Puppy mill blues

The Indiana General Assembly wants to crack down on the state’s dog breeders.

Last week, the Indiana House passed a bill aimed at combating the state’s growing puppy mill problem.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, a puppy mill is a breeding facility that produces large quantities of purebred puppies.

These puppies are often sold directly to the public through the Internet and newspaper ads and to pet shops and brokers across the country.

The problem with these large-scale breeding operations is that they often turn animals into a “cash crop.”

In their efforts to churn out large numbers of puppies for profit, the breeders often neglect and mistreat the puppies.

The puppies often receive minimal food, poor shelter and little to no socialization and have to stay in overcrowded cages.

That’s not to mention the negative effects of inbreeding and the fact that unwanted animals are often killed.

If enacted, the bill will put restrictions on commercial dog breeders. Breeders with adult dogs that produce 10 or more litters a year will be limited to 30 adult dogs that are not spayed or neutered.

Under the law, the commercial breeders will also be forced to treat the dogs more humanely.

Breeders will be required to provide the dogs with an hour of exercise each day and to maintain sanitary conditions.

The law also prevents breeders from hiring a person who has been convicted of animal cruelty.

Critics of the bill argued that the law would negatively affect some larger, responsible breeders while proponents argue that small reputable breeders will not be affected because the limit only applies to dogs that are not spayed or neutered.

We think cracking down on large breeding operations is a good idea. Puppy mills that violate animals’ basic rights are a bad thing, and we think the state legislature is right to go after them.

However, it concerns us that the bill is mostly focused on the number of dogs that a breeder can have.

Although it does mention sanitary conditions and hours of exercise, the bill does not address other problems like the lack of human socialization or even the killing of unwanted puppies.

Because of these oversights, we say the sentiment of this bill is good, but we would like to see legislators do more to stop puppy mills.