The Puppy Mill Bill

The Puppy Mill Bill is endorsed by breeders, veterinarians, rescue organizations, citizens and shelters that support responsible breeding practices. The goal is to address the abuse and neglect of breeding dogs maintained in high volume breeding facilities.

Will the bill make breeding dogs illegal in Ohio?
No.

Who does the proposal regulate?
A kennel will be under regulation when nine or more dogs are bred in a given year.
Kennels maintaining less than nine breeding dogs in a given year will not be regulated.

What are conditions like in puppy mills?
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.

What kind of standards will regulated kennels have to meet?
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.

Aren’t horrible conditions adequately addressed by Ohio’s existing animal cruelty laws?
No. Animal cruelty as a crime requires prosecutors to prove cruelty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Current law generally requires an abuser to be caught in the act of abusing or neglecting a dog. Current laws do not address
the health, well being of dogs or sanitation of kennel conditions, (except when in violation of public health laws).
Current laws depend on a single county official, the dog warden, who generally lacks funding and resources and whose principal responsibility is to maintain a county’s animal shelter. Dog wardens lack the equipment, facility and manpower needed to inspect, regulate, cite substandard conditions, and shut down large scale kennels not in compliance.

Are large scale facilities regulated by the American Kennel Club or United Kennel Club?
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.

Does Ohio have a problem?
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 123 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.

Large scale 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.

Will County Dog Warden’s lose the money they would have collected from kennel fees?
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.