Governor Signs PA Puppy Mill Bill

Update Oct. 10, 2008: Governor Ed Rendell  has signed the puppy mill bill, H.B. 2525, that he and the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement championed through the legislature. 

It is a very different law from the original bill, however. In the end the dogs will have bigger cages that can’t be stacked, twice a year veterinary exams, if enforced; maybe some form of exercise, and flooring that is not all wire though not solid either. Waivers available to breeders could delay implementation of even these requirements for years.

Because of amendments made in the Senate, the bill was stripped of many of the original care provisions that are now left to the discretion of a  Canine Health Board weighted in favor of the breeders. The new law does ban killing dogs by shooting; dogs must be humanely euthanized by a veterinarian.

There is also provision for increased inspections and ability of the state to obtain warrants and cease and desist orders to enforce the law. Millers must now pay for the cost of care for dogs seized for violations. 

The new law applies only to kennels selling 60 dogs or more each year or to pet stores or wholesalers. It will affect approximately 650 of the state’s 2,750 commercial breeders.  

For more on the amendments that left what many believe is a watered down law that will do little for the dogs, read Animal Law Coalition’s earlier reports below. 

Update late on Oct. 8, 2008: The House has now concurred with all of the amendments added to H.B. 2525, and the bill is now awaiting signature by Gov. Ed Rendell.

The governor is expected to hold a news conference and sign the bill as early as tonight. 

The bill, H.B. 2525, passed in a watered down version with the many amendments tacked on by  Senate committees. 

Update October 8, 2008: From North Penn Puppy Mill Watch, http://www.nppmwatch.com/:  "At approximately 2:54 P.M. EST today, the Senate passed House Bill 2525 with all amendments tacked on. [The vote was 49-1.]…
 
"Many of these amendments work against compliance of the few standards that still remained after being removed by amendment in the Senate Agriculture & Rural Affairs committee.  This committee was also responsible for the creation of the Canine Health Board AND the waivers.
 
"Eichelberger was the only negative vote."
 
The bill was just voted out of the Appropriations committee yesterday  with more amendments. Those amendments include provision for two additional seats on Canine Health Board for PA Veterinary Medical Association (PVMA) and Penn Vet School, and a waiver for unfettered access (to outdoor exercise area) though alternatives for exercise must be proven to be both enforceable and verifiable. 

In another amendment the Canine Health Board, created by amendment in the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, has been weighted in favor of breeders with an amendment allowing a quorum with only 5 people and a vote of 3 for passage of any measure.  There will be no proxy votes.

The waiver provisions for breeders, created by amendment in the Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, have been extended to include any miller who has not been convicted of a regulation in the past 3 years, not just those who have never been cited. And, worse yet, the 3 year waiver period can be extended under amendments passed by Appropriations. 

Also, the Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association won its fight to stop dogs from living in enclosures with solid floors instead of wire flooring that hurt and even cripple dogs forced to stand and lie on it for years on end. The bill now requires flooring through which waste can fall and drain, meaning the flooring must be at least slatted.

For more on other Senate amendments, read Animal Law Coalition’s earlier reports below.

Update October 6, 2008: H.B. 2525 is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee but is expected to be released shortly.  The Pennsylvania Veterinary Medical Association ("PVMA") is trying desperately to add an amendment allowing wire or wire strand flooring in commercial breeding facilities. 

Wire strand flooring is not more sanitary (urine runs through but feces must be ground through the wire by the dogs’ feet), it causes dogs’ feet to become splayed, muscles and bones do not develop properly, and standing on wire (even coated wire) is extremely painful. 

Update Sept. 29, 2008: The Pennsylvania Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee has passed the puppy mill bill, H.B. 2525, but with two packages of amendments that, according to one member of the Dog Law Advisory Board, "water down" the proposed law.

The amendments are unacceptable to many animal welfare advocates who have called for the amendments, sponsored by Sen. Michael W. Brubaker, R-Lititz, to be removed from the bill.  Gov. Ed Rendell continues to support the amendments adopted in a 10-1 vote by the committee. 

The amendments propose to create a Canine Health Board made up of 7 veterinarians who would serve 4 year terms. The governor would appoint 3 of the members of the Board and the  House and Senate Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committees would appoint the rest.

