Post by muskyhusky on Oct 20, 2008 14:49:16 GMT -6
It looks like several Wisconsin lawmakers are in the dog house with a group that's been trying to crack down on puppy mills.
Sixteen legislators were invited a month ago to a Madison roundtable discussion regarding the regulation of Wisconsin's puppy mills Thursday night. Only two responded to say they were unable to attend. The rest just didn't show up.
What was billed as a public forum for legislators to hear public opinion about puppy mills and discuss proposed puppy mill legislation turned into a seminar by Eilene Ribbens Rohde, of Elkhart Lake, executive director of the *Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, followed by a discussion.
About 125 people from communities all over south-central Wisconsin turned out for the event at the Alliant Energy Center. It was the seventh roundtable the Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project has done in the state. Some of the forums have drawn more than 300 people.
"We assumed that because we would be tonight in the heart of government for our state that we might expect to be able to talk to our legislators town hall style, roundtable style, face-to-face, heart to heart," said Ribbens Rohde, urging the audience to call and write their representatives about the issue. "They aren't here. I don't know how you feel, but if I were you I would be outraged."
Puppy mills are underground, substandard breeding facilities where adult dogs are kept primarily to mass-produce puppies to sell. Puppy mill dogs are often bred despite having health or behavior problems, according to Ribbens Rohde, who has been working on legislation to regulate dog breeders since 1998.
Hundreds of concerned Wisconsin citizens have contacted their elected officials about the issue, she said, yet "the abuse and neglect and suffering of these animals is continuing. In fact, it is getting worse."
Ribbens Rohde said that the puppy mill industry in Wisconsin has no oversight: No licensing, no inspection or rules to follow.
Breeders have consequently flocked to the state, building windowless sheds on rural backroads where they house hundreds, even thousands, of dogs, Ribbens Rohde said.
"These dogs do not see the light of day. They do not feel grass under their feet. They don't know what the sunshine is," she said. "This is no way to treat man's best friend."
More than 50 people at the meeting signed a petition addressed to Governor Jim Doyle and the Wisconsin Legislature to actively pursue legislation to license, inspect and set a standard of the humane care for pets bred or sold in Wisconsin.
"We believe that pet animals are NOT 'agricultural products,'" the petition read. "We believe they require standards of care that are specifically suited for their species and breed. Those standards must include socialization and proper housing, exercise, food, water and veterinary care."
Frank Schemberger, of Eau Claire, said he visited a puppy mill two years ago while traveling in west central Wisconsin. There was a permanent sign that said "puppies for sale" and he went to investigate.
"I never knew what a puppy mill was before that," he said.
Schemberger also went as a protester to the Horst Stables dog auction near Thorp, Wis., where he and others say "puppy millers" take dogs with behavioral problems and auction them off. He said he saw some of the breeders hauling more than a dozen dogs in small poultry cages.
He compared the "puppy millers" to moonshiners.
"Moonshiners don't invite you to their place to sell their product. They deliver it. That's what happens with these auctions," Schemberger said.
Chuck Wegner, shelter manager and executive director of the Clark County Humane Society, located in the center of the state, said that puppy mill owners set up shop in his county because it is rural, the land is cheap and farming is on the wane.
"What alarms me is that this is such a hidden problem," he said. "We need to get the public worked up about this. You've got to contact your legislator and explain what a puppy mill is."
If the state were to regulate puppy mills and breeders had to pay income tax and charge sales tax, Wisconsin would make money, he pointed out. "This affects everyone, even those who don't have pets. The state of Wisconsin is losing a lot of revenue," he said.
Susan Bacskai of Oconomowoc brought her miniature pincher to the meeting. A puppy mill dog, she adopted him at 10 months from the humane society in Brookfield, which purchased him at the Thorp auction.
At first he couldn't be touched and it took her 20 minutes to get him on his leash, she said.
"He didn't know how to walk on grass or how to drink out of a bowl. He is doing much better now," Bacskai said.
Amy Burns of the Wisconsin Animal Education Network does animal rescue work. She called the way dogs are treated in puppy mills "brutal cruelty."
"We deal with the victims on a regular basis. It's heartbreaking. There are just no words," she said.
