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2012 Anti-Puppy Mill Bills

Pam SordylFounderPuppy Mill Awareness of Southeast Michiganwww.meetup.com/puppymillawareness/Humane Lobby Day, April 17, 2012Version 4

Pet Lemon Law (SB 574)

“ Pet Warranty Law” or “Pet Consumer Protection Act”

Offers consumer protections for purchasers of dogs and cats.

People who purchase sick or diseased animals from pet shops, breeders or dealers will have options:

returning the animal for a full refund or,

replacement, if available or,

recovery of veterinary expenses.

Eighteen other states have Pet Lemon Laws in place.

2010 Petland Novi Puppy Mix breed (Affen-pincher) $1,679

Sponsors: Steven Bieda - (primary)Tory Rocca, Rebekah Warren, Hoon-Yung Hopgood , Virgil Smith, Bert Johnson, Goeffrey Hansen, Michael Kowall

Protecting Families

Lack of protection

Seller guarantees do not hold up in court.

Consumers have to prove the seller knew.

Current State Law = 30 day health certificates signed by a vet are required by pet stores only.

These are only “wellness checks”

Do not uncover genetic defects.

Pet stores are no longer regulated by the MDA.

Would encourage stores to get their health certificates and treat animals properly.

Families do not want to “return or replace” their animals.

Families need help with veterinary care costs!

We need to hold pet sellers accountable for burdening the public with veterinary costs and emotional stress of caring for a sick pet.

April 2012 Pet Station Owner Arrested

Count 1: Animals – Abandon/Cruelty to 10 or More Animals (Felony – Four years)

Allegation: Animals received inadequate care, food, water, sanitary conditions and medical attention.

Count 2: False Pretenses – $200 to $1,000 (Misdemeanor – One year)

Allegation: False representation about the health of animals causing a patron to purchase an unhealthy animal.

New Requirements

specific time frames for reporting illnesses (10 days)

maximum amounts a buyer can recover (up to the purchase price)

provisions for congenital defects in the purchased animals (90 days to report)

Supplier disclosure information

Will not impact non-profit organizations, animal rescue groups, shelters or veterinarians.

The bill includes:

2011 The Family Puppy (Novi) Mix breed $497. Breeder from unlicensed breeder in Indiana.

Stop the sale of sick animals

Covering veterinary costs will cut into profits.

It is easy to sell a sick animal to an unsuspecting buyer.

Driven by huge mark-ups

Stores pay $50-$150 for each puppy

Stores sell puppies from $250-$4,000!

Average price is $772 down from $1,200 in 2007.

Reducing costs = sick animals

Vet care, food, shelter are cut to reduce costs.

Puppies are taken away from their mother too early before their immune system is fully developed.

Puppies traveling long distances in semi trucks are more vulnerable to diseases. Some animals travel 19 hours before they reach the pet stores in Detroit.

Once they arrive at the store, they may not be isolated or treated properly before sale to reduce costs.

Puppy Mill Awareness of SE Michigan has collected 75 complaints on The Family Puppy chain and 54 on Petland in Novi.

48% of puppies being sold in pet stores were ill or incubating an illness at the time of purchase (per California study)

Pollywood Pets, Mt. Clemens

Supplier Disclosure

Puppy buyers have access to kennel inspection reports and inventories online through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website.

Buyers can make more informed decisions.

2011 Detroit Area Survey:

13 out of 23 establishments did not provide breeder names

100 per cent of the establishments did not provide details about the puppy's parents beyond sire and dam names, and

95 percent did not allow viewing of the parents.

Breeder information, such as names and addresses, can help protect conscientious Michigan customers from unknowingly contributing to animal neglect and abuse at kennel operations.

Critter Pet Shop, Allen Park

2011 Pet Store Survey

Too many puppy-peddlersStores outside of Detroit-area (16) Stores in the Detroit-area (27)

The Family Puppy Store Front - Chain Brighton, MI

48116Puppy Place Residence Howell, MI

48855Parkside Builders Inc Residence Brighton Twp

Pawsitively Spoiled Store Front Brighton

Puppy Place Residence Gregory

Family of Pets Store Front - Chain Roseville, Mi 48066Utica Pet Supply Store Front Utica, MI 48317

