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Report cites Ohio for high number of puppy mills

BRANDON KLEIN
Special to the Legal News

Published: May 22, 2019

Ohio has the fourth highest number of problematic puppy mills, according to a report The Humane Society of the United States released this month.

Eight puppy mills are featured in the Humane Society's seventh "Horrible Hundred" report, which publishes a list of 100 problem puppy mills and dog sellers in the nation.

The list is published annually to "warn consumers about common problems at puppy mills, and to urge government oversight agencies, such as the United States Department of Agriculture, to live up to their enforcement obligations," according to the report.

Due to a lack of inspection of many puppy mills, the report may not list the worst operations, it stated.

For seven straight years, Missouri has had the largest number of puppy mills in the report with 22 featured in this year's edition. Iowa came in second at 13 puppy mills, followed by Pennsylvania (12) and Ohio.

The Humane Society noted researchers are unable to get local inspection records from states that do not have kennel inspection laws. Therefore, states with inspection programs have more dealers in the report.

The sellers listed in this year's report were selected based on factors such as availability of state and federal kennel inspection records showing violations and warnings.

In Ohio, puppy mill offenders were located in Fredericksburg, Fremont, Loudonville, Millersburg and Shiloh.

Citing USDA inspection reports, case issues included puppies placed in undersized enclosures, illegal underage puppy sales, lack of veterinary care, dirty conditions and missing records.

The report noted that some of the mills had 100 to 200 dogs and puppies on the property at the time of the inspection.

The report's arrival comes after former Gov. John Kasich approved a bill last year that places restrictions on puppy mills.

The Associated Press reported the law was a compromise between the Humane Society and Ohio legislatures.

With the law's passage, the organization would not seek to place a ballot measure for the next decade.

The law requires dogs to have more space and clean enclosures and receive annual veterinary examinations. It places a limit on the number of times a dog can be bred.

After 2021, the law will also ban wire flooring for dogs and puppies. Ohio puppy retailers can only acquire puppies from breeders who meet these standards.

Additionally, the law considers high-volume dog breeders based on the number of puppies sold rather than the number of litters produced.

Such breeders would keeps six or more breeding dogs and either sells five or more a year to brokers or retailers, sells 40 or more directly to the public or keeps 40 or more puppies younger than four months that were bred on the premises.

Annual licensing fees are now tied to the number of dogs sold, ranging from $150 to $750. Civil penalties for law violations also increased, ranging from $2,500 to $5,000.

The Humane Society stated last year the law benefits consumers compared with before when "Ohioans often unknowingly buy sick, inbred and weakened dogs from mills, leading to heartache and major veterinary costs."

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