Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Is dog breeding operation a 'puppy mill'?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Raising dogs correctly in kennels is not less work than raising livestock, declare "dog rescuers" who took part in a protest against "Amish puppy mills" in Perth County in December.

"I've got five (breeding females) and it's a full-time job," says Angela Cowan, who accompanied Kimberly Thomas, operator of Kismutt Animal Rescue in Oxford County. Thomas pressured Perth East Township to withdraw the kennel license issued to Menno and Viola Streicher. Huron-Perth Landowners Association president Cindy Moyer unsuccessfully pleaded the Streichers' case before council. Moyer revealed the Streichers began breeding 30 females in a kennel over a hog barn in 2009 after Menno had a heart attack.

Thomas says Amish kennels are unheated and unsanitary and has taken her fight to nearby Wellesley Township in Waterloo Region. Media reports indicate she claimed responsibility for Ontario SPCA raids on Amish and Mennonite kennels in Huron County last spring. Thomas says famous defense lawyer Clayton Ruby is onside. He sometimes represents the Ontario SPCA.

Ottawa lawyer Terrence Green, who often appears in Landowner cases, represents the Streichers. They face nine charges each under the Ontario SPCA Act related to the health of their dogs. Viola Streicher says two dogs had been injured while fighting but were under veterinary care.

The Ontario SPCA does not use the term "puppy mill," says investigations and communications officer Brad Dewar. "Breeders are either responsible or irresponsible. The Ontario SPCA only becomes involved in a case when a breeder becomes irresponsible in caring for the animals in their care."  BF

Current Issue

December 2024

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Drew Spoelstra re-elected OFA president

Friday, December 6, 2024

Drew Spoelstra has been re-elected to a second one-year term as president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA). Spoelstra is a dairy and crop farmer from Binbrook in the southeast corner of the city of Hamilton, Ontario. He has been on the OFA board as the director,... Read this article online

New projects drive Ontario agritourism forward

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

Funding boost expands agritourism opportunities in Ontario Ontario’s agritourism industry is growing with the help of $345,000 in government funding. Agritourism Ontario (AO), rebranded from Farm Fresh Ontario, is using this support to enhance connections between families and local... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2024 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top