Greenwood Pets & Plants Store Front Warren

Pollywood Pets & Acc Inc Trade Center Mt. Clemens

Shaggy Dog Store Front Utica

The Doggie Parlor Store Front Eastpointe

Bark Avenue Store Front Monroe

Downtown Hound Pet

Center

Store Front Monroe

The Family Puppy Store Front - Chain Novi, MI 48375

Petland Store Front - Chain Novi, MI 48377

Family of Pets AKA Family Puppy

Store Front - Chain Troy, MI 48083

Teacups & Toys A Pet Boutique

Store Front Birmingham

Pet City Pets Store Front - Chain Ypsilanti, MI

48197Westland Dog Food

Company (K & S Pet

Store Front Westland

House of Pets Store Front Garden City, Mi

48135Bully Depot Store Front Detroit

Critter Pet Shop Store Front Allen Park

Pet City Pets Store Front - Chain Wyandotte

John Trade Center Taylor

Nancy's Suggies Trade Center Taylor

Puppy Love Puppies Residence Fort Gratiot

Bully Depot/K-9

Ways/Trade Center Critter

Trade Center Taylor, MI 48180

The Family Puppy Store Front - Chain Flint, Mi 48507

Pet Station Store Front - Chain Jackson, MI

49201Brooklyn Pets Store Front Brooklyn

Curious World Pet Centers Store Front - Chain Grand Rapids,

Mi 49548V.I. .Pets (My Precious Puppy) Store Front - Chain Grand Rapids,

Mi 49548V.I. Pets Store Front - Chain Grand Rapids

Curious World Pet Centers Store Front - Chain Jenison, Mi

49428V.I. Pets Store Front - Chain Holland

V.I. Pets Store Front - Chain Jenison, Mi

49428Betty's Pet & Garden Store Front Houghton Lake

Ocean Odyssey Store Front Saginaw, Mi

48602Pretty Pooch Store Front Saginaw, MI

48609The Pet Place Store Front Marine City, MI.

(or Cottrellville)Pretty Puppies Store Front Midland, MI

48640The Pet Stop Store Front Marquette, MI

49855Anne's Pet and Hobby Shop Store Front Greenville

Pet Lemon Law Impact

Michigan has 639 licensed dog breeding kennels,

four are USDA licensed, which means large-commercial and

there are approximately 37 puppy selling stores.

In 2010, 1,400 puppies were shipped into pet stores from out-of-state commercial breeders.

Michigan’s largest retailer, The Family Puppy, ships in over 100 puppies per month – many with violations to the Animal Welfare Act.

2010 Paws & Claws (Eastpointe)Maltese from Arkansas breeder with 70 dogs. (store now closed!)

Puppy Protection Act

House Bills 5230-5231 Sponsors Vicki Barnett (primary), Wayne A. Schmidt

Senate Bills 891-892 Sponsors Steven Bieda -(primary), Rick Jones, Tory Rocca, Michael Kowall

Will establish long overdue guidelines for housing, sanitary conditions, enclosure space, exercise, and veterinary care of dogs.

Will place an upper limit on the number of intact breeding dogs = 50

Launched by Michigan Humane Society

Supported by the Michigan Association of Animal Control Officers, Puppy Mill Awareness, and the Michigan Veterinary Medical Association

Will protect dogs in large-scale breeding facilities (15 or more intact females).

April 2012 Allegan Breeder with 350+ dogs

Stop Puppy Mills from Coming to Michigan

Michigan is not a big puppy mill state.

Only four USDA licensed commercial breeders

Twenty-one county licensed breeders with over 50 dogs.

We are a Midwest state – very close to the “Puppy Mill Belt” - sharing borders with states that have over 100 commercial breeders.

This bill will help ensure kennels do not migrate to Michigan as some of these states are implementing new laws of their own.

2011 Livingston County breeder with 77 dogs in her home

Protect Animals in Large-scale Kennels

The Puppy Protection Act will close that loophole.

In 2009, a Michigan kennel study showed that approximately 230 licensed kennels would fall under this new law.

This will ensure that kennels that individually license their dogs (instead of getting the optional kennel license) will need to be licensed and inspected annually.

Example Case: For the past five years, this Jack Russell has lived with over 130 dogs in a breeding kennel up north hidden in the woods. She is provided minimal food, water and just a door-less carrier to live in. In the winter, the floor of her kennel becomes solid ice, making it painful to walk across and in the she has no shade.

Operators have moved to counties with no Animal Control and under-staffed police, avoiding inspections and enforcement.

Missaukee Breeder with 130 dogs

Say “NO” to Commercial Breeding

Example case: One Michigan USDA licensed breeder was cited for housing and veterinary care. This bulldog lives in a barrel on wire floors and another dog was found with untreated inflammations in his eyes.

Under the Puppy Protection Act, this kennel would need to make some changes

reduce their intact breeding dogs from 85 to 50,

provide solid floors

provide exercise

seek vet care

provide rest between cycles and

have unstacked cages.

No animal should be mistreated for any reason, and especially not for profit!

Branch County USDA Licensed Breeder with 31 dogs

Limit the number of animals

The potential for neglect and inadequate care increases significantly when the number of breeding animals becomes unmanageable.

A limit on the number of breeding animals would prevent the introduction of overcrowded, large-scale breeding operations into Michigan as they become more restricted in other sates.

Example Case: On April 9, 2012

authorities removed over 350 dogs from a breeding kennel in Allegan County that spiraled out of control. Mothers were nurses under layers of matted feces. The animals were found soaked in urine, with severe dental problems and fleas.

Four states have caps limiting the number of intact breeding dogs.

April 2012 Allegan Breeder with 350+ dogs

Let your dog share a few barks at

the State Capitol this year!

Law-makers may just learn a lot about large-scale breeding when they meet some of the survivors.

September 25, 2012

Parade Around the Capitol Building

Postcard Drop-offs

Guest Speakers

Organizational Introductions

Group Photos

Puppy Mills Are Not Welcome Here!

Questions?