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Questions about the Puppy Mill Bill
last updated: February 8, 2008
Hearings have been held in both the House and Senate.
We seem to be in a holding pattern before moving forward. Please
take the action listed above to help us push the bill forward.
Note: Legislators were concerned with some of
the language in the bill.
Those issues have been agreed upon by all parties now (fees have been
lowered, fingerprinting requirements have been removed).
Thank
you to everyone who has been carefully looking at the wording of the
bill and sharing your stories. This is a
joint effort of hundreds of people who care about dogs, dog breeding and
saving dogs from deplorable conditions.
When reading the bill: Please note:
-new legislation must recite an entire statute including existing
legislation
-underlined text is new language, individuals who complain about
material that is not underlined/strikethrough, are concerned about
existing law,
not something in this proposal
Question:
Will the proposal make hobby breeding illegal in Ohio?
Answer:
No
Question:
What kind of standards will regulated kennels have to meet?
Answer:
A
kennel will have to be a clean and safe place for dogs. Clean water and wholesome food will need to be provided daily. Cages
will need to permit dogs to turn around, and to lie down on resting
boards to give them relief from standing on wire flooring. Dogs kept
out of doors will need to be provided with shade in summer and
insulation to keep warm in winter. Necessary veterinary care will need
to be provided. These common sense standards are designed to be
reasonable so that even the responsible larger scale kennel owner will
easily surpass them.
Question:
Does
Ohio have a puppy mill problem?
Answer:
Yes. Ohio has over 11,000 kennels. The dog breeding business is not
regulated in Ohio. The USDA only regulates wholesale breeders. The
USDA currently has 187 licensed breeders in Ohio (many of which are
breeders of animals other than dogs). Ohio is second only to Missouri in
number of puppy mills. National undercover investigators have called
Ohio the worst state for the sanitary conditions that dogs live in.
High
volume
irresponsible breeders locate in Ohio because there is no
regulation that addresses substandard conditions, and the few laws that
do exist must be enforced by a county dog warden who lacks the
facilities and funds needed to enforce the existing animal cruelty law.
This bill will bring change by providing an enforcement entity to
address and shut down abusive puppy mill operations in Ohio, so that
responsible breeders can flourish, and consumers can be protected.
Question:
Will County Dog
Warden’s loose the money they would have collected from kennel fees?
Answer:
No. All counties will still receive the same amount of kennel fees
without having the task of handling the paper work and complaints
against problem kennels.
Question:
Are
large scale facilities regulated by the American Kennel Club or United
Kennel Club?
Answer:
No. The AKC and UKC are voluntary clubs that only have the power to
suspend their non-compliant members. The purpose of the AKC and UKC
are to improve breeds and bloodlines, and encourage responsible
standards in breeding. The AKC and UKC are not regulatory agencies.
They have no power to remove dogs in danger. Many puppy mills in Ohio
do not belong to either the AKC or UKC and therefore are not being
monitored in any form.
Question:
How much will it cost for a breeding kennel license $50,000 or $5,000?
Answer:
Neither. Breeding Kennel fees are:
$150 for 9-15 adult breeding dogs
$250 for 16-25 adult breeding dogs
$350 for 26-35 adult breeding dogs
$500 for more than 35 adult breeding dogs
Question:
Why wouldn't the local humane agents be the ones to inspect local people
if there is a complaint?
Answer:
Right now, absent a criminal complaint, there is no recourse if a humane
agent is turned away, to inspect and rescue dogs in imminent danger.
Question:
Why are the dog wardens left out if this?
Answer:
They are not. Dog wardens are an important part of dog law
enforcement. Under the proposal, dog wardens will
report sub-standard conditions to the kennel authority. Dog wardens have
two primary responsibilities. They enforce animal cruelty laws, and
they operate county dog shelters for stray animals.
Question:
Why does the bill
read the way it does?
Answer:
There are places in
Ohio where dogs are kept in cages where they cannot turn around,
feces/urine drop on them from above, and accumulate, where dogs have
never seen a veterinarian in their lives, and they cannot walk in a
normal fashion because their nails have never been trimmed, and where
their hair is matted by feces. That is reality at some kennels in Ohio.
