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Mansfield
News Journal
Puppy
mill reforms are slow to form
in Ohio
15 Ohio breeders in 'Horrible
Hundred'
By Russ Zimmer
May
19, 2013
At
a commercial dog breeder in
rural Richland County, a U.S. Department of Agriculture inspector
discovered
one adult dog’s teeth were so loose they could be “moved back and forth
with
the inspector’s finger.”
That
was in March 2011. Last year,
as response to horror stories like the one above, Ohio passed the
Commercial
Dog Breeders Act, which went into effect in March 2013. The act was
intended to
regulate high-volume dog breeders, some of whom had used blind spots in
the law
to escape scrutiny.
However,
the rule-making process
has only just begun — the act’s advisory board convenes Wednesday for
the first
time — and without rules there can be no enforcement.
The
Humane Society of the United
States released a report on “puppy mills” this month in which 15 Ohio
breeders
were targeted for deficiencies uncovered by the USDA or the humane
society
itself. Only Missouri had more facilities included in the list of 100
bad
actors.
Untreated
dental problems, grimy
food and water dishes, untended wounds, feces-covered cages and floors
and
other deplorable conditions were observed in Ohio kennels, according to
the
report.
“We
were seeing notorious breeders
with bad reputations would pick up and move to Ohio where they could
operate
under the radar because they knew nobody would be checking up on them,”
said
Karen Minton, Ohio state director for the humane society.
The
humane society, which is
involved in the rule-making process, is hoping the graphic report will
convince
Ohio policymakers to include provisions outlawing some of the specific
grievances that have gone unpunished over the years.
CentralOhio.com
reached out to
several breeders in the report, but none would go on the record.
Rule
making begins
Erica
Hawkins, spokeswoman for the
Ohio Department of Agriculture, provided CentralOhio.com with a copy of
the
initial draft rules, which she said were written by the State
Veterinarian Tony
Forshey, the humane society and other stakeholders.
The
draft rules specify…
Read
the rest of the article at the
Mansfield News Journal
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