Protecting the Dogs of PA?
Protecting the dogs of Pennsylvania?
USDA Inspectors, PA Dog Wardens
and
Humane Officers
USDA inspectors inspect the kennels of breeders who are licensed to sell puppies wholesale to pet stores and retailers. The job of the USDA is to prosecute USDA licensed breeders who violate the Animal Welfare Act or breeders who sell their dogs wholesale (to retailers, pet stores, etc.) without a USDA license. At times this process can take years as in the case of one infamous breeder in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania who has been prosecuted by the USDA numerous times and fined tens of thousands of dollars for violating the Animal Welfare Act, but continues to sell his dogs wholesale without the required USDA license. Sometimes the USDA is slow to prosecute violators. Recently there was a series of seminars in Lancaster County attended by dog breeders in Pennsylvania where the representatives of the USDA instructed how to artificially inseminate their dogs for higher productivity. Reputable dog breeders would say that this form of mass production is NOT responsible dog breeding and rescue organizations would insist that this type of assistance by a federal agency only adds to the Puppy Mill problem.
PA Dog Wardens inspect the kennels licensed with the Bureau of Dog Law in Harrisburg including breeding facilities that sell their dogs wholesale or retail (directly to the public) and their job is to issue citations to kennel operators who violate our state's kennel regulations. They can enter any licensed kennel or breeding facility in Pennsylvania without a warrant. The Dog Wardens work for Pennsylvania's Department of Agriculture.
The problems faced by PA Dog Wardens:
-
Dog Wardens cannot file charges against kennel operators suspected
of Animal Cruelty. If the Warden sees a dog being abused or
neglected, they are required to contact a Humane Officer from the
local SPCA or Humane Society and request their help. Humane
Officers can file cruelty charges but cannot enter a kennel without
a warrant. The problem with the current system: the Dog Wardens can
enter licensed kennels without a warrant, but if they see an animal
being mistreated, they can't file charges. The Humane Officer
from the local SPCA can file the charges but can't enter the
property. Not without a warrant.
-
The biggest problem facing the Dog Wardens, who really want to do
an effective job, is that they work for the Department of
Agriculture. Recently, we were told that Wardens are encouraged to
be "Farmer Friendly" since Pennsylvania’s largest
industry continues to be agriculture. So many of the large scale
dog breeders in Pennsylvania are also farmers. How can an agency
(the PDA) whose main objective is to promote agriculture in
Pennsylvania, cite and prosecute some of the very people they are
paid to promote. It is a conflict of interest. Many Rescues,
legislators and animal lovers throughout the Commonwealth would
like to see the Wardens transferred to another Department of the
State Government. If they were removed from the direction of the
Department of Agriculture, they would finally be permitted to do
their jobs and enforce the existing laws.
-
Any person who breeds and sells more than 26 dogs a year must have
a PA Kennel license which allows the Dog Wardens to inspect their
kennels. This limit excludes "backyard" breeders if they
claim not to sell more than 26 dogs. So the treatment of dogs in
these smaller "kennels" goes unmonitored. All dogs in
Pennsylvania should be protected by the same laws and regulations.
If you drive through parts of rural Pennsylvania, particularly
Lancaster County you will see farms with dogs packed into cramped
rabbit hutches in the cold of winter, and the heat of summer,
spending their whole lives standing on wire flooring. The signs in
the driveways read "Pups 4 Sale" These farmers are
breeding, without consideration of the standard of the breed, but
to make money, pure and simple. And they should be inspected to
ensure that these dogs are being cared for properly. The animals
bred by these "backyard" breeders deserve the same
protection as the dogs in the larger commercial breeding facilities
and should be inspected by the state to ensure their health and
well-being.
- Many Dog Wardens are frustrated when cases actually go to court. Large commercial breeders, who are cited, are often represented by experienced high-priced attorneys, while the Wardens, with little legal experience, are forced to represent the state by themselves or with a poorly trained state attorney. Often judges are unsympathetic to the plight of Mill dogs and charges are often reduced or dismissed altogether.
Cruelty or Humane Officers investigate reports of Animal Cruelty and are affiliated with, and work from, a Humane Society or SPCA. They can file charges against a person if they suspect them of Animal Cruelty but they cannot enter a kennel or breeding facility without a warrant.
Problems facing Humane Officers affiliated with SPCAs and Humane Societies:
-
Many SPCAs are reluctant to seize hundreds of dogs from a Puppy
Mill or an animal hoarder because they simply do not have the room
or the resources to care for that number of animals. In many cases,
the dogs already waiting for homes in the SPCA at the time of a
seizure will be euthanized to make room for a large intake of dogs.
The confiscated dogs are often in deplorable condition and require
months of socialization and medical care.
- The animals confiscated cannot be released for adoption from the SPCA’s or Humane Society until a trial is over and the breeder or kennel operator has been found to be guilty. The dogs are the legal property of the person charged with their mistreatment and must remain at the shelter in a state of "limbo" until all the trials and the appeals have ended, which can take years. Often, authorities will plea bargain with the accused, dropping charges in exchange for the release of the animals. So many of the most abusive breeders have gotten off lightly because the SPCA didn't have the resources to care for their animals for the time it would take to bring the case to court.
To view Puppy Lemon Laws click here.