State Panel OKs Measure to Boycott ‘Puppy Mills’

Citing “squalid conditions” at Midwestern puppy breeding farms, animal rights groups on Tuesday successfully lobbied the Senate Judiciary Committee to approve a bill that would prohibit bringing into the state puppies under 12 weeks old without their mothers.

The committee, after hearing an hour of emotional testimony from supporters and opponents of the bill, voted 7-1 to, in effect, impose a statewide boycott on so-called “puppy mills” that mass breed dogs in small wire cages, frequently unprotected from the elements.

The bill, which has already passed the Assembly, was sent to the Senate floor, where a vote could come as early as next week.

Most of these farms are located in Kansas, Missouri and Iowa. Those on both sides of the issue agreed that few, if any, of the puppy mills are in California.

Bob Baker, a field investigator for the Humane Society of the United States, said that the dogs are raised in cramped conditions, in cages with wire floors so that feces can drop below the cage, often piling up and posing a health threat to the animals. To seek relief from the pain of standing on the wire floor, puppies are forced to stand in their water dishes, said Baker, who has inspected more than 450 puppy mills.

Assemblyman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) authored the bill, which would make importation of the puppies a misdemeanor punishable with a $250 fine. Farr limited the ban to puppies under 12 weeks because at that age, proponents said, it is difficult to spot health problems and the genetic deficiencies caused by careless breeding practices.

California is the largest buyer of puppies from the breeding farms, importing about 300,000 a year, or about 60% of all the puppies sold in California. Many times, Baker said, people who buy these animals find themselves paying enormous veterinarian bills because the dogs are often diseased. In some cases, he added, the puppies can pass along illness to their owners.

“This is not just a cruelty problem,” Baker said. “It’s a consumer fraud problem . . . (and) a public health concern.”

Dissent From Davis

Opponents of the bill agreed the breeding farms pose health problems for the dogs. But they questioned the constitutionality of a bill that places restrictions on trade between states. Sen. Ed Davis (R-Valencia), who cast the sole dissenting vote, also questioned the legitimacy of restricting trade. “You don’t have a logical bill,” Davis told Farr. “You have an emotional bill.”

Baker said that the puppy mills are located in the Midwest largely because of weak animal abuse laws and the number of small farmers that operate puppy breeding businesses to supplement their primary income.

Due to increased attention on the “puppy mill” industry, Kansas enacted legislation this year requiring all commercial kennels to be licensed, regulated and inspected by the state Department of Agriculture.