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