Those Puppy Mills

Indiana has gained an unflattering reputation for being overly receptive to so-called puppy mills, places where dogs are mass bred under miserable conditions. Indiana finds itself in this place first, because states around it have enacted strict breeding laws, and second, because Indiana has done nothing to discourage these breeders from setting up camp in the Hoosier state.

Stop the Killing

But this year, some lawmakers as well as individuals and organizations committed to protecting animals are trying to create state law that will crackdown on mill breeders.

They are not after legitimate breeders, people who treat their dogs and puppies with compassion and care; they are after those who treat their dogs inhumanely, with an eye only on the bottom money line.

Supporters of the legislation came into the current session with a strong bill to regulate the large-scale dog breeding operations. They wanted standards for sanitary conditions, for an hour of required exercise a day, and for light and ventilation. They wanted to limit breeders to 30 females dogs that are not spayed.

As desirable as those and other requirements are to dog-loving Hoosiers, opposition has been significant from breeding and farming interests. It was clear that supporters of the legislation didn’t have much of a chance of getting their law passed.

So on Thursday, and with time running out on a conference committee handling the legislation, Rep. Linda Larson, D-Hammond, the bill’s author, agreed to make major concessions. She dropped the limit on the number of dogs an owner can breed. She dropped a requirement for state inspections of breeding facilities. She dropped restrictions on how often a dog could be bred.

In return, her bill would require commercial dog breeders to register. And, the bill would allow authorities to shut down abusive puppy mills.

Abusive puppy mills are the kind that cram dogs into small quarters with little ventilation or light, no space for exercise and most unsanitary conditions. Buyers of puppies from these operations usually don’t see the inside of these places, or they would walk away. These operations that need all of the regulation that Indiana government will allow.

If that means accepting a weakened version of the puppy mill bill this year, just to get something on the books, then that is what backers of this legislation should do. In this case, something is better than nothing, if it provides the opportunity to begin the regulation of puppy mills.

Let us hope during this final week of the session that the compromise will be accepted by both sides.