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Proceeds from the magazine support the animals at the sanctuary and No More Homeless Pets Man vs MillBy Kelli Ohrtman Here's a fact you won't see promoted by Minnesota's department of tourism: The Land of 10,000 Lakes is one of the top 10 states for puppy breeding. Visiting a single breeder recently, USDA inspectors found 715 adult dogs and 353 puppies - 1,068 animals - on his Little Falls property. Mike Fry wasn't surprised. Unfortunately. Puppy mills are "one of the worst and largest issues we have in the country," says Fry, executive director of Animal Ark shelter in Hastings, Minnesota. For several years, Fry has been at the forefront in the war against massive-scale breeding and the unacceptable conditions that accompany it. His current battle: shutting down a commercial breeding facility in Morrison County, Minnesota, that opened in January 2006. The state's puppy mill watchdogs uncovered glaring problems with the county's issuance of a Conditional Use Permit to Gary McDuffee, allowing him to open a 600-dog facility in the county. Fry pointed out that at McDuffee's previous kennel, there were allegedly multiple USDA violations. Other problems, such as the fact that part of the county-issued permit would require McDuffee to debark any outdoor dogs, gave Fry and his allies a lot of ammunition to share with the media and the public. As a result, the county temporarily suspended McDuffee's permit. After hearings in April, McDuffee can keep his facility, but with certain conditions, including compliance with all federal, state and county statutes; provision of an exercise area; and restriction of the number of adult dogs to 500. Debarking and using shock collars to prevent barking are now prohibited. McDuffee's kennel is one example of how breeders are flourishing under laws and regulations (or lack thereof) meant to support dog breeding as an agribusiness. To sell animals to pet shops, breeders must be USDA-licensed. But there's a gaping loophole in Minnesota's regulations. As long as breeders don't sell to pet stores, they don't need a USDA license. In fact, they don't need a license at all. In Minnesota those breeders can keep just as many dogs with no oversight, no inspections and no regulations because there are no state laws to regulate breeding. |
