Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Ill Conceived Pet Legislation - More, More, More

HSUS to the dog breeders of Delaware:  Weer in ur stayt, writin' ur loz:

House Bill 95 - This bill adopts the recommendations of the Humane Society of the United States regarding restrictions on the large-scale for-profit dog breeding operations commonly known as “puppy mills.”

Bill includes dog limits, how often breeders must take their dogs to the Vet, age restrictions, Vet approval required to breed, no back-to-back litters and more.  

Individual judgement of the responsible, experienced breeder?  86 that.  We're going with the HSUS!  True, they're not dog breeders or even a veterinary organization but surely HSUS knows so much about ethical dog breeding (by magic!) that its recommendations should be made into law.

Additional reading:

The Monthly National Legislation Report (alphabetical listings by state)  - March 2009

American Sporting Dog Alliance - "179 Animal Rights Anti-Dog Bills Introduced In 34 States"
 

4 comments:

Julie said...

Hmm... the HSUS sounded an awful lot like a LOLdog in that first paragraph...

I'd call that an improvement!

Caveat said...

According to some of the breeders I know, it's safer to breed a bitch every heat for a couple of years, then neuter her. All kinds of complications can arise by not doing this, apparently.

I get where they're coming from but I don't think the pigeons in the legislature see where it's going.

Barb said...

That's right - many repro specialists recommend breeding a bitch on successive heat cycles for 2 or even 3 cycles. It's always a case-by-case decision of course, but if there are no complications and the breeder has done an excellent job of caring for the bitch there is no reason she can't be bred again on her next heat. It reduces the risk of pyometra among other things. The bitch handles it very well - MAIN drawback is exhaustion and financial hardship for the breeder!! :-)
But if you have non-breeders (not only non-breeders, but people who DO NOT BELIEVE in the purposeful breeding of dogs & cats) responsible for doing the inspections of breeding kennels, they aren't going to have a clue as to what is reasonable and what is not.

YesBiscuit! said...

This is why breeding decisions should be made by responsible, experienced breeders with input from her Vet and her mentor(s) tailored specifically to the individual dog and circumstances. Responsible breeding is not a "one law fits all" endeavor.