Puppy mills are still too much of a secret, Burns said. "It's one of those issues where public opinion is on our side but people just don't know. Once they know if they are horrified.
Sixteen legislators were invited a month ago to a Madison roundtable discussion regarding the regulation of Wisconsin's puppy mills Thursday night. Only two responded to say they were unable to attend. The rest just didn't show up.
What was billed as a public forum for legislators to hear public opinion about puppy mills and discuss proposed puppy mill legislation turned into a seminar by Eilene Ribbens Rohde, of Elkhart Lake, executive director of the *Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project, followed by a discussion.
About 125 people from communities all over south-central Wisconsin turned out for the event at the Alliant Energy Center. It was the seventh roundtable the Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project has done in the state. Some of the forums have drawn more than 300 people.
"We assumed that because we would be tonight in the heart of government for our state that we might expect to be able to talk to our legislators town hall style, roundtable style, face-to-face, heart to heart," said Ribbens Rohde, urging the audience to call and write their representatives about the issue. "They aren't here. I don't know how you feel, but if I were you I would be outraged."
Puppy mills are underground, substandard breeding facilities where adult dogs are kept primarily to mass-produce puppies to sell. Puppy mill dogs are often bred despite having health or behavior problems, according to Ribbens Rohde, who has been working on legislation to regulate dog breeders since 1998.
Hundreds of concerned Wisconsin citizens have contacted their elected officials about the issue, she said, yet "the abuse and neglect and suffering of these animals is continuing. In fact, it is getting worse."
Ribbens Rohde said that the puppy mill industry in Wisconsin has no oversight: No licensing, no inspection or rules to follow.
Breeders have consequently flocked to the state, building windowless sheds on rural backroads where they house hundreds, even thousands, of dogs, Ribbens Rohde said.
"These dogs do not see the light of day. They do not feel grass under their feet. They don't know what the sunshine is," she said. "This is no way to treat man's best friend."
More than 50 people at the meeting signed a petition addressed to Governor Jim Doyle and the Wisconsin Legislature to actively pursue legislation to license, inspect and set a standard of the humane care for pets bred or sold in Wisconsin.
"We believe that pet animals are NOT 'agricultural products,'" the petition read. "We believe they require standards of care that are specifically suited for their species and breed. Those standards must include socialization and proper housing, exercise, food, water and veterinary care."
Frank Schemberger, of Eau Claire, said he visited a puppy mill two years ago while traveling in west central Wisconsin. There was a permanent sign that said "puppies for sale" and he went to investigate.
"I never knew what a puppy mill was before that," he said.
Schemberger also went as a protester to the Horst Stables dog auction near Thorp, Wis., where he and others say "puppy millers" take dogs with behavioral problems and auction them off. He said he saw some of the breeders hauling more than a dozen dogs in small poultry cages.
He compared the "puppy millers" to moonshiners.
"Moonshiners don't invite you to their place to sell their product. They deliver it. That's what happens with these auctions," Schemberger said.
Chuck Wegner, shelter manager and executive director of the Clark County Humane Society, located in the center of the state, said that puppy mill owners set up shop in his county because it is rural, the land is cheap and farming is on the wane.
"What alarms me is that this is such a hidden problem," he said. "We need to get the public worked up about this. You've got to contact your legislator and explain what a puppy mill is."
If the state were to regulate puppy mills and breeders had to pay income tax and charge sales tax, Wisconsin would make money, he pointed out. "This affects everyone, even those who don't have pets. The state of Wisconsin is losing a lot of revenue," he said.
Susan Bacskai of Oconomowoc brought her miniature pincher to the meeting. A puppy mill dog, she adopted him at 10 months from the humane society in Brookfield, which purchased him at the Thorp auction.
At first he couldn't be touched and it took her 20 minutes to get him on his leash, she said.
"He didn't know how to walk on grass or how to drink out of a bowl. He is doing much better now," Bacskai said.
Amy Burns of the Wisconsin Animal Education Network does animal rescue work. She called the way dogs are treated in puppy mills "brutal cruelty."
"We deal with the victims on a regular basis. It's heartbreaking. There are just no words," she said.
Puppy mills are still too much of a secret, Burns said. "It's one of those issues where public opinion is on our side but people just don't know. Once they know if they are horrified.
