by Julie Hauserman
July 1 will be a historic day in Indiana: Change will finally come for thousands of dogs. For the first time, the state’s puppy mills will be regulated and inspected for signs of animal abuse.
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Thanks to new legislation that goes into effect July 1, puppy mill dogs in Indiana will have protections never before afforded them.© The HSUS |
Knowing the torment dogs endure at Indiana’s puppy mills—
like the one raided Tuesday in Harrison County—hundreds of animal advocates banded together last spring to get the law passed at the Indiana General Assembly, and their efforts paid off.
Animals Need Protecting
“Prior to July 1 in Indiana, you had more regulation if you owned a barber shop than you did if you had 700 dogs on your property,” said Humane Society of the United States Indiana State Director Anne Sterling, who was part of a group of animal advocates who lobbied for what turned out to be “the most massive overhaul to the animal cruelty statute that the Hoosier state has ever experienced.”
For years, the state’s only requirement for animal owners was that they provided food and water—it didn’t require that animals have shelter or medical care.
Shockingly, when a pit bull in Gary was found chained and frozen to death, the only reason the owner could be prosecuted was because the dog didn’t have food and water available.
“We desperately needed to strengthen the cruelty code,” Sterling said. “For puppy mills, it’s been extremely difficult to address the most basic needs of the animals.”
Thanks to a $150,000 anonymous donation, The HSUS is able to lead a full-court press to push for stronger cruelty protections.
Public Says Strengthen Laws
The first step: Taking a Mason-Dixon poll of Indiana voters. The poll showed that a whopping 83 percent supported legislation to strengthen protections for dogs in puppy mills, and only 7 percent opposed the measure. Ninety percent of voters said they wanted humane treatment of animals, including increased penalties for abuse and better authority for inspections and animal cruelty investigations. Overwhelming margins in every demographic group—men, women, Democrats, Republicans and Independents—supported legislation to protect pets from cruelty and abuse.
One thing was sure: the public stood firmly behind the animal advocates working the halls at the Capitol. It was time to convince state lawmakers to do the right thing.
To get a statewide conversation going about the cruelty involved at puppy mills, advocates gave every Indiana lawmaker a copy of Jana Kohl’s influential book, "A Rare Breed of Love," which tells the poignant story of her adopted dog Baby, a fluffy, white puppy mill survivor who lost her leg after years of producing endless puppies in a cramped wire cage.
Legislative Support
The puppy mill bill had some important champions in the Indiana Legislature. Rep. Trent Van Haaften was interested in regulation because of personal experience: sadly, his family adopted a puppy from a puppy mill who turned out to be very sick and later died.
Rep. Linda Lawson, a former police officer and animal lover whom The HSUS named Humane Legislator of the Year in 2007, agreed to sponsor the measure in the House, and she fought tenaciously for its passage.
On the House floor, Lawson showed her colleagues shocking, blown-up photographs of puppy mill dogs.
“Rep. Lawson went through, picture by picture and described what had happened to each of these dogs,” Sterling said.
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The new law requires that puppy mill dogs must have access to exercise at least once a day. © The HSUS |
The photographs made real the health problems and abuse that puppy mill dogs endure their whole lives. For many lawmakers, an abstract problem on far-flung farms became personal and shocking.
“I think a lot of people were surprised this was happening in our state,” Sterling said.
Animal Advocates Make the Case
Keeping the dogs’ plight front and center, more than 100 people showed up to talk to lawmakers at Indiana’s Humane Lobby Day.
Over the course of the legislative session, a parade of supporters testified about the need for better regulation to ease animal suffering. They included three veterinarians, a prosecutor, animal advocates, and shelter workers.
Animal advocates held a reception at the capitol, where shelter workers told lawmakers frankly about the heartbreak of having to euthanize unwanted animals while puppy millers operated unchecked.
During the last week of the legislative session, the dogs took center stage: 25 puppy mill survivors—many with scars from years of abuse—arrived at the Capitol for a news conference. They included a French Bulldog who was forced to breed and give birth to litter after litter, even though her back end was completely paralyzed.
More than 40 shelters and animal rescue groups sent letters of support to lawmakers, and 12 newspapers around the state editorialized in favor of the bill.
“Many people commented that this issue was more talked about than the state budget,” Sterling said.
When the bill came up for its final vote, it passed the House unanimously and lawmakers gave Rep. Lawson a standing ovation.
Less Than a Month To Go
When the law goes into effect July 1, dogs in puppy mills will have to be let out of their cages at least once per day for exercise. The law also increases the minimum cage size, and bans painful wire cage flooring.
Indiana will have a registry of dog breeders, and they will be subject to inspection by state agricultural officials. If abuse is found, commercial breeders can face felony charges. The law strengthens penalties for animal cruelty and authorizes courts to prohibit convicted animal abusers from owning other animals in the future.
And, finally, in a bit of justice for the poor chained pit bull who froze to death, the legislation makes it an offense for someone to neglect animals by failing to provide them with shelter or medical treatment.
“This is a new day for dogs in Indiana,” Sterling said. “Overall, I think we’re reaching a tipping point and people are becoming more and more aware that this suffering must end.”
