Staff reported that, contrary to earlier expectation, a subcommittee of the House Interim 

 Committee began to examine a proposal to license all dog breeders, which would potentially 

 moot any need for legislation specifically directed at puppy mills. Staff agreed to monitor the 

 Committee's work so that the Commission can avoid duplication of effort. 



At the Commission's March 5, 2004. meeting, staff reported on the work of the House 

 Interim Committee. 



At the Commission's May 7, 2004, meeting, staff reported on the results of the survey by 

 the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners. Fifty-three counties responded. Of 

 these, 18 reported having puppy mills, while 34 did not and one did not know whether it had 

 any. Reported problems fell into two categories: poor conditions/cruelty to the animals in 

 puppy mills and puppy mills' contribution to the pet population in animal shelters. Twenty-six 

 counties responded that additional legislation was not necessary to deal adequately with puppy 

 mills; fifteen disagreed, and some of these expressed a variety of ideas. 



Also at the May 7, 2004, meeting, the Commission reviewed and discussed the final 

 recommendation of the House Interim Committee and concluded that the recommendation does 

 not address puppy mills. 



During the course of its study, the Commission received substantial written information 

 including individual comments, articles on puppy mills, other state laws, and proposals for 

 legislation. This material and the other records of the Commission relating to this study are 

 available through the Revisor of Statutes, 9001 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, North Carolina 

 27699-9001,(919)716-6800. 



FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATION 



Puppy mills can be defined as breeding establishments in which the production of 

 puppies is maximized and the overhead costs are minimized as much as possible. The result is 

 twofold: the animals kept for breeding are kept in substandard conditions and given minimal, 

 care, and the puppies suffer from poor genetics and poor socialization, commonly do not make 

 good pets, and contribute to the pet overpopulation in animal shelters. 



Possible additional areas for investigation include: 



(1) Further examination of the need for State-wide uniformity. 



(2) "Puppy lemon laws," which have been adopted in several states. 



(3) Amending the animal cruelty laws to target some practices followed by puppy 

 mills. 



(4) Civil penalties for puppy mills. 



