Pennsylvania limits large dog kennels
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You may recall the massive raid that rescued about 1,000 dogs from a West Virginia puppy mill in August, or earlier that month, the report of two Pennsylvania kennel owners who legally shot and killed 80 dogs because they had fleas.
The Quaker State, it turns out, is one of just a few states where mostly unregulated puppy mills are concentrated. But this week the state became the latest to clamp down on the facilities, the Associated Press reports. Gov. Ed Rendell, himself the owner of two rescued golden retrievers, signed the bill on Thursday:
The new law imposes strict standards on commercial kennels, including at least twice-a-year veterinary exams, larger cages and exercise requirements. ‘We’ve catapulted ourselves into having one of the best laws in the country,’ said Sara Speed, the Humane Society’s Pennsylvania state director. . . The new law in Pennsylvania targets about 650 large-scale commercial breeders, or roughly one-quarter of the state’s 2,600 licensed kennels, that sell any dogs to dealers and pet shops or traffic in at least 60 dogs per year. Violators would be subject to both criminal and civil penalties.
Pennsylvania joined Virginia, Louisiana and Arizona, other states that have taken steps this year to regulate kennels.
--Tony Barboza