Anda di halaman 1dari 2

HOME NEWS OPINION MUSIC ARTS SCREENS EATS

search GO
STAFF BLOG STAFF PICKS EVENTS CLASSIFIEDS PERKOPOLIS WIN STUFF! SPECIAL SECTIONS ARCHIVE NEWSLETTERS
6 Comments Tags: news, pets, dogs, dog breeders, puppy mills, Puppy Mill Bill
Home ! Articles ! News ! News ! Not In Our Dog House
Not In Our Dog House
Puppy Mill Bill finally ends Ohios dubious distinction as one of the countrys least
regulated states for commercial dog breeding
BY REIS THEBAULT ! JANUARY 15TH, 2014 ! NEWS
In 2008, one of the most infamous high-volume dog breeders in Virginia was convicted on 25 counts of animal neglect and 14
counts of animal cruelty. In 2009, the state passed a law restricting his illicit business practices. But a short time later, he
moved his so-called puppy mill to a state with some of the industrys laxest laws: Ohio.
When other states have said Youre bad news, you cant breed in our state, What have they done? says Kelly Difrischia,
director of the Columbus Dog Connection. They have packed their bags and moved to Ohio.
Indeed, until Jan. 1, 2014, Ohio was battling Missouri for the dubious distinction as the most unregulated state for puppy
mills.
However, with the new year, that is expected to change after Senate Bill 130 of the 130th General Assembly went into effect.
The Puppy Mill Bill mandates improved living conditions for the dogs, setting standards for cage size, requiring regular
grooming, veterinary examinations and socialization. These standards may seem obvious, yet before this law, some Ohio
puppy mills were an unregulated hub for neglect and abuse.
Breeding dogs that languish in puppy mills suffer from abhorrent neglect, says Karen Minton, Ohio state director for the
Humane Society. Their nails grow into the pads of their feet, their teeth arent ever taken care of, resulting in rotten teeth and
infected jaws.
As for the breeders themselves, they must also meet new standards. All will have to apply for a breeding permit and undergo
a background check during the application process. Past indiscretions will disqualify them, thereby preventing Ohio from
being the destination for other states irresponsible breeders.
Regarding licensure, those that have been convicted of animal cruelty are no longer eligible for a breeder license, Minton
says, thus removing the welcome mat that laid at our states border for so long.
One of the most important pieces of the law, Difrischia says, is that it gives the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the agency in
charge of enforcement, the ability to do annual inspections.
Because the state now has the ability to knock on your door, it has put a lot of the really egregious high-volume dog breeders


T
16
W
17
T
18
F
19
S
20
S
21

M
22
SEE ALL CALENDAR
WHAT SHOULD I BE DOING INSTEAD OF THIS?

Tweet Tweet
17
308
Like Like
COMMENT

SHARE
PRINT
FONT SIZE
RATE
'A Perfect Fit'
Dreams of Obama
COAST's Shifting ...
Take My Dogs, Ple...
Another Seven Day...
New Trends, Kaldi...
news pets dogs
dog breeders puppy mills
Puppy Mill Bill
Related content
Related to:
on notice, Difrischia says.
Just by the fact that we passed this bill, we put a lot of the bad apples out of business, and that is
amazing.
To do this door knocking, the Department of Agriculture hired four inspectors and a team of staff
that includes several veterinarians.
They are going to be tasked with doing inspections of the breeders, says Department of
Agriculture spokesperson Erica Hawkins. They are going to be making sure that our care
standards are being followed by the breeders.
One thing they will not be checking, as it is not included in the law, is for a specific temperature in
the dogs housing facilities. Much to the chagrin of activists, the language of the law was reworded
to require a more qualitative kind of standard. This is because, Hawkins says, lawmakers did not
want to trap breeders into a certain reading on the thermostat, but rather allow inspectors to check if
breeders are doing an adequate job of controlling temperatures for their animals.
Difrischia points to the recent cold front that swept through Ohio as reason why there needs to be a
specific temperature standard in the law and says the omission of one is among her biggest
disappointments.
If a dog is going to be an employee and make a lot of money for you, you should compensate that
dog very well by giving it very decent housing, Difrischia says. We arent even asking for the Taj
Mahal. Were asking for adequate daily living conditions, and we feel that those temperatures
should have been set. Its very disappointing.
On the other hand, State Sen. Jim Hughes, the bills sponsor, is quick to point out that this is a vast
improvement from the past.
Before this bill, it was unregulated, Hughes says. So all this cold weather we have had, they
could keep those dogs outside, they could stack them in crates and they didnt have to have any
food or water.
The law went into effect on the first of the year, but the changes did not come overnight; they were
seven years in the making.
Its been my most difficult bill, Hughes says.
There were several parties involved in the bills writing, from the U.S. Sportsmens Alliance to the
Ohio Veterinary Medical Association, the breeders and the rescuers, says Difrischia.
I guess the best analogy to use is herding cats, she says. You have to get all of these people who have different interests in
what this language is to agree.
Minton attributes the trouble to Ohios history as a difficult state in which to pass animal welfare legislation.
Whether it is the influence of big agriculture or concern about enacting new regulations on small businesses, we faced our
share of powerful opposition, she says. An entire industry had gone unchecked for decades, and as you can imagine, there
were may high-volume breeders that preferred to keep it that way.
Despite the roadblocks, Ohio managed to pass the law and in doing so transitioned from one of the most lenient and tolerant
states for puppy mills to one that will no longer put up with neglectful and irresponsible breeding habits.
Ohio has definitely moved from being one of the worst with no laws on the books to having some of the strongest laws
in the nation, Minton says.
Difrischia and other activists believe the bill to be a great first step but acknowledge there is more to be done.
I want to be positive and hopeful and say that it is making a very big difference and it absolutely is, she says. But there
are also parts of the bill that are very disappointing and we definitely need better standards.


0 Comments Citybeat Cincinnati Login
!
Sort by Best Share
"
Start the discussion
Be the rst to comment.
Subscribe
#
Add Disqus to your site
$
THEATER
Sherlock Holmes and the
Adventure of the Suicide Club
Sep 16 | $30-$80.
Sherlock Holmes hits the Cincinnati Playhouse with a
"whodunit" wrought with suspense and special effects
based on a Robert Louis Stevenson story about playing
Russian roulette. Showtimes vary, throug ... MORE
CINCINNATI PLAYHOUSE IN THE PARK 962 MT. ADAMS
CIRCLE CINCINNATI

308 Share Share

Anda mungkin juga menyukai