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Here is a bill that has been a long time in the making. No animal deserves to be abused. As it stands Minnesota laws do not protect cats and dogs in puppy and cat mills.
"According to research by DOR, puppy mill operators not only violate animal cruelty laws, the break MN tax laws by not paying sales tax on puppies sold. A shocking 75% of commercial breeders reviewed were not in compliance with Minnesota Sales Tax laws. House File 388, according to the fiscal note, would help bring breeders into compliance with sales tax laws, generating needed revenue for the state, it would also help end wide-spread cruelty in Minnesota's puppy factories."
Minnesota Legislature to take up Puppy Mills to stop animal cruelty again House File 388
Please contact our Eden Prairie legislators Rep Jenifer Loon and Kirk Stensrud and Senator David Hann and ask them to support this legislation. Below is an article we published online in PRAIRIEHOMELIVING this fall about the issue. Please follow this link above to find out more about the current bill House File 388 introduced by Representative John Benson.
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651-296-7449
Food Politics/Puppy and Kitten Mill Bills
Nothing, other than they fall under the auspices of the Agricultural Committees in the Minnesota Legislature.
Senator Hann attended the final Senate Agriculture Committee meeting where the Puppy and Kitten Mill breeder bill (S.F. 7) was discussed and voted on. There was a companion bill in the House, House Bill HF 253.
SF0007 - A bill for an act relating to animals; providing standards of care for dog and cat breeders; authorizing rulemaking; providing criminal penalties; appropriating money; proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 347. (Betzold Bill)
Senator Hann passed on the vote, which means he did not vote yes or no. He was the only Senator who chose that option.
In a conversation with Senator Hann recently, he said he felt the bill needed more work. However, a version of this bill was introduced 4 years ago. Over the years, the bill has changed to reflect numerous meetings and multiple stakeholders. Hann's objection to the bill was that it would create more regulations and expense for breeders and farmers, although this particular bill had nothing to do with farmers whose products are sold for consumption.
Legislation related to the handling of pets, not livestock, should be under the Minnesota Legislature's Consumer Protection Committee. Nevertheless, since it's not, and every bill that goes through the Agricultural Committees is scrutinized with the farmer in mind.
Hann argued that there is no need for additional regulations for breeders of pets, because there are federal laws, but the Animal Welfare act only licensed breeders who sell wholesale. This is loophole in fed law that allows majority of breeders not to be licensed. There are no state laws and no regulatory groups that have oversight of cat and dog breeders in Minnesota.
The situation according to the Minnesota Animal Human Society is that " Minnesota is among the top producers of puppies and kittens in the United States . Breeding these animals is a multi-million dollar industry with no state licensing or inspection. While many breeders in Minnesota act responsibly, the problem is the inhumane breeding and care practices. There are reports of breeding facilities housing more than 1,000 animals. Many of the animals live in horrific conditions-cages stacked on top of one another in unsanitary conditions, inadequate food, water and veterinary care; with animals receiving little or no exercise or socialization."
Hann suggested that I not only look at the cons but the pros of keeping more regulation out of cat and dog breeders' businesses. I did.
What I discovered is that some legislators on the committee that voted the bill down, were against regulation, government control and were solidly pro-business. They did not want to see any bills passed that would have oversight of cat and dog breeders, because they believed it would mean there would be state wide basic regulations, and provisions that might hurt farmers. In fact what this bill would have done is facilitate the state's ability to prosecute cat and dog breeders to stop animal cruelty before it occurs.
There is a need for a state law that can address animal safety in breeding situations, particularly in the case of small Mom and Pop breeders or large mass volume breeders who conduct business without animal safety oversight, who don't pay taxes and some who even have no license to conduct business in the state.
Hann's vote could have mattered, but he didn't vote yes or no. What Hann made clear is that we as Minnesotans can't be both, pro-business, pro-community or pro-protection for animals.
We don't agree.
Good breeders don't fear regulation, because good breeders already have invested in good practices.
Evidently, Hann was confused, because he said the Puppy and Kitten bill was tied to a bill that would hurt farmers. Neither the House nor Senate Puppy and Kitten mill legislation was attached to a bill requiring more oversight of farmers.
Hann is too ideologically driven to see the writing on the wall. The Food Industry itself is becoming more conscious of a growing consumer demand for animal welfare in the food products that we consume, not just in the breeding of cats and dogs.
The Socially Responsible Agricultural Project says that though few agree on an exact definition they believe an agricultural business that is Socially Responsible is one that:
Accounts for and pays all its production costs, rather than shifting them to others (neighbor, local or national government)
Does not act to subvert or evade efforts to protect the environment
Becomes a partner to the community in which it does business
As an example Whole Foods, a national food chain, is introducing an animal welfare rating system. Their proposal includes signs in stores detailing how animals have been raised. The rating system goes along with Whole Foods' transparency goals. The grocery chain recently became the first retailer to have signs telling consumers where and how different species of seafood sold within its stores are raised.
Food Safety is one of the biggest issues politically, particularly after the egg recall and the salmonella outbreaks linked to two Iowa companies, Wright County Egg and Hillandale Farms, who together have recalled 550 million eggs this month.
We understand that regulation is a bad word to some politicians, but regulation provides healthy food and healthy pets. Recent events have shown that both animal cruelty and food safety are hugely important issues of great public concern.
We have to strike the right balance in ensuring that businesses are not unnecessarily burdened and that pets and consumers are protected.
Regulation is good business. |
| Last Updated on Thursday, 03 March 2011 23:26 |
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Minnesota Legislature to take up Puppy Mills again House File 388
Friday, 11 February 2011 22:29
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