Tune into BCTV tonight to learn more about House Resolution 89 that has the potential of putting our new Dog Law of 2008 into serious jeopardy. It has the potential to gut the very law that animal advocates worked so tirelessly for decades. The HR Resolution’s primary sponsor is Rep. Gordon Denlinger of Lancaster County, coincidentally where most of the puppy mills can be found. The other sponsors of HR 89 are Rep. Jim Cox, Rep. Mark Keller, Rep. Brad Doae and Rep. Bryan Cuttler. Coincidentally all of the aforementioned Representatives opposed the 2008 Dog Law.
According to the ASPCA :”Now, a handful of lawmakers, most of whom opposed the 2008 law that created more humane standards for dogs kept by commercial breeders, want to waste your taxpayer dollars to “study” the economic impact of the new law on these breeders.”
“House Resolution 89 is a veiled attempt at protecting the puppy mill industry by questioning the “reasonableness and appropriateness” of the new standards of care that were implemented in 2008, including regulations that are set to go into effect July 1, 2011. These regulations include critical temperature, ventilation and humidity requirements for commercial kennels. HR 89 is a stepping stone toward undoing much of the meaningful change for dogs that was achieved in 2008.”
“HR Resolution 89 passed swiftly through the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committe on March 1st. HR 89 states that it wants the Joint State Government Committee to conduct a study on the “regulated commercial dog kennel industry, its business service sectors and the Commonwealth and the estimated impacts of the implementation of the regulatory standards which take effect July 1st, 2011.”
Laymen terms- Denlinger is more worried about the loss of income for puppy mill farm operators which have been cut by 2/3 since the new law went into effect in 2008 than the welfare of the very dogs this law is to protect. The state once had 303 Commercial C Kennels.
Denglinger’s constituents are from Lancaster County and most puppy mill operators can be found in this notorious county. These puppy mills operators want another extension because they “claim” they don’t have the money to meet the standards of the new Dog Law. They’ve already received waivers to give them more time to meet these standards. Remember ACT 119 became law in 2008 and we are now in the year 2011!
Denlinger and five other representatives are sponsoring HR 89. While it was on the fast-track to the House of Representatives, it has now stalled which personally has me perplexed.
For me the bottomline is MONEY. No one seems to care about the welfare of the animals. The law was already watered down last year after a hearing at the Independent Regulator Review Commission meeting which I attended.
Now HR 89 has the potential to put our Dog Law into serious jeopardy and undo all of the hard work to make lives better for dogs and puppies in puppy mills. And in reality, the law meets just the basic necessities. And now this resolution to undo that.
Through all of these actions, we are still known as the puppy mill capital of the East Coast. Will this ever change?
Tune into tonight’s program at 5 PM to learn more. My guests will Jenny Stephens and Tina Sowicz, both of North Penn Puppy Mill Watch. The program was taped last night so no homeviewers can call in during the show. Replays of this show will also be tomorrow at 9:30 PM, Saturday at 5:30 PM and Sunday at 8:30 AM. You can also view the show in the archives section at BCTV.