Dog lovers outraged over changes to law

Associated Press

GREENSBURG, Pa.

The rusting cages along a country road caught Bill Smith’s eye.

When he noticed them on the edge of a farm in the heart of Amish country in central Pennsylvania, Smith slammed on the brakes, threw his old Subaru into reverse, parked on the gravel shoulder and jumped out of the car.

“This is it,” Smith said, hands on hips. “This is what these dogs live in their whole lives. This is exactly what we fought so hard to get rid of.”

For a living area, the cages were tiny: a couple feet tall, a few feet wide. They were elevated off the ground on stilts. They had wire walls and flooring.

In Lancaster and Chester counties, known as the “puppy mill capital of the East,” many breeding dogs languish in hot, dark barns, rarely seeing daylight, according to activists, politicians and inspection records. Many live entire lives without access to the outdoors, constantly on wire flooring that allows urine and feces to pass through but can trap paws.

In 2008, such conditions were supposed to change. Dog lovers and politicians, led by Gov. Ed Rendell, pushed through the Pennsylvania Dog Law aimed at improving the lives of commercial breeding dogs.

The law banned wire flooring; mandated unfettered access to outdoor exercise areas; required breeders to adhere to strict temperature, humidity, ventilation and lighting requirements; doubled cage sizes; barred stacking cages; and ordered that only veterinarians can euthanize dogs. The last requirement was added when two Berks County breeders shot to death 80 dogs in kennels after an inspector issued citations for extreme heat, insufficient bedding and dangerous flooring, and ordered veterinarian checks for 39 of the dogs.

“The people of Pennsylvania had spoken,” Smith said. “They wanted these dogs to have better lives. ... We won. The time for debating was over.”

Or so he thought.

In July, the state Department of Agriculture issued two controversial policy statements, one reversing the outdoor-exercise regulation and another saying that pregnant and nursing dogs can be kept in cages with up to 50 percent wire flooring. Last month, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission in Harrisburg approved, despite nearly five hours of testimony opposing the changes.

Activists and politicians who helped draft the law were outraged.

“The law says no wire flooring for any dogs in commercial kennels, and that all dogs must have access to an outdoor exercise area,” said Rep. Jim Casorio, D-Irwin, who co-wrote the law. “Commercial breeder dogs have suffered long enough.”