Another bureaucracy in a state that already has a Dog Law Advisory Board and a Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement.

The Canine Health Board would decide certain conditions such as temperature, humidity, ventilation requirements, ammonia levels, lighting, exercise, and cage flooring. That means the bill was stripped of particular requirements for these conditions which are now to be determined…..

The bill does still leave the maximum temperature allowed as 85 degrees, but allows a breeder to escape a citation if he has made some effort to cool the premises.  Many of the puppy mill operators in Pennsylvania are Amish who claim their children don’t have air conditioning so why should the dogs?  Of course, their children are not kept in small, overcrowded, dirty cages 24/7 in hot barns or sheds; they are free to find cool air and shade.  Dogs especially the long-haired dogs are very susceptible to heat exhaustion and nursing mothers to dehydration.

The bill did leave in a provision for flooring but instead of solid surfaces, flooring could be slatted with spaces not larger than 1/2 inch. The flooring could not sag or slope more than 1/4 inch or made made of metal strands or susceptible to chewing or digging.  The idea in allowing slats is to permit waste to fall through. But if millers are required to clean daily and remove the dogs while doing so, why the slats? Remember these dogs will be forced to stand and lie on slatted flooring except for the few moments they are out of the cage.  

The proposed amendments approved by the Senate committee would waive compliance for some breeders for up to 3 years if they had satisfactory inspection reports in the previous 3 years and had just made renovations or are making a good faith effort to comply but because of circumstances beyond their control, cannot comply without an extension. That means dogs will suffer for 3 more years with no relief from the small stacked cages, overcrowding, wire flooring, lack of veterinary care and sanitary conditions, poor ventilation, lighting, and extreme temperatures.

The puppy millers have known for some time that Pennsylvania was contemplating substantial changes in requirements for dog kennels.  It is not clear why the legislature would reward those millers who, knowing of proposed changes in the law, made renovations to their kennels, particularly if they failed to meet the new standards.

The amendments to H.B. 2525 would also mean millers could avoid exercising their dogs outside. Millers would be allowed to create indoor areas for exercise especially if a local zoning requirement prohibited an outdoor area where the miller is located.

With respect to inspections, the warden and miller could agree within the 36-hour limit to extend the inspection to a time both agree upon.

Under the amended version of H.B. 2525 dog wardens would not be able to inspect all of the millers’ property, only the dog kennel. Probable cause for administrative search warrants for other than a private kennel (this is not applicable at all to private kennels) is established only where the person has been denied entry for an inspection or examination of the kennel. Yet millers may be holding dogs in other structures, such as a barn, shed, or even a truck or other vehicle.  Inspections would be meaningless if millers can simply move dogs into buildings or vehicles where dog wardens have no access. The language with respect to criminal probable cause remains unchanged.

When this bill, H.B. 2525, was first introduced on behalf of Gov. Rendell and touted even by Oprah Winfrey, it did nothing to limit the breeding – the numbers of dogs bred each year by a commercial dog kennel, the numbers produced and sold by each kennel annually, the ages when dogs can be bred, inbreeding.  Absolutely nothing. The bill also did nothing to keep dogs from being forced to live in cages with little or no loving human interaction. 

But the bill as introduced and as it passed the House of Representatives did double the size of the cages and space for each dog, banned stacking of cages, required outdoor exercise, mandated a program of veterinary care, increased inspection requirements, and imposed specific requirements for temperature, ventilation, lighting, solid flooring, sanitation, fire protection, and waste disposal. A complete summary of the original bill’s provisions is at the end of this article.

Now, these Senate amendments threaten to eviscerate even these protections.  

Don’t let this happen.

WHAT YOU CAN DO – There is not much time. The session ends October 8.

Find your Pennsylvania state senator and urge him or her to vote against the amendments and support the bill, H.B. 2525, in its original form.  Tell your senator that you vote. 

Also, write or call Gov. Ed Rendell  and email Jessie Smith, Chief of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, jlsmith@state.pa.us  and tell them that you don’t support the Senate amendments to H.B. 2525 and ask them to stop the amendments and work to pass H.B. 2525 in its original form as it passed the House of Representatives.   

