Congress Weighing Puppy Petting Law
April 11, 2002 -- If Dickens wrote for dogs, he would have described in tragic detail the worst of the "puppy mills" — cramped cages caked in excrement, dogs bred repeatedly with no respite and lonesome puppies denied contact before being shipped to the pet store.
After gunning for puppy mills for years, animal welfare groups helped pass in the U.S. Senate this session the "Puppy Protection Act," which would set new standards for commercial breeders if it becomes law.
But dog breeders are gnashing their teeth over the provision, saying it intrudes unnecessarily in dog breeding and threatens not just "puppy mills" but hundreds of thousands of purebred dog fanciers who raise animals in their homes.
Now being negotiated in conference committee with members of the U.S. House, the bill — a provision of the farm bill — would require better socialization of puppies and prohibit breeding female dogs before 1 year of age and more frequently than three times in any two-year period.
The bill doesn't specifically define "socialization of puppies" but could require minimum levels of contact — such as petting and play — with other dogs and people.
The measure would also create a "three strikes" provision that would strip licenses from chronic animal welfare violators.
The American Kennel Club opposes the legislation, saying the federal government has no place controlling the breeding of domestic animals. "The decision on whether and when to breed should be made by owners, not the federal government," the AKC says in a statement.
But animal welfare groups, including the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, say the legislation provides much-needed teeth for existing law, which in their view does not adequately address over-breeding of females and lack of socialization at puppy mills.
The bill's supporters say it is in serious jeopardy from rural congressmen who are typically unfriendly to animal welfare legislation.
AKC Doesn't Fancy Puppy Bill
No quality breeder should feel threatened by the puppy bill, animal welfare groups say. "Presumably, a responsible breeder doesn't breed animals every heat cycle and doesn't isolate them in cages," Wayne Pacelle, senior vice president of the Humane Society of the United States.
Some breeders force female dogs to breed every heat cycle, starting as young as 6 months old, until they are "spent," animal welfare groups say, which can lead to severe nutritional deficiencies and impairment of a dog's immune system, leading to increased risk of infections, illness and organ failure.
As for socialization, animal welfare groups say it just makes sense that dogs raised to be family pets should be petted and have other contact with dogs and humans at an early age.
"The point here is that the animals make suitable company," Pacelle said. "They can't be if they don't have suitable interaction with people. They may be frightened or skittish, bite a child or exhibit certain behaviors that may make them give up the animal or have them euthanized."
The AKC says figuring out how dogs should be socialized is not the job of the federal government, and would be an enforcement nightmare. There is no basis in current science and no consensus among breeders as to what constitutes acceptable socialization standards, the AKC says.
But Pacelle argues that the USDA could develop a standard as simple as prohibiting solitary confinement, and that would be better than no standard.
Will Dog Inspectors Invade Suburbia?
The Animal Welfare Act, first passed in 1966, requires licensing and inspecting of dog dealers. Requirements include adequate housing, ample food and water, reasonable handling, basic disease prevention, decent sanitation and sufficient ventilation.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for enforcing the law, and employs about 100 inspectors to check more than 3,000 facilities.
Currently, USDA inspectors cover breeders whose pets are sold in pet stores, but not those who sell directly to consumers. But a case making its way through federal courts — and this is of central concern for breeders — could ultimately widen the scope of the law.
Last July, The Doris Day Animal League and several other animal protection organizations won a lawsuit against the USDA in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C. The plaintiffs claimed that the USDA illegally failed to regulate dog breeders who sell puppies directly to consumers.
The court sided with the animal welfare groups, and the USDA has appealed the decision.
If the USDA loses the case, the AKC warns, government inspectors would be required "to go into hundreds of thousands of individual homes to inspect and regulate conditions under which hobby and show breeders and ordinary pet owners maintain their pets, including how and when they breed and how they socialize their dogs and puppies," according to an AKC statement.
Industry Wants to Inspect Itself
Animal welfare groups, for their part, say small-time, quality breeders and "ordinary pet owners" are not the target of their efforts. In fact, they say, breeders with fewer than four female dogs would be exempted.
"If you're really going to be a professional breeder, you're going to wait until the female is a year old and breed her no more than twice in any given year," Lisa Weisberg of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "One has to question what AKC's problem is. What are the issues breeders are having? If they are truly professional they wouldn't have a problem."
The AKC accepts fees from breeders, including puppy mills, the Humane Society's Pacelle said, which could explain the group's opposition to the puppy bill.
For its part, the AKC said it is concerned for puppies' welfare, and just does not advocate more government regulation of breeders. The group is encouraging breeders to put pressure on legislators involved in congressional negotiations to have the puppy provision stripped from the farm bill.
"No one cares more about the welfare of purebred dogs than the American Kennel Club," said Stephanie Ortel, AKC director of canine legislation, in a statement. "In fact, we voluntarily instituted our own inspections program to evaluate the care and conditions provided by breeders. The AKC performs roughly 4,000 kennel inspections each year that include an evaluation of the care and conditions provided by breeders. If the inspection reveals inadequate care and conditions, we suspend the breeder's AKC services and report them to local law enforcement for additional action."
Pacelle scoffed at this suggestion, saying the Humane Society had visited many puppy mills and found no evidence that the industry was sufficiently regulating itself.
Inspectors Already Strapped
If the puppy bill became law and the USDA lost its lawsuit, federal inspectors likely would see an increase in duties, something neither side thinks the government is prepared for.
Already, USDA inspectors are hard-pressed to track down violators of animal welfare law. It will be even more challenging to detect breeders who are breeding female dogs before they are a year old or breeding them to excess.
"The USDA needs to have proper appropriations from Congress in order to do its job, period," Sara Amundson, legislative director for The Doris Day Animal League, said. "Our contention has been for a number of years that the agency needs to have proper appropriations to do its work."
The puppy bill currently under consideration, however, does not call for more resources for USDA inspectors.