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Monday, April 27, 2009
Ind. Law - Still more on: "Farm interests oppose Indiana's puppy mill bill"
Updating this ILB entry from Sunday, the Indianapolis Star today has an editorial that is in my opinion much too "cutsie". Here is the gist, omitting many of the unnecessary puns:
Faced with ferocious resistance from the farm lobby and some legislators, along with a sort of stealth opposition from the state Department of Agriculture, the chief sponsor has offered new concessions to an already watered-down dog-breeder bill.The danger, of course, is that HB 1468 may become a bill that legalizes puppy mills, rather than a bill that regulates them.Key doubters in the legislature say they might be able to go for it. The ag department calls itself a backer of the bill -- as long as "a few changes" were thrown in.
The changes have been more than few since state Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, introduced House Bill 1468 in response to numerous reports, including The Star's, of crowded, brutal conditions at commercial breeding operations.
Aimed at one of the nation's weakest anti-cruelty laws, HB 1468 would have required the kennels to register with the state, undergo inspections, provide exercise and other health necessities, allow purchasers to return sick or defective pets, and limit the number of dogs a kennel could produce and the frequency with which a female could be bred. It sounded good to animal lovers and those concerned about the scourge of canine overpopulation. Too good.
The Senate version, driven by breeders and the Indiana Farm Bureau, omitted several elements, including the consumer safeguard and the population caps. Lawson and her allies hoped to close gaps in conference committee. But funny things happened on the way.
The Humane Society of the United States, which supports Lawson's bill and also has criticized conditions at large livestock farms in other states, became the bogeyman in a scare campaign by the Farm Bureau and some legislators, who made the laughable charge that Indiana agriculture was the target. While refusing to fess up to any stance, the state ag department played along behind the scenes, passing out anti-Humane Society literature to lawmakers.
As thousands of suffering animals waited for the barking to subside, Lawson on Thursday dropped the breeding caps and the inspections, plus other demands on the shadowy world of puppy mills.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on April 27, 2009 01:16 PM
Posted to Indiana Law