the following is the message I received in response to my email asking Senator Grendell to vote against this bill:
Dear Jim and Sharon,
Thank you for your email expressing concerns with some of the provisions
of SB 173. SB 173 was introduced by Senator Gary Cates on May 17, 2007,
when it was subsequently referred to the State and Local Government
Committee. In general the bill will establish in the Department of
Agriculture the Dog Breeding Kennel Control Authority for the purpose of
administering the bill's licensure and enforcement provisions. The bill
will also establish specific standards for regulated dog breeding
kennels and regulated dog intermediaries concerning the feeding, care,
and living conditions of dogs.
Senator Grendell acted to sign onto the bill as a cosponsor after
several puppy mills announced that they were going to open shop in his
district. Senator Grendell, who early in his career passed Ohio's law
on companion animal cruelty, agreed to cosponsor SB 173 because we need
to do something to revisit the law on this issue. Not to restrict or
impede the efforts of Ohio's many excellent breeders and animal lovers,
but to put in place safeguards from the cruel and inhumane treatment in
puppy mills.
Part of the reason that the committee process is so invaluable is
because it gives the legislature the opportunity to review legislation.
Rarely does a bill pass the legislature in the same form that it was
introduced. The committee process gives the sponsor, the committee
members, interested parties, and the community an opportunity to refine
and improve the legislation. In cases where that is not possible, a
bill rarely gets past the committee stage.
Senator Grendell believes that puppy mills are something that we should
be concerned with. When we worked on the companion animal cruelty law
in the 124th General Assembly, many were shocked at the link between
cruelty to animals and domestic abuse and other crimes - but it is a
link that is well established and heartbreaking.
Nonetheless, he has nothing but the greatest respect for humane breeders
- especially those who see the noble puppies they raise as extensions of
their own families and who seek equally excellent homes for those
puppies to grow into adulthood. As a member of the State and Local
Government Committee, Senator Grendell intends to work with Senator
Cates and the multitude of interested parties, including breeders, to
ensure that we come up with a solution that responds to the real problem
of inhumane puppy mills- not legislation that creates a problem for
legitimate breeders and kennels.
Thank you again for your email and for bringing these concerns to our
attention. It is Senator Grendell's continued hope that we can find
ways to improve this bill so that it responds to the very real problem.
If you have not already done so, I would encourage you to contact
Senator Cates and share with him your concerns, as well as any ideas you
might have on how to improve this legislation.
Thank you again for your email.
Sincerely,
Kendra
Kendra
Office of Senator Tim Grendell
18th Ohio Senate District
614-644-7718
No where does he say they will change any provisions of the bill. All ohio breeders will be added to a database and fingerprinted and be required to carry extra insurance. Is this really what we want?
If all these laws pass in the states that are introducing them - what will happen is that to stay legally under the radar most reputable breeders will have to cut back their numbers. So that the supply for puppies will go down and the public will then turn to the commercial high volume breeders that can afford to comply with the laws.
