New puppy mill proposal emerges
Thursday, May 15, 2014 - Posted by Rich Miller
* As I told you yesterday, the Humane Society decided to drop its efforts to ban pet stores from selling dogs and cats from breeders and require them to sell only animals from shelters. The bill was strongly supported by Gov. Pat Quinn, but they ran into opposition and they’ve considerably reduced the scope of their bill. From their fact sheet…
The Legislation
• Senate Amendment 3 to HB 4056 limits pet stores to purchasing dogs only from breeders who:
1. Are licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA);
2. Have not committed a direct violation of USDA regulations during the previous two years;
3. Have not committed three or more indirect violations of USDA regulations during the previous two years; and,
4. Have not received “No Access” violations from the USDA on their two most recent visits.
Promotes the Sale of Dogs and Cats from Reputable Breeders
• Senate Amendment 3 to HB 4056 does not ban the sale of the dogs and cats by pet stores that have been purchased from breeders.
• The Amendment simply requires that pet stores only obtain the dogs and cats they purchase for sale from reputable breeders who have not been in serious violation of USDA pet-dealer regulations.
Reasonable Approach
• Senate Amendment 3 to HB 4056 is modeled after legislation recently passed unanimously in Connecticut.
• The Amendment would address concerns of closing businesses, as this will not prohibit pet stores from selling puppies as long as they are in compliance.
• This amendment reduces the likelihood that pet stores obtain their puppies from a puppy mill.
The new amendment is here.
Your thoughts?
- VanillaMan - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 9:34 am:
This is Illinois.
Pet stores are only allowed to sell you used pets.
- OneMan - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 9:43 am:
Looks reasonable to me…
- Cheryl44 - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 9:45 am:
This is much more reasonable than the other proposal.
- jackgalt - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 10:05 am:
This seems far more reasonable for those looking for a new pet, pet stores, as well as muncipal and state government that benefits from sales tax on the sale of pets.
There will still be dogs available from a wide variety of sources, with tighter regulation on the source of commercially bred dogs offered in Illinois.
Furthermore, the home rule of Cook County will remain which only allows the sale of shelter dogs in Cook County pet stores. Everyone wins and the more than 700 shelters will continue to have an outlet for the sale of their dogs often acquired from out of state.
- Illannoyed - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 10:12 am:
The puppy mill bill is getting a lot of attention, but a truly bad bill for animals passed the Senate and is scheduled for hearing on May 20. It’s SB 648, which will require non-profit Illinois animal shelters and rescues to turn over stray animals to their county animal control facility within one business day of intake. It sounds innocuous until you realize that some shelters take in desperately sick and injured stray animals and provide life-saving treatment. Animal control facilities run by cities and counties aren’t tasked with providing medical treatment, so animals going to municipal facilities will likely be euthanized. The bill also limits humane investigations into animal neglect and abuse. Where’d the bill come from? My guess is that somebody with a legislator’s ear got royally peeved at just one shelter and decided that this bill would respond to the complaint. Some people don’t realize that Stuff Happens, and to paraphrase whose who didn’t like the original puppy mill bill, responsible people–in this case, non-profit shelters, which operate with private, not government funds–are harmed. Or rather, animals are harmed.
- Ghost - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 10:13 am:
the USDA pretty much has no inspectors to monitor breeders. They only respond to complains if somone happens to notice there is a problem.
Its not strong enough to be a paper tiger. Basically its a feel good bill with no enforcement support behind it so whats the point?
- Puppy Palace - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 10:13 am:
If you want a friend in politics get a dog.
- Jimbo - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 11:48 am:
This satisfies my concerns.
- statesman - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 11:51 am:
If someone in the ILGOP was smart- they would attach a pension reform bill to the puppy mill bill and move it through the legislative process.
Bundling at its best.
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 11:53 am:
Illannoyed, that’s a seriously bad bill. Why does the government care if a shelter cares for a stray? Animal Control shouldn’t be looking to euthanize dogs who someone is willing to care for even temporarily, be that a shelter or a family. Maybe if there was a problem with shelters releasing surplus population into the streets this would make sense. Solutions in search of problems, that’s IL for ya
- Jimbo - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 11:53 am:
11:53 was me.
- Smoke and Mirrors - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 12:12 pm:
People should understand that most puppy mills are already licensed by the USDA. The USDA deemed dogs and cats to be akin to farm animals in the 1930s. Also many puppy mill dogs come from USDA licensed farms owned by those who religiously avoid technology. Sad but true. This bill will do nothing because all those issues need to be addressed on a national level.
- Ghost - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 12:20 pm:
Statesman, yes that would be a great plan, violate the single subject rule and create another pension reform bill subject to being struck down by the court….
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 12:50 pm:
Trusting the USDA or any government agency as to the validity of who is and isn’t a proper breeder is like trusting Gomer Pyle to guard an Army base.
- SAM, ANIMAL ACTIVIST! - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 2:22 pm:
This bill will NOT be effective considering that all puppy mills are licensed under the USDA, but the regulations they are required to meet are EXTREMELY minimal. For example, it is entirely legal (won’t obtain a violation) under USDA licensing standards to keep a dog in a wire cage only slightly bigger then them for their ENTIRE life with little to no socialization or veterinary care. What really needs to be addressed is the extremely minimal and inhumane rules and regulations regarding USDA licensing. Educate yourselves at www.thepuppymillproject.org.
- animal lover - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 4:47 pm:
- Illannoyed, you are correct. SB648 is all about one incident in Macoupin County. They need to take a look at what happens in other areas of the state, not just their own. Not every animal control is like the rest. Thousands of animals will be hurt by it.
- Give Me A Break - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 5:42 pm:
But can they sell a puppy on a Sunday?
- Anonymous - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 8:11 pm:
There are 100 USDA inspectors for around 2000 licensed breeders. That’s a pretty good ratio. If you spend time on the USDA website searching reports, you will find they don’t let much go during inspections. The breeders to worry about are the 8000 unlicensed breeders in the US that are selling over the newspaper, internet, petfinder, etc. Those are the puppy mills.
- Get it right - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 8:14 pm:
Sam is completely INCORRECT. If you read the USDA rules for breeders, they are required to have certain cage sizes, socialization and exercise programs, a veterinary care program with a vet as their partner, medical care programs that include teeth and nails. The Puppy Mill Project is a group of activists that are completely uninformed and are attached to HSUS. They spend NONE of their money to help animals and led the charge in Chicago and Cook County.
- Get it right - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 8:16 pm:
Sam needs to educate herself and stop listening to the Puppy Mill Project.
- Freddi - Thursday, May 15, 14 @ 10:23 pm:
The Puppy Mill Project has absolutely nothing to do with any other organization. 100% of their funds goes directly to fund the facilitating of puppy mill rescues, education in schools, and vet care for the rescued dogs. Get it Right.
- Anonymous - Monday, May 19, 14 @ 10:08 pm:
I support the original bill that ends the sale of puppy mill dogs and cats all together. There are so many pets looking for families there is no need to source from puppy mills. Pet stores should source from rescue organizations.