For a look at the members of the committee that passed these amendments and more on this legislation, go to http://www.nppmwatch.com/

Update Sept. 22, 2008: A spokesperson for Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi says he sees "no reason" that the puppy mill bills won’t come up for a vote before the end of this year’s legislative session.

Previously, the Senate Republicans had said they were unsure if the bills would be voted on before the end of the session. 

For details on these bills, read Animal Law Coalition’s earlier reports below! 

Update Sept. 20, 2008: The Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement has issued this call to action:

PA Dogs are counting on you to be their voice…

HB 2525 and 2532 [which will improve conditions and treatment for dogs in commercial dog breeding kennels in PA] have passed the state House of Representatives and now move on to the Senate.

The Senate plans to adjourn for the year on October 8th. If the state Senate does not pass this legislation so it can be signed into law before November 30th, we will have to start all over again next year.

Breaking News September 17, 2008 at noon: The Pennsylvania House of Representatives has passed H.B. 2525 and H.B. 2532 known as the puppy mill bills.

The vote on H.B. 2525, the comprehensive overhaul to the Dog Law as it applies to commercial dog breeders, was 181 in favor with just 17 opposed. The House unanimously passed H.B. 2532 which would ban debarking, ear cropping and surgical birthing without a veterinarian using anesthesia.

For more on these bills including a detailed summary of H.B. 2525, read ALC’s earlier reports below. 

Update Sept. 17, 2008: The momentum appears to be in favor of Gov. Ed Rendell’s puppy mill bills. A vote in the PA House could come at any time.

Before the summer recess, there were over 100 amendments that were offered for the puppy mill bill, H.B. 2525, a comprehensive overhaul of the Dog Law as applied to commercial dog breeders, as breeders, the state farm bureau and the Pennsylvania Veterinarian Medical Association worked to defeat it. 

But in hearings this week, all of the amendments except for a couple were defeated, according to Jessie Smith, Chief of the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement, "by wide margins". A surviving amendment will allow the legislature and not the PA Dept. of Agriculture set licensing fees.  

 As a warning against this bill and increased scrutiny of their operations, Pennsylvania’s commercial dog breeders have even brought a lawsuit.     

Click here for more on the amendments threatening to defeat this bill.  And for more on the politics….. 

H.B. 2532 which would make it illegal to debark, dock tails or perform surgical births without a veterinarian using anesthesia, is now in the Rules Committee…..Who could possibly, reasonably oppose this bill??  

The bills have  more than 100 co-sponsors. And, there is momentum to pass these laws which would require improvements in commercial dog breeding operations, particularly after Oprah’s show on the subject and tragically, the shooting of 80 dogs this summer by puppy millers intent on avoiding criminal charges by the Dog Law Enforcement Bureau. Under the new law, millers would be required to euthanize dogs humanely using a veterinarian and not allowd simply to shoot them. 

Also, the Pennsylvania SPCA and Dog Law Enforcement Bureau have conducted some high profile raids of mills, such as on John Blank’s kennel, bringing the cruelty into the public eye. Most recently on September 3, 2008, the Burkholder Farm Kennel in Maxatawny was shut down and the operator’s license revoked because of dogs found sick and living in terrible conditions. 

Governor Ed Rendell, the Dog Law Enforcement Bureau and animal welfare advocates hope to capitalize on the public awareness and sympathy to pass the bills in the little time remianing in the legislative session.    

For more on the bills, including a detailed summary of HB 2525, read ALC’s earlier reports below.

Update June 24, 2008: H.B. 2525 passed the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee today by a vote of 17-12!!

Commercial dog breeders, sportsmen and hunters came to the hearings the past two days to oppose the bill. They offered a number of amendments.  

One amendment proposed to eliminate the State’s authority to deny a kennel license to someone who has been denied a license by a local council or zoning board.  Jessie Smith, Chief of the Dog Law Enforcement Bureau, explained it is "silly" for the state to allow someone to operate in violation of local law. She emphasized that this only applies upon a  final order.  The amendment was defeated.

