Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Oregon Legislature approved new regulations for dog breeders Tuesday. The bill is aimed at making sure dog breeders treat their animals humanely.

The action comes days after authorities seized 371 dogs from an eastern Washington puppy mill.  Salem correspondent Chris Lehman reports.

The measure would ban operations with more than 50 breeding dogs.

It would also prohibit stacking dog cages on top of one another and require breeders to exercise each dog for at least an hour a day.

The vote to approve the measure was mostly along party lines.

Minority Republicans like Senator Fred Girod objected to the cap of 50 dogs per breeder.  He says it’s a mistake to think that smaller is always better.

Fred Girod:  “You can have a state of the art facility for hundreds of dogs with lots of staff to give a high rate of care, and you can have an owner with a single dog that is extremely abusive.”

Republicans tried to insert an amendment that would allow for larger breeding operations as long as they had adequate staffing.

The bill that passed would also require pet stores to provide buyers with information about where a dog was born.

The measure now heads to the Governor’s desk.

Online:

Oregon House Bill 2470-A