Senate sends 'puppy mills' bill to governor's desk

DES MOINES – Legislation intended to crack down on so-called “puppy mills” and inhumane conditions in animal breeding facilities in Iowa is en route to Gov. Chet Culver's desk following Senate approval Monday.

Senators voted 41-9 to approve House File 2280, which would allow state inspectors to respond to specific complaints against a federally licensed facility. Inspectors could check to see if an animal is suffering or has adverse health effects due to lack of food, water, sanitation, shelter or grooming, according to the measure that previously cleared the Iowa House by a 77-22 margin.

The legislation also sets out new fees for many facilities to help pay for a state inspector with the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, backers said.

“Today is a historic day in Iowa,” said Sen. Matt McCoy, D-Des Moines, the bill's floor manager. “The message is going forth loud and clear today that we love our animals and we want our companion animals protected.”

McCoy said the legislation was the product of compromise that will protect companion animals raised in Iowa and ensure their humane treatment while not affecting Iowa's livestock industry. He called the protections contained in the bill “a reasonable approach.”

However, nine Republicans voted against the bill because they saw it as part of a larger effort by animal rights activists to do away with hunting, constrict animal agriculture and thwart the use of animals in medical research.

“These people aren't out to protect Fluffy and Spot,” said Sen. Dick Dearden, D-Des Moines, who reluctantly voted for the bill. “They're out there to change a way of life.”

Sen. David Johnson, R-Ocheyedan, called the legislation “the first step” and predicted there would be additional efforts next session to regulate conditions for raising chickens, pigs and other livestock – a charge that McCoy dismissed as “baloney.”

“This bill will do nothing to stop the bad actors. There's just nothing there,” said Johnson, who predicted the bill would be “the first step” with activists taking aim at production animal agriculture next session by trying to regulate the size of chicken cages and crates for gestating sows.

McCoy said Iowa ranks third nationally in the amount of animals being raised in USDA-licensed facilities because “there has been lax oversight of these facilities.”

Sen. Joe Seng, D-Davenport, a licensed veterinarian, called the bill a good compromise that “solves a lot of people's problems” by providing for better regulation of the commercial companion animal business while capturing fees and sales tax from the sale of those animals to help pay for the increased state oversight.

The 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.

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