Ohio Secretary of State Jon Husted today certified that petitioners seeking a citizen initiated statute regarding dog auctions collected an additional 2,906 valid signatures. The total number of valid signatures now certified is 118,115 and meets the constitutional requirements. Petitioners needed 115,570 valid signatures, or three percent of the total vote cast for Governor in 2010. As part of the total number of signatures needed to place the measure on the ballot, petitioners must also have collected signatures from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties, and within each of those counties collected enough signatures equal to 1.5 percent of the total vote cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election, 2010. Petitioners met or exceeded the 1.5 percent threshold in 51 counties.

Additional Information: Secretary of State Certification LetterProcedure for a Citizen Initiated Statute2010 Governor's Race Percentage Chart (Includes County-by-County Breakdown) 

The Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions is spearheading this citizens-backed, ballot initiative - Ohio Dog Auctions Act - to help improve the lives of dogs in commercial breeding operations in Ohio. The measure would make it illegal for anyone to auction or raffle a dog in Ohio. It also would prohibit bringing dogs into the state for sale or trade that were acquired by auction or raffle elsewhere.

As Ohio voters and taxpayers, the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions is committed to sending a strong message to state legislators thru this ballot initiative that dog auctions serve as a major distribution channel for puppy mill breeders from 15 states, many of whom have long standing repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act and/or have been convicted of animal cruelty!  

The Ohio legislature now has 4 months to act on the initiative. 

Click here to download a copy of the Ohio Dog Auctions Act.

Tuscarawas and Holmes counties serve as major distribution channels for buyers and sellers from 15 states, many of whom have long standing, repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act and/or have been convicted of animal cruelty.

Here's just one example taken from a USDA inspection report for an Ohio 'commercial' breeder who profits from Ohio dog auctions:

"One licensed breeder in Ohio, with no veterinary qualifications, operated on a pregnant dog without anesthesia; the breeder delayed calling a veterinarian and the dog bled to death. The inspector also found that 40 percent of the (200) dogs in the kennel were blind due to an outbreak of Leptospirosis. The inspector determined that the facility's water was contaminated and had caused the outbreak."  

Media coverage of the ballot initiative campaign has been extensive:  54 media distribution channels, including USA Today - ‘Animal activists' start-ups help pets, inspire people'  

There has been endorsement and support from three nationally recognized animal welfare groups; Animal Law Coalition, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) and Best Friends Animal Society

For more on the initiative and how it works...

Read USA Today's coverage of the auction ban ballot initiative.

Follow the WHAS 11 News investigation, Part I and Part 2 into the Holmes County Dog Auction! Mary O-Connor-Shaver explains, "The news team has been working on in partnership with the Coalition to Ban Ohio Dog Auctions for several months. The story includes coverage of nine dogs rescued from a recent auction and an assault initiated against a WHAS11 investigative team member by auction owner, Harold Neuhart! It should be noted that several dogs from this sale tested positive for brucellosis - as confirmed by East Holmes Veterinary Clinic - and two were euthanized, with one scheduled to be euthanized."

For more media coverage of the effort to ban Ohio dog auctions.....

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Katie Davis, League of Humane Voters of Ohio, elaborates, "Something many animal advocates don't know about the pet industry... is that mill dogs are often subjected to the additional misery of being shuffled between puppy mills throughout their lives. Such transactions occur largely through dog auctions, which in general, are events held by low standard, USDA-licensees and others involved with high volume/low quality dog breeding.

"Dog auctions are held primarily for backyard breeders and other puppy mill owners, thereby providing an efficient way to sell dogs, who are no longer producing as many puppies as when they were first bred and/or who have developed medical and/or behavioral problems. In this way, dog auctions .... provide an easy method for puppy mill owners to increase their sales revenue.

"Of course an increase in dog overpopulation exacerbates the problem of pet abandonment; results in more demand for already overstretched rescue and shelter resources; leads to more dogs being killed in shelters, due to the lack of good adopters; causes more demand for increased tax dollars and charitable donations to run shelters and rescues; and results in extra stress for shelter and rescue workers.

"Something else less apparent to most animal advocates is that prior to and after auctions, dogs and pups are driven for long distances, sometimes for more than 10 hours, when they are taken for sale in such places as Holmes County, OH (about 60 miles southwest of Canton). Dogs and pups being transported to and from auctions are not only exposed to extreme weather conditions, but also deprived of food and water for very long periods, including the many hours while the auctions are actually going on.

"Typically, a minimum of 250 dogs are sold per auction in Ohio, at prices ranging from over $1,000/dog to as little as $1/dog. Fortunately, Ohio dog auctions have not "successfully" spread out of Holmes County yet, where they were started in 2004. So dog auctions are a relatively recent addition to similar Ohio auctions held nearby, where - shamefully -- exotic and other types of abused and neglected animals are sold (e.g., native Ohio wildlife, horses, cattle, pigs, etc.) Dog auctions are an outgrowth of the thriving Ohio puppy mill business. According to testimony given at an Ohio Puppy Mill Bill hearing by mass puppy producer and co-founder of the Buckeye Dog Auction, Ervin Raber, it is a $9 million dollar/year industry for Holmes County."