In another notable proposed amendment, opponents sought to require probable cause for inspections of puppy mills. Jeff Paladina, an attorney for Dog Law Enforcement,  explained, "Courts have said in the context of administrative inspections, criminal probable cause is not required because there is a lesser expectation of privacy. The dog wardens do not know whether a violation is occurring inside, so they cannot meet criminal probable cause and are frustrated in enforcing the standards the legislature has created. Our probable cause [will] be based on a comprehensive scheme of enforcement. … They have all subjected themselves to greater regulation. This amendment would …make it impossible for us to enforce the provisions of the act."  The amendment was defeated.

Another amendment that would have granted millers more leeway in refusing entry for inspections and searches was also defeated. 

The bill is supported by Governor Ed Rendell in an effort to improve conditions for dogs trapped in Pennsylvania puppy mills. For a detailed look at the bill, read Animal Law Coalition’s original report below.

For more on a companion bill, H.B. 2532, that has passed in the Judiciary Committee, read Animal Law Coalition’s reports below. That bill would eliminate some of the worst abuses in puppy mills – debarking, tail docking and surgical birthing without a licensed veterinarian using anesthesia. 

These bills, H.B. 2525 and H.B. 2532, now go to the full House of Representatives for a vote.  

Update June 24, 2008: The House Judiciary Committee has voted to pass H.B. 2532, a bill that would ban debarking, tail docking and surgical birthing done without a veterinarian using  anesthesia.

The bill will also allow dog wardens in counties with no humane officer to cite commercial breeders for cruelty violations.  

The bill now goes to the full House of Representatives for a vote.  

This bill was introduced by Rep. Thomas Caltigirone. Unless H.B. 2532 becomes law, commercial breeders will continue to be able to debark dogs by shoving a pipe or some other object down the dogs’ throats without any anesthesia, to rupture the vocal cords.

Unless this bill becomes law, commercial breeders will continue to be able to cut open the bellies of pregnant dogs, take out the puppies, and sew them up, all without anesthesia or the aid of trained personnel, let alone a veterinarian.

Unless this bill becomes law, commercial breeders will continue to be able to cut off puppies’ tails, again without anesthesia or the expertise of a veterinarian, leaving the dogs vulnerable to ongoing pain, gorwths and scar tissue, and problems with biological functioning and even human and dog interactions. 

Update June 23, 2008:   There is likely to be a vote as early as tomorrow in the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on H.B. 2525, more commonly known as the Pennsylvania puppy mill bill.

The bill faces strong opposition from breeders that claim it will put their puppy mills out of business. The bill imposes standards for humane care and sanitary conditions for commercial kennels with 60 or more dogs and sets license fees as well as criminal fines up to $1000 per offense and civil penalties up to $1000 per day.

In hearings last week puppy millers all but admitted it is not profitable to operate a commercial dog breeding kennel that includes humane care and treatment. Opponents of the bill testified before the Committee, insisting they cannot afford to meet the standards set by this bill. Ken Brandt, a lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Professional Dog Breeders Association was blunt in telling the committee the purpose of the bill was to shut down their businesses.     

The requirements in this bill are, however, modest. Look at Animal Law Coalition’s earlier report below for a detailed listing of the specific requirements of this bill, H.B. 2525.

Update May 30, 2008:  During her show yesterday famed talk show host Oprah Winfrey read a letter from Governor Ed Rendell about puppy mills and has called on her viewers to support an end to mills. On her website Oprah has endorsed the Pennsylvania bill that would more strictly regulate dog breeders and improve conditions for the dogs trapped in the pet trade. 

Update May 14, 2008: Pennsylvanians – and their dogs – came to the Capitol today for a rally to hear more about the overhaul of the state’s Dog Law, proposed amendments aimed at improving conditions for dogs trapped in puppy mills.

Jessie L. Smith, special deputy secretary, Dog Law Enforcement, said, "Under current law, a kennel owner can choose to confine dogs in small, stacked, wire-floored cages with no heat, no opportunity for exercise, and no routine medical care. No matter how distressing this is, it is completely legal under the current Pennsylvania Dog Law and regulations. The proposed legislation provides, for the first time, language to take action on these situations."