And absence a complaint for animal cruelty, there is no inspection
whatsoever. Presently there is no way to get the dogs out of that
situation. Most people don’t have any idea about these horrendous
conditions, or that Ohio is at the top of the list as far as such
horrendous conditions.
Question:
What if a breeder chooses not to get a license?
Answer:
The breeder is still subject to inspection, and the consequent
penalties for violation. In addition, the breeder would be subject to a
financial penalty equal to two times the amount of the license fee that
should have been paid. A complaint can also be filed against the
person to obtain a court order to cease operation.
Question:
Does the bill set a price for what a rescue can charge for an adoption
fee?
Answer:
No. Dogs that have been relinquished to the kennel control authority
may go out to a rescue or shelter and can be adopted from the rescue or
shelter for an adoption fee that the rescue/shelter sets.
Question:
Does this bill have anything to do with dog auctions in Ohio?
Answer:
Dog intermediaries will need a license to operate. This includes a
person who auction more than twenty-four dogs annually in this state.
The dog intermediary will be responsible for the conditions under which
dogs are housed during the process and must meet the minimal kennel
standards proposed to become Revised Code 4780.08. The facility where
dogs are housed would be subject to inspection to ensure the standards
are met.
Question:
Do vaccinations have to be given to my dog every year?
Answer:
The owner, together with the dog’s veterinarian determines the
vaccinations to be given to the dog.
Question:
Why does the puppy mill bill micro manage the euthanasia of dogs?
Answer:
It doesn’t, it says only that dogs must be euthanized by the dog’s
veterinarian, and not be left unattended between the commencement of the
process an death.
Imperfect
puppies in puppy mills are drowned in a bucket of water if the cost is
too high to treat health issues, hammers are used to euthanize the older
dogs. High volume breeders are profit driven and will not pay the price
for humane euthanasia.
Question:
Does Ohio have that many breeders with hundreds of dogs?
Answer:
Yes. There are
over 11,000 kennels registrations currently in Ohio. There are hundreds
of kennels that have hundreds of dogs being confined in conditions like
you see in the pictures to the left. Ohio is 2nd only to Missouri in
number of kennels in the state.
Question:
Who must apply for a kennel license?
Answer:
A person who has nine or more breeding dogs in a given year.
Question:
I am confused by the definitions of breeding dog and the
definition of commercial dog breeding kennel
Answer:
The number of adult dogs kept for the specified purposes determines
the fee.
If one has nine or
more dogs at the same time used for
breeding, then a
license must be obtained.
Question:
Do you expect us to license every dog?
Answer:
All dogs are required to have a license tag now. Kennel license
vary depending on what Ohio County is administering the license. This proposal does not
change the current law.
The only
change from existing law on this point is that a dog housed in a
regulated breeding kennel does not need to be wearing the tag. This is
a safety provision.
Question:
What is a surety bond? Who pays for it? How much does it cost? How is
the cost determined? How do you get one?
Answer:
Breeders who keep
fifteen breeding dogs or more per year will need to provide insurance,
or in lieu of that a surety bond, subject to redemption if they lose
their license to operate.
If you have insurance
on your business now, then you would simply pay for a rider to cover the
license revocation issue. The surety
bond would need to be provided only if there was no insurance that
covered the issue. The cost is estimated at $150-300, should this type
of bond coverage be needed.
Question:
Euthanasia, the way this reads it sounds as if my old dog
dies in the middle of the night, I can be in some sort of trouble.
Answer:
No, not unless you killed your dog.
Question: if a kennel or rescue dog is impounded because the boarding
kennel was found unfit- what happens to those dogs? Can
the owner who left their dog in that kennel get their dog back without a
fight? or a fine?
Answer:
We have changed the proposal to cover only breeding kennels.
Question:
Who does the proposal regulate?
Answer:
Individuals and businesses with nine or more breeding dogs. The
legislation creates civil regulation, not a ban, of high volume
facilities where tens or
even hundreds of adult dogs are
housed to make a profit.
Question:
What are conditions like in so called puppy mills?
