A GREAT DAY FOR DOGS
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 -- 12:44 PM
A new law for Wisconsin dog sellers, rescuers and shelters takes effect today?and a group from Clark County spearheaded it.The law will require breeders who sell 25 or more dogs a year from more than three litters, and certain humane societies, rescue groups, and other animal shelters to be licensed and inspected.
"(It's) a very happy day, and a great day for dogs in the state of Wisconsin," bubbles Chuck Wegner of the Clark County Humane Society.
Animal rights activists have long decried the conditions at so-called ?puppy mills,? where, they say, dogs are starved, kept in squalid conditions and not allowed to exercise.
And Clark County is ?Ground Zero."
"The (Clark County) Humane Society itself, and many of its members, was instrumental in doing the protests and making the public aware that there is a situation called puppy mills, and that Clark County was the number one county in the state, as far as puppy mills go," Wegner states.
After the bill was signed in 2009, the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection set to writing the administrative rules. They formed a 12-member panel, which included Wegner and Neillsville area dog breeder Mike Marsch.
The result of the ?long, drawn out process? is a set of regulations that Wegner says should eliminate the ?bad actors.?
"They have to go through inspections to be licensed," Wegner say.
The rules will require mass breeders and shelters to get inspected before getting licenses. Once they're licensed, they?ll be inspected a minimum of once every two years. Wegner says the rules also allow breeders and shelters that fail inspection to improve and earn back their license.
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