Ohio Governor Engineers Compromise Puppy-Mill Bill

Early this month, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland announced a compromise puppy-mill bill that he would recommend to the state legislature. The compromise has the backing of both the hunting dog community and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the bill’s sponsor. The question now is, will the compromise hold through the legislative process?

As originally written, the bill would have caused serious problems for small kennels and breeders of hunting dogs. The United States Sportsmen’s Alliance (USSA) together with the hunting dog interests in Ohio successfully argued for amendments that would exempt certain small breeding operations from the requirements of the legislation. Agreement on the compromise amendments was reached between the three stakeholders involved: the hunting dog breeders, the HSUS, and Governor Strickland. The proposed bill is now posted on the Ohio General Assembly website.

Although Governor Strickland has made it clear that he supports the bill in its current form, hunting dog interests are watching closely to make certain that the legislature, though the course of the political process, does not attempt to strip away some of those hard-won amendments.

More details may be found in Dave Golowenski’s report in The Columbus Dispatch.