Kansas Corralling Puppy Mills
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Most of the biggest puppy-breeding states have had only limited success regulating the industry, either because laws are not enforced or they don’t exist, animal protection officials say.
The exception, they say, is Kansas, which along with Missouri has the largest numbers of licensed breeders.
The number of breeding facilities in Kansas has declined 10% to 15% since a 1988 law gave the state broad power to regulate kennels, said Wendell Maddox, the Humane Society’s Midwest regional director.
The law forces breeders to meet minimum requirements on the size of cages and the dogs’ feeding schedules and mandates that breeders clean the cages every day. State inspectors can immediately close kennels that are in violation.
“People just voluntarily went out of business because they knew they couldn’t comply,” Maddox said.
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