THUNDER BAY — The provincial government's plan to crack down on puppy mill operators has won the endorsement of animal welfare groups, but some say there's much more to be done.
On Monday, the government introduced the Preventing Unethical Puppy Sales Act, which would tighten regulations and provide for fines of $10,000 to $25,000 for breeders that violate the law.
"It's probably a very, very small start," said Robin Ratz, founder and board chair of Murillo Mutts, a specialized rescue facility. "Unfortunately, I guess my question would be is 'What are the consequences, or how are they going to find out about these puppy mills?"
The Ministry of the Solicitor General administers the Provincial Animal Welfare Services Act (PAWS), and has inspectors who conduct investigations.
But Ratz said she's found that sometimes there is a "disconnect between what's the law, and what's happening" in the field.
"I have a good relationship with PAWS, so I'm not trying to beat them up. But I got a call to rescue three dogs. One dog ended up losing his eye, everything, because they were in a horrific situation. I reported that, and I was told because I relieved the animals of their distress, PAWS could not get involved."
She said there are multiple puppy mills in the Thunder Bay area, including one that Murillo Mutts had a "really bad experience" with last Christmas.
A local resident had obtained a dog from a breeder, only to find out that the pup was extremely ill.
"In order for us to assist people like that, we have to have them surrender their animal to get care without our vet. Unfortunately, the puppy was too sick, and died. The breeder ended up contacting our rescue, and she had a second sick puppy and promised she would get it to the vet. The next day, she called and acknowledged she had no money to pay for vetting, so we brought that puppy into care as well. Between the first dog and the second dog, fees, stuff we had to throw out because it was parvo[virus], we lost about $7,000 worth of stuff."
"So in a case like that, what are the consequences for that person who not only has a puppy mill but refused to take responsibility for giving people sick puppies like that poor adopter? That was their first puppy ever, and it died."
She questions whether the government's proposed crackdown goes far enough, pointing to a clause in the new legislation that would prohibit breeding a female dog excessively.
"How are you gonna tell that a dog's been bred more than three times in two years?" she asked. "I don't really think it's going to stop. It's going to take a lot of people getting those $25,000 fines ...It usually takes an outcry before anything happens, and by then how many animals have already suffered, and how many people, like I said, at the hands of an unethical breeder?"
Kim Tamminen, founder of Paws For Love Dog Rescue, said there are people in the Thunder Bay area making a living off puppy mills.
"It's just wrong to do that to an animal. Some of them just over-breed them, and they live in horrible conditions ... the laws don't protect the dogs, so they just keep going on."
Tamminen said she hopes PAWS will "will step up and act on the issue."
She recalled a local situation where Provincial Animal Welfare Services was informed about pups in distress, and visited the breeder to give advice but left all the dogs behind.
"A few of the rescues here in town had to take the dogs and deal with it properly," she said.
Despite the new law, Tamminen worries it's those breeders who are "the bad ones that still are going to get away with it."
Ratz emphasized that she's not suggesting all breeders are bad, saying "anyone that does genetic and temperament testing, and keeps a bloodline going, there's nothing wrong with that. My issue is the people that aren't doing any of that and are putting out sick dogs, and nothing ever really gets done."
She believes, however, that all breeders should be regulated.
"I'm big about regulations and transparency. You should have clear intake, clear discharge, clear records throughout everything. Anyone that breeds should have to be held accountable to that."
The breeding and selling of animals currently is not specifically regulated by legislation in Ontario.
Animal Justice, an advocacy group, has called the province's planned new regulations “toothless” because dog breeders still don't have to be licensed.
