Kosciusko counties. And unless there are major changes to the HB 1468 in the Senate, the couple says the bill just isn't fair to them.

"As a farmer, the next thing I think is gonna happen is they're gonna tell me I can only farm a certain number of acres, I can only milk a certain number of cows," he said. "What gives someone the right to come into a viable business and say 'You can only do this much'?"

Walorski said those are the kinds of things lawmakers have to continue to explore to find out where the balance is in the issue.

A Senate committee is expected to consider the legislation this week. Indiana Senators could vote on it by the end of the month.

We want to hear what you think. Please join our LIVE Chat from 8-9 this morning with your comments, questions and concerns. An Indiana humane officer will be on hand as well.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

. . .

But the couple faces plenty of opposition. A billboard that says "Stop Puppy Mills" sits about two miles from their farm. The message is clearly directed at them.

"We feel the people that would be opposed to us would have more of a thought process that animals are equal with humans," said the man. "We are Christians and we know the Bible does not make it that way." . . .

Megansmama just posted a thread on a little puppy mill rescue. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...e-graphic.html. I don't think this is what God had in mind, when he said that humans should have dominion over animals.

Here's the little rescue.
GA63.12362035-1-pn[1].jpg

Here are a few others:
animal_cruelty_dogC3[1].jpg

Puppy%20Mill-Dirty%20Dog[1].jpg

PuppyMillMaltese1[2].jpg

If this person's kennels are as nice as she says, she has nothing to be concerned about, but it infuriates me when people use the excuse of being Christians that it's acceptable to treat animals this way. They are just trying to manipulate people.

[yorkiesmiles]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Megansmama just posted a thread on a little puppy mill rescue. http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...e-graphic.html. I don't think this is what God had in mind, when he said that humans should have dominion over animals.

Here's the little rescue.
Attachment 268907

Here are a few others:
Attachment 268904

Attachment 268905

Attachment 268906

If this person's kennels are as nice as she says, she has nothing to be concerned about, but it infuriates me when people use the excuse of being Christians that it's acceptable to treat animals this way. They are just trying to manipulate people.

Watch the video & see for yourself what their dogs look like. Thankfully theirs do not look like that, from what was shown. I was also annoyed, as a Christian, by their words. I think once dogs & cats were made companion pets - they are not the same as other animals, they are not a commodity. But I also do not believe in abusing any other animal.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by yorkiesmiles

Watch the video & see for yourself what their dogs look like. Thankfully theirs do not look like that, from what was shown. I was also annoyed, as a Christian, by their words. I think once dogs & cats were made companion pets - they are not the same as other animals, they are not a commodity. But I also do not believe in abusing any other animal.

I know we aren't supposed to be talking about religion in these threads, but since the word Christian was brought up I thought I could address it. While God gave us dominion over animals, it doesn't mean that we have the right to abuse any animal, domesticated or wild. Dogs in puppy mills are clearly being abused. Giving us authority to be in charge of animals, is not the same thing as saying, treat them however you see fit. I think we will be held accountable. Our "employers" or "bosses" are given dominion or authority over us, but that doesn't mean they have a blank ticket to treat us any way they want.