A Rose By Any Other Name

Spring is on its way ... I can smell it in the air. Literally - the compost is thawing out and humming with a distinctly organic fragrance when the lid is lifted. In much the same way, my nose tells me there is a provincial election on the way as well. The mudslinging is already underway and every second time I answer the phone there is some hopeful harry from a marketing company hoping to take up my time. I always decline these offers, being of the firm opinion that every politician at every level who represents me already knows how this middle aged granny feels about things. ( One can almost hear the heavy sighs when yet another email or phone call comes their way )
Elections can be very useful things. During the last Quebec election, a petition for better laws to prevent puppy mills garnered over fifty thousand signatures .... which of course inspired a new found interest on the part of their provincial government on behalf of the animals.
In the wake of the tighter laws in Ontario and the possibility of more in Quebec, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see where the new puppy mill capitol will migrate too. The groundwork has already been laid in the indifference of voters to the multitude of times that Digby's puppy broker/killer has been investigated and charged. And as we all know, voter apathy never gives our politicians any reason to stick their necks out.
Stick your neck out, ya say? How would that be? Wouldn't any politician WANT to be on the side of truth and justice? Not if it makes lobby groups and corporate sponsors uncomfortable in any way. Rocking the boat is normally reserved for issues that the voters care about.
We already have puppy mills here in Nova Scotia. There is only one way to shut these ones down and prevent others from setting up shop. And that of course is by bringing a "Puppy Mill" law through the legislature.
Sound simple? Not a chance. In a province where politicians are afraid to ban the freedom to drive down the road with your dawg in the back of your pickup, how do you think they will do standing up to a lobby group? Do you remember the submission that the provincial society made to the Law Committee when Bill 186 was being reviewed? Did they get through? Not even close.
So if we get past voter apathy and the self preservation instinct of our elected representatives, will that do the trick? Not even close. If we didn't know it before, thanks to Marketplace Canadian couch potatoes everywhere now know that one of PIJAC's main functions is to lobby on behalf of the Hunt Corporation, where puppies are treated like commodities instead of living breathing sentient beings.
When our legislators are working on tougher drug laws, they don't invite the dealers for input. Its time to recognize that as long as the CKC is partnered with PIJAC, neither of them are entitled to a place at the negotiating table for any dog law.
All the experts agree that effective puppy mill legislation begins with regulating the breeders. Big or small, two litters or two hundred, they all need to be licensed. The licensing process is a launchpad to establish a routine inspection process, without which any law is meaningless.
There also needs to be a ceiling on the number of animals permitted in any one operation. General consensus on pending and passed laws south of the border sets that number no higher than fifty.
Limits are also needed on the number of litters that can be produced by individual animals and the permissible ages for breeding animals. Britain's Breeding and Sale of Dogs Act sets an annual limit of one litter per bitch, with a minimum age for breeding set at one year. Virginia's new Puppy Mill law sets the minimum age at 18 months. Britain's law also sets a lifetime limit of six litters per bitch.
Every bit of this would be meaningless without the legislated need for all breeders to maintain auditable records. Nor would it be worth a tinker's dam unless pet stores and pet brokers were required by law to only deal with licensed breeders. Unless all the loose ends are tied up, the unscrupulous will find the loopholes in no time.
And of course, really effective legislation will not have any 'grandfathering' clauses. The legal limits that determine the benchmark blood alcohol levels for drinking and driving laws would be meaningless if people who were drinking and before the law was passed were exempted.
I know I sound like a stuck record, but the way ahead is always paved by voter feedback. For your own MLA's contact information, http://www.gov.ns.ca/LEGISLATURE/MEMBERS/directory/constituencies.html
This is one time when you need to do more than pester you own MLA. Do your homework and contact all the political parties in the province to let them know that this is an issue of concern to you.

• Nova Scotia Liberal Party
• Nova Scotia New Democratic Party
• Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia

The darkest places in hell are reserved for those who maintain their neutrality in times of moral crisis. - Dante Alighieri