We hear the cries all the time, “We need more government regulation. More laws! More oversight!”, when in fact what we should be crying is, “Enforce the EXISTING laws!”
Really people, do we need any more laws on the books? Take the enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). According to a recent posting on the ASPCA site, “Earlier this week, the Office of the Inspector General released a report detailing the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) lax and ineffective enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) against licensed large-scale dog breeders and brokers known as puppy mills. As part of the investigation, auditors visited 81 facilities and reviewed records documenting 28,443 violations over a two-year period. http://www.aspca.org/news/national/05-28-10.html#1
These puppy mill puppies were all living in the same cage
Despite regular inspections, inhumane conditions continued. It was found at an Oklahoma mill, that even though 5 dogs were found dead and other dogs were becoming cannibals due to suffering from starvation, no action was taken by investigators. Twenty-two other dogs died as a result of their non-action.
The ASPCA continues their nationwide investigations. They also support the enactment of a citizens-sponsored legislation, Missouri Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act (http://www.aspca.org/blog/landmark-mo-puppy-mill.html). The legislation has its merits as it calls for substantially improving the lives of dogs by requiring large-scale breeding operations to provide sufficient food and clean water, necessary veterinary care, adequate housing, space and exercise. The Animal Welfare Act does not really address those issues. It deals more with licensing of large scale dealer (breeders), pet stores, exhibitors and the like it does not require smaller breeders (those that don’t earn a substantial income from the breeding of animals) to be licensed. It also does not deal with the conditions under which these animals should live (though it does state that they should be treated humanely, but that is an open door for interpretation). The Missouri Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act addresses that problem.
Had the original law been written correctly and with deeper foresight and thought, the Missouri Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act would not been needed. Would it have been so hard to include in the AWA exactly “what” is considered humane conditions (or what inhumane conditions are?) All that would be needed is enforcement of the existing law. Why is it that our legislators cannot do it right the first time? Are they so caught up in their legalese that they can’t see the forest for the trees?
