Carolina League of Municipalities; Dr. Lee Hunter, the State Public Health Veterinarian for the 

 North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services; and The Humane Society of the 

 United States. Patrice Roesler, Director of Intergovernmental Relations for the North Carolina 

 Association of County Commissioners, generously included questions from the Commission on a 

 survey she conducted to assist the House Interim Committee on the Prevention and Disposition 

 of Unwanted and Abandoned Companion Animals (House Interim Committee). The 

 Commission thanks all who assisted in this study. 



At the Commission's September 5, 2003, meeting, staff reported the enactment of the 

 study provision. Staff also reported that Co-Speakers James B. Black and Richard T. Morgan 

 established, pursuant to G.S. 120-19.6, the House Interim Committee and that at that point it did 

 not appear that the subjects to be studied by the Committee would overlap the study authorized 

 by Senate Bill 669. The Commission accordingly opened a docket on the study (DN 03- 4). 



The Commission noted that the Animal Welfare Act, codified as Article 3 of Chapter 

 19A of the General Statutes, includes pet shops and dealers who sell to pet shops. The Board of 

 Agriculture is authorized to adopt rules to implement the Animal Welfare Act, and these rules 

 could provide some guidance for possible regulation of puppy mills. The Commission also 

 noted the possibility of expanding the Animal Welfare Act to include puppy mills. 



At the Commission's October 3, 2003, meeting, it heard from Dr. David Marshall, State 

 Veterinarian; Dr. Fred Kirkland, Director of Animal Health Programs; Dr. Carol Woodlief, 

 Field Veterinarian; and Mr. David S. McLeod, the Department's General Counsel. 



Dr. Woodlief provided information about North Carolina's Animal Welfare Act and 

 summarized the Department of Agriculture's responsibilities under the Act. She confirmed that 

 it currently does not cover private breeders who sell puppies directly to the general public. 



The Department's position is that any regulation of private breeders would be more 

 efficient and effective if done by local government, either through zoning or through general 

 police powers to regulate and license businesses. The Department does not currently have the 

 resources to locate and inspect all the private breeding facilities in the State. It also does not 

 have any information on the number of puppy mills in North Carolina. Dr. Marshall referred the 

 Commission to a nongovernmental operation, such as The Humane Society of the United States, 

 for some indication of the number of puppy mills in the State. 



At the Commission's November 7, 2003, meeting, staff reported that Patrice Roesler, 

 Director of Intergovernmental Relations for the North Carolina Association of County 

 Commissioners, had agreed to include the following questions in a county survey she planned to 

 conduct to assist the House Interim Committee in obtaining information about county animal 

 shelters and animal control programs, including county euthanasia methods: 



Are you aware of the existence of any puppy mills in your county? If so, please 

 provide an estimate of the number of puppy mills operating in your county. 