Answer:
Large
numbers of breeding dogs kept in cramped cages that are not regularly
cleaned. Breeding dogs receive little to no medical treatment, and
are not properly socialized either with other dogs or with humans. Such
breeders engage in large scale breeding of many different breeds of
dogs. They thrive on the dog auction market, where their product, in
the form of puppies, is sold to distribution companies that market their
dogs to pet store chains.
These
dogs are then sold to consumers without documentation of the dog’s
origin or state of health. Puppy mills negatively affect responsible
breeders who care for the health, social and behavioral aspects of the
dogs and puppies they breed and sell.
Puppy mill produced puppies are often sick and
born with genetic defects and sold to unsuspecting consumers under the
guise of being “registered” and/or “purebred”. Consumers don’t know
they are buying a dog born and bred in horrendous conditions.
When the breeding dogs have become so ill or bred so
much that their uterus collapses, they have been known to be disposed of
by drowning, bludgeoning, shooting, surrendered to tax supported dog
shelters, or sold at auction.
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Champaign County Puppy Mill, Picture taken Feb 2008
Champaign County Puppy Mill, Picture taken Feb 2008
May 2007
A
rescue just picked up an 11 yr old AKC Sheltie from a miller.
He had 6 Shelties to get rid of and the 11 year old had just
"weaned her last litter". She was free. The miller said that
we could have her or he'd just turn her loose. He lives right on
the road. He said "they don't last long. I've gotten rid of 6
that way." We had her 3 weeks and she died of cancer two days
ago.
At least she died clean, not matted, out of a cage and knowing that
she
was loved. She was an affectionate sweet dog. She had been born
into
his puppy mill and lived her entire life in a small wire cage. At
11 she was
done and she was worthless to him. When he took her out of the
cage he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and let her dangle
like a piece of meat.
Sadly he still has three of her pups - now breeding females. He
wants $600
for them because they are pure bred. He won't deal with us because
he
knows we're a rescue and I'm sure he's sorry that he said all he had
to say. His little kids were playing in the yard. As I drove out I
wondered how he
must treat them.
Removed from Ohio Puppy Mill. Rosie is an 8 year old Shih Tzu.
The mat around her leg was like a tourniquet. She had
pyometra
and was extremely sick.
She had to be shaved down which resulted in a body that was skin and
bones. She weighed in at 14 lbs. and when the mats were shaved,
she weighed 11 lbs.! The last picture is after weeks
of rehabilitation. She has been adopted and living with another
canine brother and having the time of her life.
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This female was dropped off at the pound. An Amish boy brought her
in saying that “she could no longer have puppies so they were done
with her.” Mindy is 10 years old, lived in a cage her whole
life, and her teats hung so low that it was very obvious that she had
several litters. She was missing most of her teeth and the ones
she had were covered with extreme tartar
Scabs and missing hair from this dog
removed from an Ohio Puppy Mill. These conditions don't happen over night.
Dogs live like this for
months and years.
Grooming at high volume breeders becomes a painful situation for dogs in
their care. The dog on the left had urine soaked tangled hair and had to be shaved
down.
The sheltie on the right has numerous mats that were painfully pulling on
the rest
of her coat.
 Goose
I
spoke directly with the Ohio Amish puppy miller who was auctioning her
off at a farm auction. She had spent her entire 7 years in a wire
bottomed cage hanging off the side of a building. When I sat her on the
ground, that was the first time in her entire life she had been on
grass. She is now a registered therapy dog BUT extremely damaged.
We could
post hundreds of pictures of dogs from Ohio Puppy mills.
These are just a few of the abuses/neglectful situations that are taking
place
in Ohio.
Conditions at puppy mills are: filth, urine/feces soaked kennels.
This puppy mill, in operation in Morrow County Ohio for 25 years,
actually had mice and rats running among the dogs while rescuers where
removing dogs.
Dogs warehoused in an Ohio puppy mill. This puppy miller was
allowed to have 25 dogs back in his custody to continue his business.
Look at the boxes or "kennels" these dogs live in 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, until they are no longer producing puppies. They are then
either sold at auction or killed.
-White Shepherd Open sores found on this dogon the day of a raid German
-Shepherd surrendered by auctioneers
at dog auction in Holmes County,
front part of lip ripped off, never repaired
Japanese Chin purchased from an Ohio Puppy
Mill, Deformed legs
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