Iowa House OKs 'puppy mill' regulation, higher fees

By James Q. Lynch 

The Gazette

DES MOINES – Legislation to crack down on so-called “puppy mills” and inhumane conditions in animal breeding facilities cleared the Iowa House 77-22 Wednesday.

House File 2280, which now goes to the Senate, would allow state inspectors to respond to specific complaints against a federally licensed facility. They could check to see if an animal is suffering or has adverse health effects due to lack of food, water, sanitation, shelter or grooming.

The bill sets out new fees for many facilities to help pay for a state inspector with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, according to Rep. Jim Lykam, D-Davenport.

Lykam said the bill was needed to “make sure companion animals are treated humanely (and) to better protect pets.”

The bill will allow the state to better regulate the commercial companion animal business and capture the sales tax from the sale of those animals, Lykam added.

Representatives approved the stricter regulations despite concerns that it could be a precursor to legislation affecting production animal agriculture.

“I'm very concerned about that,” said Rep. Annette Sweeney, R-Alden, “but that's a whole other issue.” She didn't think HF 2280 was the place to have that debate.

She referred to Proposition 2 in California that regulates the size of chicken cages and crates for gestating sows. She said that ballot initiative was preceded by a “puppy mill” bill.

However, Sweeney said HF 2280 was not the place for that discussion.

Her amendment to maintain the current fee schedule, require facilities offering multiple services to operate under one authorization rather than one for each service and remove language making veterinarians mandatory reporters of abuse was defeated 41-52, largely on a party line vote.

Lawmakers focused their comment on the fee increases in the bill. Rep. Dave Heaton, R-Mount Pleasant, said the new fee structure would cost a kennel in his town more than the license fees for a large Des Moines grocery store.

“How do we get the bad guys?” asked Rep. Lance Horbach, R-Tama, who said he didn't see anything in the bill that would catch the bad actors. Raising the fees from $100 to $175 probably won't cause unlicensed operators to follow the law.

An amendment to maintain current fees also was defeated 44-52, with Republicans opposing the fee increase and Democrats supporting the higher fees. Now is not the time to raise fees for small businesses, Rep. Chris Hagenow, R-Windsor Heights, said.

However, Lykam said it is unfair to continue to ask IDALS to do more without increasing its revenues.

An amendment to remove language making veterinarians mandatory reporters of abuse was removed on a voice vote. Veterinarians asked for the change because they were concerned people would not bring injured animals to them for care out of fear of being subjected to an abuse investigation. Lykam supported the amendment.

Then bill has been sought by animal welfare groups that say federally licensed facilities have not been held accountable when poor living conditions for dogs have been discovered. The USDA has four inspectors in Iowa and that means it can take years to get something done, those groups say.

The bill would “assign responsibility” to animal breeders, according to Dana Heldenbrand of Madrid, the treasurer of Boone Area Humane Society. Breeders should not be allowed to be self-regulating, she said.

She estimated that as many as 60 percent of the dogs at the shelter are purebreds that are being dumped because there is a glut of animals, Heldenbrand said. Due to the economy and job loss, many people can't afford to care for their pets, she said.

Barb Wade, also of Madrid, said “it's all a money thing” for irresponsible breeders. They breed females as often as possible and then get rid of them, often drowning them.

“Not in Iowa, not any more” if the bill becomes law, she said.

A lobbyist for a West Point kennel said the bill addressed many of the concerns of breeders including making the standards be the same as federal standards and doubling penalties for unlicensed operators they say have operated under the radar.

“As the bill is drafted, we're not opposed,” said David Scott, a lobbyist for Steve Kruse Kennels.