Senate Still Debates Puppy Mill Bill

Analysis

Senate Still Debates Puppy Mill Bill

Anna Field – January 11, 2011

Three years after its first proposal, the Ohio Senate is still deliberating on the passage of Senate Bill (SB) 95.

Senate Bill 95, more commonly known as the puppy mill bill, is yet to be passed by the Ohio Senate after three years of in-house debate. The bill was introduced in 2007, with the aim of regulating dog breeding and puppy mills in Ohio, but so far, nothing has come of SB 95 besides endless hours of debating.

Sen. Jim Hughes, the Chair of the SB 95 committee, is still pushing hard for passage of the bill, though it has been hard for the bill to move forward throughout the Ohio legislative branch.

Ever since the dog auctions were opened in 2004, puppy mills have been on the rise, and the conditions in which the dogs live has gotten worse and worse. Currently, Ohio has over 11,000 kennels, where dogs are bred for profit.

Typically, the dogs are kept in small metal or wire cages, which are often stacked on top of each other, and receive little to no medical attention. The dogs can have serious health issues, such as broken bones that were never fixed, and the absence of lower jaws.

The cages are hardly ever cleaned, so the dogs have to sit in their own excrement day in and day out, and the dogs are lucky if they get fed three or four times a week.

SB 95 hopes to change this. The main premise of the bill is to make sure that the people who are breeding dogs are doing it in a safe and humane way for the animals.

Anyone who wishes to breed and sell dogs must first submit an application to obtain a license to breed the dogs and must pay a bond based on the number of dogs he or she has. Any person who wishes to breed dogs must fulfill the cage size requirements for each of the dogs he or she has, and must make sure that the dogs have at least two hours of exercise per day.

The breeder must submit pictures of the kennel to a committee, so that the committee can ensure that the living conditions are suitable for the dogs. The cages must be kept clean, and the dogs must be well cared for, which includes daily feeding and medical treatment when needed.

Best of all, the bill states that “no person shall sell a dog at an auction or conduct an auction for the purpose of selling dogs”. This means that the puppy mill dog auctions will become illegal, and will keep the dogs from suffering through the humiliation and inhumanity of being auctioned.

If SB 95 passes, it will save the lives of many dogs every year, and it will also make sure that every dog that is in a breeder’s care will be taken care of and treated humanely. The bill will stop the puppy mill dog auctions in Ohio, which draws crowds of cash waving people who have no intent of giving the dogs a safe or loving home.

In fact, in several states, these dog auctions are illegal already, so Ohio attracts people from out of state as well, looking to buy or sell dogs without prosecution. By passing Senate Bill 95, the lives of the dogs will be protected and they will be guaranteed a safe place to live, medical care, food, and the opportunity for love.

The dogs will be given room to run and sleep, plenty of food, and be saved from the atrocity of being auctioned to someone who may or may not be a respectable owner or breeder.

Hopefully, Sen. Hughes and his staff can persuade the rest of the senate to pass this very important bill and help to aid the dogs in leading long, happy, and healthy lives.