Smith noted, "Space and exercise requirements in the proposed legislation specifically address commercial breeding kennels, where dogs can spend their entire lives in small cages with no exercise requirements under current law." 

The amendments which are also notable for requirements for veterinary care, are contained in H.B. 2525 and summarized in Animal Law Coalition’s earlier report below.

Smith noted the new law basically singles out commercial breeding kennels for change. The regulations for other kennels are generally unchanged except for requirements for fire safety and exercise.

Attendees were also at the rally at the Capitol in support of 2 other bills pending in the Pennsylvania legislature: H.B. 499 which would increase fines for cruelty to animals and also require owners of dogs seized in these cases to pay the costs of sheltering and care of the animal and failure to do so can mean the animal is deemed abandoned. Click here for a copy of the bill.

A third bill, H.B. 2532, would prohibit debarking, tail docking or surgical birthing unless done by a veterinarian under anesthesia. Click here for a copy of that bill.

Original report: Jessie L. Smith, Special Deputy Secretary, Dog Law Enforcement, Pennsylvania Dept. of Agriculture, is announcing changes in the state Dog Law pending in the legislature. These changes were initiated and supported by Governor Ed Rendell. 

Representative James E. Casorio is prime sponsor of Dog Law overhaul along with Rep. Thomas R. Caltagirone and Rep. Gene DiGirolamo.

Click here for a copy of the long awaited proposed amendments to the Dog Law that proponents hope will at least ease the suffering of thousands of dogs trapped in commercial breeding facilities or puppy mills in the state.   

Pennsylvania’s Lancaster County is known as the puppy mill capital at least of the eastern United States. Approximately 53 dog wardens oversee more than 2100 puppy mills.

It is estimated 1 million puppies are born in Pennsylvania each year in these commercial breeding operations or puppy mills.

Though Pennsylvania has an extensive Dog Law and a bureau devoted to dogs, the puppy mills remain crude operations where dogs live in deplorable, torturous conditions. They live in small, dirty, crowded cages typically with little or no care, not enough food and no exercise or human interaction. They are lucky if the wire floors of their cages where they lay all day are not covered in feces, rotten food and garbage. It is worse for the dogs used for breeding. The female dogs are forced to breed litter after litter until their organs are literally falling out. Litters are often simply ripped from their bodies which may be sewn back together with fishing line. They never leave their cages.

Recently, on her television show Oprah Winfrey played video showing dogs kept in squalid conditions at commercial breeding kennels in Lancaster County visited by Bill Smith of Main Line Animal Rescue and reporter Lisa Ling. Click here for more on that show.

It is estimated up to 99% of dogs sold in pet stores are from commercial dog breeding kennels or puppy mills. Anywhere from 25-30% or more of these puppies eventually end up in public shelters.

Jenny Stephens, director of North Pennsylvania Puppy Mill Watch, www.nppmwatch.com, observed, "the Bill contains many excellent provisions including [requirements for] heat, solid surfaces and veterinary care, things that advocates could only have hoped for but probably not realized on behalf of the dogs if not for this legislation."

The Dog Law currently applies to breeders with 26 or more dogs. Highlights of the proposed amendments include:

The Dog Law Advisory Board would be increased to include 8 members of the public. (The Dog Law Advisory Board has no rule making authority. The board currently includes representatives from animal rescue organizations, animal research facilities, dog breeders or puppy millers, farmers, veterinarians, hunters and pet shop owners. 3 Pa. C. Sec. 459-901. The Secretary of Agriculture supervises the board.)

The Dog Law would apply not only to kennels that keep 26 or more dogs but those that keep or transfer 26 or more dogs.

Large commercial mills with 3,000 or more dogs would be welcome to register and do business; there are no limits on the numbers of dogs that can be kept or bred; there are no limits on the breeding at all.

There would be a licensing requirement for dealers, meaning basically those who act as intermediaries or brokers.

Foster homes must be associated with rescue organizations that have a license to operate as "rescue network kennels," and foster homes must display the license of the dealer or rescue network kennel with which they are associated.

No kennel licenses could be issued to anyone convicted in the past 10 years of animal cruelty under 18 Pa.C.S §5511 or another state’s laws.  

