Guest guest Posted June 17, 2007 Report Share Posted June 17, 2007 Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare Alert 6/14/07 Bland County Puppymill Fire - We Need You Next Steps: Come to Bland County Meeting 6/26/07 at 7 pm 1. Please read the email below from Best Friends. See that the Bland County Board of Supervisors could issue a permit to Dogwood Kennels with no restrictions. 2. How many of you will be able to attend the meeting on 6/26? 3. The public health question is covered in the email. Please contact Bland County officials and hit hard on the use of dog waste as fertilizer for crops for human consumption. It appears a real public health issue for Bland County to allow this when authorities say the health hazard is not eliminated by the Dogwood Kennel process. There is, in addition, the possibility of groundwater contamination by the use of dog feces as fertilizer. 4. Polite messages are strongly encouraged, but this is also time to call a spade a spade. Officials in Bland County are not immune from consideration of health issues of their constituents. Not only should attention be paid to conditions in which the dogs live, but humans health issues may not be ignored either. Lillian Clancy/Don Marro __________ This was sent to us on Tuesday, 6/12/07 at 4:45 pm from Denise LeBeau (denisel); the subject: Bland County Puppy Mill - Your Voice Needed! Dear Best Friends Members: Pass forward this email to everyone you know who can help! First, thank you very much for all of your calls and letters to the Bland County, Virginia Planning Commission in opposition to the application by Dogwood Kennels, for a conditional use permit to continue operating its puppy mill. It made a difference. The County Administrator, Jonathan Sweet, reported he was receiving 200 emails a day! The Commission received over 4,000 emails! At the hearing on June 4, 2007 the Bland County, Virginia Planning Commission did vote unanimously to give Dogwood Kennels a conditional use permit. But because of the strong opposition, the Commission did follow the recommendations of Best Friends Animal Society to at least impose restrictions on Dogwood Kennels' operation. Best Friends' lawyers, Russ Mead and Peggy Sutton, were at the hearing. Best Friends told the Planning Commission, if they did issue the permit, in addition to the regulations that apply to commercial dog breeders, they should limit the number of times female dogs can be bred each year and ban all inbreeding. Best Friends also called for larger kennels and exercise areas that are clean, sanitary and not overcrowded; proper veterinary care, grooming, and socialization. Best Friends asked the Commission to include a requirement Dogwood Kennels not be allowed to transfer the permit to the next owner. (The Schmuckers plan to sell this farm and move to neighboring Giles County.) In issuing the permit, the Commission did require Dogwood Kennels to use kennels and provide exercise areas that are 40% larger than required by federal or state regulations for breeders. The Commission also required Dogwood Kennels to submit to unannounced inspections and provide veterinary care and make the records available for inspection. The dogs must be monitored at all times. Any violation of the permit or regulations can mean county residents can claim the puppy mill constitutes a nuisance and can mean a revocation of the permit. The Commission did allow Dogwood Kennels' plan to compost the dog waste but decided to continue to study the issue of allowing them to spread it as fertilizer on food crops. Authorities agree dog waste even if composted or vericomposted is a hazard to human health if it is spread as fertilizer on food crops. Of course we want this mill shut down! But at least with these requirements, it will be more difficult and expensive for Dogwood Kennels to operate. And this fight is not over. There is now a hearing on the application on June 26 before the Bland County Board of Supervisors. The Board could very well issue the permit with no restrictions. We need your help! Best Friends calls on you to attend the June 26, 2007 at 7 p.m. EST. It will be at the Bland County Courthouse located at 612 Main Street, Bland, VA 24315 If you cannot attend, please send letters, faxes or emails (letters or faxes are best) to the Bland County officials listed below. Let the County Administrator and Board of Supervisors know they should at least require certain humane conditions already approved by the Planning Commission. Don't wait; write or call now! Please be polite! Officials to contact: Jonathan Sweet: Bland County Administratorjsweet.bland.coP. O. Box 