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Modified HB1468/Puppy Mill Bill Passes Indiana Legislature
Indy Star
By Deanna Martin / Associated Press
Posted: April 29, 2009
Supporters of a bill to regulate large-scale dog breeding operations hope the legislation will have an immediate impact on so-called "puppy mills" around the state.
Bill sponsor Rep. Linda Lawson, D-Hammond, said the bill that won final legislative approval late Wednesday will allow the state to start cracking down on irresponsible breeders.
"It's a great start," Lawson said of the bill.
The proposal would toughen animal abuse laws and require commercial dog breeders to register with the state. It would require breeders to offer dogs daily exercise and set other minimum standards of care for the animals.
"This bill is a monumental step forward," said Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Elkhart. "This bill will work. We will put these bad actors out of business."
The legislation unanimously passed the House and cleared the Senate on a 44-4 vote. It now moves to Gov. Mitch Daniels for consideration.
Under the proposal, cities and counties couldn't enact tougher local animal ordinances after Dec. 31. Communities that already have tougher standards or those that pass new ordinances this year would be allowed to keep their stricter rules.
Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, said she was worried that the bill could affect farmers and voted against the bill. But Sen. Brent Steele, a Republican from Bedford who was part of a conference committee working on the proposal, said farmers had nothing to worry about and explained that the dog breeding regulations only deal with dogs, not farm animals. Steele said he wouldn't agree to the proposal if he thought it would harm his rural district.
"I don't think I would be signing my name to a conference committee report that I thought for one second would be a springboard to put my farmers out of business," Steele said.
Puppy Mill Proposal Passes House Unanimously
By Eric Berman
4/29/2009
A deal on a bill to regulate Indiana dog breeders has unanimously passed the Indiana House, sending it on its way to the governor's office. The bill had previously passed the Senate 44-4.
The House erupted in a bipartisan standing ovation after a tumultuous session-long battle over how far to go in imposing the regulations ended with unanimous approval of a compromise bill.
The bill gives Attorney General Greg Zoeller and the State Board of Animal Health authority to ensure compliance with animal cruelty laws. It also closes loopholes in those laws, including a provision that until now made injuring someone's pet a crime but was silent on killing the animal.
The bill takes two small steps toward regulating conditions in breeding facilities, requiring dogs have the opportunity to run around each day, rather than being confined to their cages all day. And it bans wire flooring in those cages, requiring something more solid.
Animal welfare activists, led by Rep. Linda Lawson (D-Hammond), had pushed for more extensive regulations, including minimum requirements for lighting, ventilation and sanitation, and caps on how many dogs a breeder could have. Lawson dropped most of those proposals last week, saying it was critical to pass the animal-cruelty portion of the bill.
Lawson says she still would have preferred more dramatic action. But she says the one significant change since Monday has vastly improved the bill, allowing Fort Wayne and Bloomington to maintain stricter ordinances already on the books.
Other communities would have until the end of the year to pass their own ordinances. After that, the bill would represent the outer limits of regulation. |