Well here is a good thing for a change:
Rendell dismisses dog-law advisers. He cites the poor conditions at Pa.
"puppy mills." Board members contend they are not at fault for inaction.
HARRISBURG - Members of the Pennsylvania Dog Law Advisory Board have
received pink slips from Gov. Rendell, in what he called the first step
toward addressing inhumane conditions at the growing number of
commercial dog breeding operations.
The action comes as animal-welfare advocates increase pressure on
officials to end crowded and unsanitary conditions in so-called puppy
mills and as the Department of Agriculture makes its first attempt in a
decade to toughen the state's 24-year-old dog law.
The 14 members of the board, which advises the secretary of agriculture
on dog issues, were notified in letters last week, but they can request
reappointment if they believe the dismissals were undeserved, Rendell's
spokeswoman Kate Philips said yesterday.
"He did not think the board was effective as a whole and that it was not
serving the purpose that it should," said Philips. So Rendell decided to
"start from scratch."
It was the first of a number of measures Rendell told The Inquirer in
March that he was considering to tackle a quarter-century-old problem,
which has led to Pennsylvania's reputation as the "puppy-mill capital of
the East."
The board includes representatives from animal welfare groups, animal
research establishments, dog breeders, farmers, veterinarians, sportsmen
and pet shop owners.
Several ousted members said the board should not be blamed for inaction
when they serve at the pleasure of Secretary of Agriculture Dennis
Wolff, who has called only three meetings since Rendell took office in
2003.
Ken Brandt - a lobbyist for commercial breeders, which by statute, is
among the groups that hold a board seat - said he did not agree with
Rendell's decision to dismiss the entire board, considering it has no
rulemaking or legislative authority.
"It is a reactionary group," Brandt said. "It is not the role of the
advisory board to say what we think should happen."
At a Capitol rally scheduled today, expected to draw 500 dog lovers,
rescue groups say they will applaud Rendell's commitment to the problem
and urge him to do more.
ASPCA officials said they want to demand that top officials in the
Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement be fired for failing to enforce the dog
law.
The organization said the bureau has failed to hire enough dog wardens
or properly train them, failed to notify humane society police officers
of cruelty violations, and failed to obtain veterinary support for
inspections of kennels.
As a result, thousands of dogs are living in unsanitary conditions
without adequate shelter or sufficient food and water, the ASPCA said.
"We are calling for an overhaul in leadership in the Bureau of Dog Law,"
said Bob Baker, an ASPCA investigator who helped draft the state's dog
law. "We believe Pennsylvania should have a dog law bureau committed to
enforcement."
In March, Rendell said he was considering "a shake-up" in the Bureau of
Dog Law Enforcement. Yesterday, his spokeswoman clarified that comment
by saying the governor was focusing on changes in policy and not
personnel.
Philips said that the governor shares a lot of the ASPCA's concerns but
that "some are unfounded." She added, "The bureau has to work within the
confines of the regulations."
In 2004, the Department of Agriculture issued licenses to 378 kennels
housing more than 100 dogs, almost one-third of them in Lancaster
County.
Animals bred in puppy mills are sold to pet shops throughout the
mid-Atlantic and Northeast, while adult dogs used for breeding are often
housed for their entire lives in tiny wire cages stacked on top of each
other.
In an effort to strengthen the law and improve its ability to enforce
it, the Department of Agriculture recently issued draft changes to the
law that are being met with criticism from both dog breeders and rescue
groups.
Among the proposed regulations is the requirement that dogs be provided
housing with a roof and four sides with "adequate protection from the
cold and heat" and dry, clean bedding. But the proposals did not require
increased cage size, which animal welfare advocates say is the single
best tool the agency could use to improve conditions.
"We are disappointed the department is not using this opportunity to
improve kennel housing standards," said Stephanie Shane, who runs the
anti-puppy mill campaign for the Humane Society of the United States.
Under the current regulations, she said, a medium-size dog could be
housed for life in a cage slightly larger than an airline animal crate.
As an alternative to changing space requirements, the agency is
proposing a daily exercise rule. But some advocates say that would be
impossible to enforce and burdensome for rescue groups that house dogs
only temporarily.
Brandt, the breeder lobbyist, said his members believe that the
cage-size requirements were adequate and that expanding them would be
too costly for breeders.
In addition, Shane said she was surprised to see a proposed regulation
stipulating that dogs not be kept in muddy or water-logged kennels and
that weeds be trimmed around kennels.
"If a government agency has to tell kennels to cut back weeds, that is
telling," said Shane.