510; Bland, VA 24315(276)688-4622Bland County Board of Supervisors:1supervisor.bland.co (put the name of the supervisor in the subject line)Henry M. Blessing/Sharon District/District 1; (276) 688-3612John C. Thompson/Vice Chairman/Seddon District/District 2; (276) 688-6189Jason R. Ramsey/Mechanicsburg/District 3; (276) 928-1941Karen H. Hadock/Chairman/Rocky Gap District/District 4; (276) 928-1677The Board can also be reached by US mail:Bland County Board of SupervisorsP. O. Box 510; Bland, VA 24315276-688-4622 - phone276-688-9758 - fax Tell these officials you are concerned about: There are no limits on breeding in puppy mills. Not only are female dogs bred over and over until their bodies give out, many puppy mill dogs are inbred and have diseases, illnesses, birth defects and behavior problems. It is such a problem that many states have passed "puppy lemon laws" to protect purchasers of dogs that have been inbred, not socialized and poorly cared for at puppy mills. Many times purchasers have found themselves with thousands of dollars in vet bills because they bought a dog at a pet store. Most pet stores get their dogs from puppy mills. Many puppy mill dogs will end up in public shelters, adding to the cost for animal control for the county. There are estimates that 25-30% of shelter animals are purebreds that come from puppy mills. By allowing this kind of business, Bland County will be dumping into communities more and more unwanted dogs. These poor dogs are kept in small cages 24 hours each day, cages that are often overcrowded, and as Dogwood Kennels has admitted, with poor ventilation, and no opportunity for exercise and socialization. Dogwood Kennels has announced they may dispose of dog waste by putting it on farmers' crops. They plan to douse it first with lime and mix it with "redworms". Dog feces contain worms that can be transmitted to humans and cause blindness and also serious illness and affect other tissues and organs. There is no authority that mixing lime and redworms with the feces, as Dogwood Kennels claims, does anything to eliminate the health concerns. In fact, authorities including National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), say this does not eliminate the health hazard. There is also the danger the waste will leach into the groundwater and contaminate the community water supply. Dogwood Kennels has demonstrated at the very least their gross irresponsibility and disregard for the law in operating this puppy mill. They operated for years without a permit. Even now, they are operating without a permit at all. The puppy mill is a nuisance and a real hazard to neighbors and other citizens of the county. In addition to contacting local Bland County officials, you can help in other ways. Encourage everyone you know and in your communities to adopt not buy dogs and other pets. Dogs at this facility and others like it sell puppies exclusively to pet stores. Never, ever purchase a pet from a store or over the Internet. Click here to sign a petition to protest the issuance of a permit to the Schmuckers or Dogwood Kennels to allow them to continue to operate a puppy mill. http://www.petitiononline.com/nopupmll/petition.html Tell everyone you know to sign the petition! Tell everyone you know about the June 26, 2007 hearing and encourage them to attend or contact the County Administrator and Board of Supervisors. Send letters to the editor to area newspapers, letting them know the concerns listed above:Roanoke Times: Karen.TroutBland County Messenger: msageWytheville Enterprise: msage*Use the same address for both the Bland and Wythe papers; make sure you note in the subject line the name of the paper that should receive your letter Thank you for any support you may be able to provide and for being a part of the Network! For more information on puppy mills, visit http://network.bestfriends.org/truth/ Best regards, The Best Friends Network Team Best Friends Animal Society 5001 Angel Canyon Road Kanab, Utah 84741 http://network.bestfriends.org/ Click here to forward this mailing with your personal message.This email was sent by: Best Friends Animal Society5001 Angel Canyon Road, Kanab, UT 84741Click here to leave this mailing list. Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare Forward email Email Marketing by Virginia Voters for Animal Welfare | 3318 Bust Head Rd | The Plains | VA | 20198 Patricia Breen www.petstorecruelty.org Looking for a deal? Find great prices on flights and hotels with FareChase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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