Mountaintop Natural Pets

Source: The Tribune-Democrat, By PATRICK BUCHNOWSKI, Nov 15, 2008

The showdown between dog lovers and dog breeders ended when Gov. Ed Rendell signed into law a bill cracking down on ill treatment of dogs at large breeding kennels.

More than a month after HB 2525 was signed, those on both sides are digesting its impact.

Some are not happy, and say the animal-rights supporters went too far. Supporters of the bill say it protects the animals from neglect and abuse.

“Some provisions of the dog law are for all owners, but mostly it’s for larger kennels,” said D Black, executive director of the Cambria County Humane Society in Richland Township.

Animal shelters, mainly those in the state’s eastern region, end up taking in sick puppies and female dogs that are over-bred and no longer useful to kennels.

The law seeks to curb puppy mills that produce large numbers of purebreds, often under miserable conditions that can lead to birth defects and disease.

The new law made it illegal for dog breeders to:

n Use wire flooring in cages;

n Stack cages;

nSqueeze animals into cages that are too small.

The law requires exercise and twice yearly veterinary exams for dogs, and the new standards apply to anyone selling more than 60 dogs in a year or anyone selling a dog to a pet shop or wholesaler.

Officials say the changes affect roughly 650 of the 2,750 licensed kennels in the state.

Out of business?

Some say animal-rights supporters have an agenda.

“A lot of people are going to be put out of business because of this bill,” said state Rep. Bob Bastian, R-Somerset. “That’s definitely their agenda.”

Bastian, a retired veterinarian, said caring for the dogs should be left to the attending vet and depends largely on the breed and size of dogs.

“A one-size-fits-all bill is not going to work,” he said.

The bill’s signing comes in the wake of some high-profile raids of illegal puppy mills.

The shooting of 80 dogs at a Berks County kennel in August by a breeder who was ordered to provide vet care for flea bites is widely believed to be the impetus for the bill’s quick passage, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

In May, a state dog warden and a Somerset County humane society officer seized 17 dogs from an illegal Amish puppy mill near Meyersdale. The dogs were kept in wire cages in a dark barn, where the breeding females received little exercise.

The breeder, Bennie Hostetler, 41, told authorities said he sold the puppies for $150 each to a man who takes them to a pet store in eastern Pennsylvania, where they often sell for $500 or more.

“Those are the worst of the commercial breeding kennels,” said Chris Ryder, press secretary for the state Department of Agriculture.

“This will go a long way to shutting down puppy mill operations,” he said.

‘Breed for quality’

Dale and Lorri Barron breed Siberian huskies at Lauradale Kennel in Jefferson Township. Two of their dogs appeared a few years ago in the Disney movie “Eight Below.”

Lorri Barron called HB 2525 a good law but one that needs some changes.

The law, she said, requires animals be kept in 50-85 degree temperatures.

“Sporting dogs, sled dogs, Siberian huskies like the cold weather,” she said. “My point for commercial kennels is the temperatures should be regulated according to the breed of dogs.”

Barron said the law does not impact her business because they don’t breed 60 or more dogs a year and do not sell to pet stores.

“We try to breed for quality, not quantity,” she said.

But Ryder said the bill was amended before passage after sportsman’s groups and small breeder raised concerns.

The few new requirements to those breeders is limited to having fire extinguishers available and a vet approved exercise plan, he said.

“There is very little in this bill that will effect them,” Ryder said.

 http://www.DogLawAction.com

Any dog that looks, wags and woofs like a pit bull is not welcome in Ontario, the province’s highest court has ruled.

The Ontario Court of Appeal yesterday upheld the province’s controversial 2005 ban on pit bulls, saying the dogs have a tendency to be unpredictable and even apparently docile pit bulls may attack without warning.

Yesterday’s decision overturns a 2007 lower court ruling that said Ontario’s definition of pit bulls was too vague because it did not refer to a specific type or breed of dog.

But the appeal court disagreed, restoring the law to the form in which it was enacted.

The three-judge panel said the province’s total ban on pit bulls is not “arbitrary” or “grossly disproportionate” and does not violate any constitutional rights.

“… Evidence of unpredictability provided the Legislature with a sufficient basis to conclude that the protection of public safety required no less drastic measures than a total ban on pit bulls,” they wrote.

Ontario Attorney-General Chris Bentley said he was pleased with the ruling and called on all those affected to be respectful of the law.

“We all love our pets,” Bentley said in an interview. “As a government we are bringing in legislation, in other circumstances, to ensure their safety. In this case we brought in legislation to protect the people of Ontario. We did it because the public demanded it.”

After a series of vicious pit bull attacks, the Ontario government amended the Dog Owners’ Liability Act to ban the breeding, sale and ownership of pit bulls. Dogs born before Nov. 26, 2005, are allowed to live, but they must be sterilized, and muzzled and leashed when in public places. Dogs born after that date must be destroyed.

The court says the ban applies to pit bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, American Staffordshire terriers, American pit bull terriers and any dog with a similar appearance or characteristics.

But that blanket definition means hundreds of dogs could now be at risk, said Jean-anne Moors, a dog owner who is part of the grassroots group that challenged the law.

“Who is to decide who is a pit bull? A pit bull is a mongrel and doesn’t exist as a breed,” she said. “It is a mixed breed dog with certain characteristics which people say are pit bull types.”

She said she has three Staffordshire bull terriers and all are “wonderful pets.” They are older and not under threat of destruction.

Moors said her group has spent nearly $500,000 in private donations from dog owner groups across Canada and the U.S. to challenge the ban. She fears many dogs will be killed because the definition of a pit bull appears open to interpretation. Technically, animal control officers who seize a dog they believe to be a pit bull can have it destroyed if the owner doesn’t try to stop it through a court action, she said.

Breed-specific legislation is discriminatory, believes the Toronto Humane Society. “We are disappointed in the court ruling,” said Ian McConachie, senior communicator with the society.

“A golden retriever could look like a pit bull. The legislation doesn’t define it clearly enough.”

Source: Times Daily By Bernie Delinski, Staff Writer , Published: Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 3:30 a.m.