Update July 1, 2010: Once again the North Carolina House of Representatives Finance Committee has postponed a hearing on the  puppy mill bill, S.B. 460. Two weeks ago a hearing was canceled, and the hearing set for today has been canceled.  

Last August, 2009, the bill, S.B. 460, passed the state Senate by a close vote of 23-22.  

The American Kennel Club (AKC) has vehemently opposed the bill and took credit for convincing committee members to cancel hearings, hoping to kill the bill in committee. Unless the bill passes the Finance Committee, it cannot be voted on by the full House of Representatives.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

If you live in North Carolina, find Finance Committee members here (just click on their names for contact info) and urge them to hold a hearing and pass S.B. 460. If your state rep is on the committee, be sure to tell him or her that you are a constituent.

Find your North Carolina state House representative here including a "lookup" form to find your own representative. Just click on the names to get contact information. If you live in North Carolina, write (faxes are best) or call your representative and urge him or her to support  S.B. 460 and help get the bill reported favorably out of committee so that the full House of Representatives can vote on it and pass it. This bill will give law enforcement the tools to identify commercial dog breeders and stop the abuses that inflict suffering on the dogs, defraud consumers, and burden animal control and local communities with dogs dumped by puppy mills or when substantial resources must be spent to shut down a puppy mill and impound, care for and place the dogs. 

More on the bill

The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) estimates there are at least 200 commercial dog breeders operating in the state with no regulation.  DACS estimates there are at least 79 breeders operating in North Carolina that would be subject to this bill should it become law. 

DACS spokespersons stress "this is most likely a very conservative estimate of the actual number of commercial dog breeders; because the industry is unregulated, it is essentially a hidden industry, making an accurate estimate of the number of breeders, at best, an educated guess."

The number of commercial breeders is expected to grow substantially in five years.

S.B. 460 does not limit the number of breeding dogs a breeder could maintain but would require licensing by commercial breeders with 15 or more breeding dogs and 30 or more puppies for sale during a 12 month period.  Failure to obtain a license is a Class 2 misdemeanor that could also mean seizure and impoundment of the animals. A second or subsequent offense would be a Class 1 misdemeanor. The dept. of agriculture would have authority to obtain an injunction to stop breeders who fail to register and obtain a license.

These breeders would be required to provide "adequate" veterinary care to the dogs in their care and would be subject to a 3rd degree misdemeanor charge and a $50 per day fine for failure to "adequately house, feed, water, provide adequate veterinary care" or comply with other standards set by the dept.

The registration of anyone convicted of a violation would be revoked, meaning the breeder could not keep 15 or more breeding dogs and 30 or more puppies for sale during a 12 month period.

According to the bill, enforcement would be the exclusive responsibility of counties.