An ordinance regulating the keeping of dogs or cats for breeding purposes, as well as providing violation penalties, has been unanimously approved by the Bartholomew County commissioners.
“It makes it very difficult for any large breeder to set up shop in Bartholomew County,” commissioner Chairman Larry Kleinhenz said Monday.
“I think the revamping (of the ordinance) will help some of our audience members, as well as others in the community, feel a little better about — for the lack of better verbiage — ‘puppy mills’,” commissioner Carl Lienhoop added.
“This puts enforcement into that provision.”
The ordinance now states that in no event shall a breeder operate with more than 10 unaltered female dogs or cats more than 12 months old. Current fines will be increased to $100 per day, and will be assessed each day that the problem goes unresolved, the document states.
It will also become unlawful for any owner to abandon a dog, cat or other animal within the county. However, the ordinance does allow feral cats to be trapped and spayed or neutered by an agency contracted by the county before the wild feline is returned to where it was originally found.
The proposed regulations eliminate any mention of a county animal control commission, and eliminates licensing requirements.
A change made to the proposed regulations after it received first-reading approval on Aug. 16 removed the words “and other animals,” Kleinhenz said.
The phrase was removed after commissioners were contacted by a rabbit breeder, a farmer who raises cattle, and even a beekeeper who worried these new regulations would somehow put them in a (difficult) position, Kleinhenz said.
“Our intent was specifically dogs and cats,” Kleinhenz said.
When the new regulations received preliminary approval two weeks ago, the commissioners received input from 10 people streaming the meeting online. It was one of the largest virtual public audience the three county executives have received since the COVID-19 pandemic began making virtual government meetings a necessity.
On Monday, the commissioners received only two public comments. Long-time animal rights activist Nancy Ray and the Indiana State Director at the Humane Society of the United States, Samantha Morton, lauded the commissioners for their efforts.
After the new ordinance is published in the legal notices of The Republic, it will go into effect 30 days later, county attorney Grant Tucker said.