A number of factors could disqualify someone from obtaining a kennel license including:

   Conviction for animal cruelty more than 10 years ago if the person is not rehabilitated or would jeopardize health, safety and welfare of dogs;

    Conviction of a felony

    Prior revocation or refusal of a license in the past 10 years

    Disapproval for operating a kennel from local authorities based on local ordinances

    Prior violation of consumer trade laws

    Prior agreement with the Attorney General not to operate a kennel

    Someone who would be refused a license will play a role in the kennel

Inspections by dog wardens and state agriculture department officials would increase to twice each year and these officials would have the authority to obtain a warrant for inspections.

The Department of Agriculture could obtain injunctive relief and issue cease and desist orders and require divestiture of all but 25 of the dogs, but kennels could continue to operate under certain conditions if a hearing is requested within 10 days though the dogs can be removed.

There would be bonding requirements which means owners must pay for the care of dogs during pending cruelty cases or forfeit ownership of the dogs.

There would be a scheme of civil penalties or fines for violations.

Non-profits would be required to keep the same records as breeders and dealers and the record keeping requirements would be increased to include the name and address of the previous and current owner and anyone to whom the dog is sold or transferred.

All kennels would be required to implement a veterinarian approved plan for the opportunity for exercise though there is no requirement as to how often the dogs must be allowed to exercise.

All kennels would be required to provide smoke alarms or fire extinguishers; all housing facilities would be required to have fire extinguishers and indoor facilities "may have" a sprinkling system.

Commercial kennels that breed and sell dogs to dealers or pet stores or sell more than 60 dogs per year, would in addition be subject to these requirements:  

These commercial dog breeders would be required to provide enclosures for the dogs that "enable" them to "remain dry and clean"; are cleaned daily, and are adequately ventilated and lighted, protect them from humidity and temperatures below 50 degrees F and above 85 degrees F. and from temperatures and weather that "may be hazardous or uncomfortable" for the dog; have surfaces that are impervious to moisture, may be readily cleaned and sanitized or replaced and that protect the dogs from injury;

Dogs could continue to be kept in cages but which can be stacked in no more than 2 rows and the lowest level may be no higher than 4 ½ feet from the floor or ground;   

The front of the cage must have the dogs’ birth dates, rabies vaccination dates and dates of last veterinary check;

Veterinary records would not be required to be kept longer than the dog is at the kennel;

Dogs could only be euthanized by a veterinarian;

The commercial breeder must implement a program of veterinary care that must be in writing and include a schedule for physical examinations and vaccinations, disease control and prevention, pest and parasite control, nutrition, emergency care and euthanasia;

A mother with puppies will be required to have at least 5% more floor space for each puppy unless a veterinarian approves otherwise;

Dogs must be moved out of the cage during cleaning;

Dogs must be provided with adequate, clean, uncontaminated food and potable water at all times unless a veterinarian documents otherwise;

Kennels must have a smoke alarm and fire extinguisher or sprinkling system.

For the dogs in commercial kennels that are over 12 weeks:

Cages must have a solid floor and be twice the size allowed under the USDA regulations, meaning floor space would be calculated according to the following procedure:

(1) Measure the length of the dog, in inches, from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail.

(2) Add 6 inches to that number.

(3) Square that sum.

(4) Divide that product by 144.

(5) Multiply by 2.

That number would represent the minimum required floor space for that dog in square feet.

Example: A dog measures 24 inches from the tip of its nose to the base of its tail (Step 1). Adding 6 inches to that number (Step 2) gives a sum of 30 inches. Squaring that sum (Step 3) gives a product of 900 square inches. Dividing that product by 144 (Step 4) gives a quotient of 6.25. Multiply 6.25 by 2. 12.50 square feet is the minimum amount of floor space which must be provided to that particular dog.

Up to 6 dogs could be in a cage and the floor space would then be required to be doubled for the second dog; for each additional dog, 1.5 times the space is to be added.

Cages could not be stacked at all and could be no more than 12 inches off the ground or floor.

Cages must open or be next to an outdoor exercise area which must be twice as large as the cage.

Dogs must be examined by a vet once each year or pregnancy "whichever occurs more frequently".