Puppy Profits: A state embraces reform
BY OMER GILLHAM World Staff Writer
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
10/23/07 at 3:58 AM
Related story: Puppy Profits: State laws lack bite
Search an inspection database of licensed breeders and brokers, view videos and a slide show and read previous stories in the series.
Even critics of
commercial dog
breeding see that
Pennsylvania is taking
care of the animals.
Pennsylvania was once the
scourge of the dog-breeding
industry, but it is now a
shining example of reform.
With 2,500 state-licensed
breeders and kennels,
Pennsylvania rivals Missouri,
which is often cited as the king
of the puppy-producing states.
Pennsylvania has the
largest number of federally
registered breeders in one
county: 98 in Lancaster
County. The kennels are
registered and regulated
by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture.
Meanwhile, some
Pennsylvania kennels are
so large that is takes four
state inspectors working
several days to conduct
a routine inspection, said
Jessie L. Smith, special
deputy secretary for Dog
Law Enforcement, within the
Pennsylvania Department of
Agriculture.
Kennels of this size
produce or handle 9,000
purebred puppies a year,
Smith said. Most are small
breeds sold to New Yorkers
and New Englanders as
apartment dogs. Breeds in
high demand are Yorkshire
terriers, Maltese, poodles
and Jack Russell terriers.
Even with such
large puppy operations,
Pennsylvania has a
respectable image among
the general public and many
humane societies.
While many people
disagree with dog-breeding
operations that mass produce
puppies for commercial
sale, they at least notice
Pennsylvania’s stance on
bringing better treatment to
breeding animals.
Pennsylvania dog
breeders were once
considered lowly creatures
among animal rights activists
and humane societies. Many
of the breeders included
Amish farmers.
Anti-cruelty investigator
Bob Baker recalls kennel
conditions 25 years ago in
Pennsylvania.
‘‘The conditions were
the worst in the country in
the 1980s,’’ said Baker, who
works as an investigator for
the ASPCA of New York.
‘‘They were horrendous with
filth and dirt. The breeders
used anything for pens.
They used junk cars and old
refrigerators. There was no
real veterinary care.’’
Baker has gone
undercover to investigate
Oklahoma kennels and
puppy mills and found them
substandard in housing
facilities and veterinary
care. His claim seems to be
backed up by USDA records
that show inspectors issued
1,590 violations for problems
with facility upkeep,
sanitation and pest control
between 2003 and 2006.
There were 167 violations of
adequate veterinary care.
Baker goes undercover
because puppy mill operators
typically hide their facilities’
locations. Many breeders
sell puppies at other places
so their primary location
remains a secret. Getting into
secretive Oklahoma facilities
has become more difficult,
Baker said.
‘‘Now these places are
being more cautious,’’ Baker
said. ‘‘They move the kennels
into barns or build high
privacy fences. In Oklahoma,
it is getting harder because
the breeders are more aware
of exposes.’’
Other animal advocate
groups have gone
undercover to investigate
Oklahoma kennels,
including Companion
Animal Protection Society,
said organization president
Deborah Howard. Within the
past year, CAPS has videoed
substandard conditions at
several Oklahoma kennels.
Before the passage of
the Pennsylvania Dog Law
in 1982, there were regular
reports of filthy conditions,
starvation and general neglect
of animals, Baker said.
However, today
Pennsylvania has one of
the most aggressive state
regulations that govern
commercial kennels, rescue
shelters, pet stores and anyone
handling a large number of
dogs. If a person handles 26
or more animals in a year, that
person is regulated by the
state, Smith said.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma is
one of 24 states without state
licensing or regulation of
dog-breeding operations.
In 2006, Pennsylvania
spent $7.6 million enforcing
its dog law, Smith said. The
law does not use taxpayer
money since it is funded by
fees from breeders, Smith
said.
The Pennsylvania
law brought licensing,
inspections and enforcement
of kennel regulations under
state guidelines.
While USDA regulations
remain in place, the state
law captures the puppy-mill
breeder who once avoided
federal regulations by selling
animals to the public through
retail avenues.
Pennsylvania’s Dog Law
allowed the state to hire 59
state inspectors to monitor
and to enforce the law,
Smith said. To put that into
perspective, the number of
inspectors in Pennsylvania
is 50 percent of the total
number of federal inspectors
used by the United States for
the entire nation.
Baker said he was at
ground zero when humane
societies and animal rights
activists were pressuring
Pennsylvania to clean up its
kennels.
He said he was part of the
group that helped secure the
passage of the Pennsylvania
Dog Law. While the law has
brought noticeable reform
to Pennsylvania, reformers
still believe the state can do
more.
‘‘We see progress there
with the governor, and
there is an effort to create
legislation that requires a
breeder to exercise the dogs
and to double the cage size,’’
Baker said.
Rep. Lee Denney, R Cushing,
said Oklahoma
needs to regulate its dog breeding
industry to end
unsanitary and abusive
conditions at some kennels.
Denney is a veterinarian and
a lawmaker.
‘‘In my veterinary practice,
I have seen unhealthy
animals from breeders and
being a veterinary, and
seeing it firsthand, I want to
improve conditions for the
animals and the consumer,’’
Denney said.
Omer Gilham 581-8301
omer.gilham@tulsaworld.com
Associated Images:
One marcher carries a sign and another carries a dog as animal activists walk through the tourist town of Intercourse,
Pa., as part of Puppy Mill Awareness Day in September 2006.
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