A new analysis of the federal government’s enforcement of animal-welfare laws has found that regulators penalize only 1 percent of the breeders who are cited for violations.
The analysis by the American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found that in 2023, inspectors with the U.S. Department of Agriculture documented Animal Welfare Act violations by more than 400 commercial dog dealers and took enforcement action against four of them.
Two of the four breeders who were penalized in 2023 are from Iowa, a state that often leads the nation in the number of violations cited.
This dog was photographed by a federal inspector during a 2021 visit to Henry Sommers’ Happy Puppy kennel in Cincinnati, Iowa. (USDA photo, courtesy of Bailing Out Benji)
One of those Iowa breeders is Henry Sommers, the 84-year-old owner of Happy Puppy in the town of Cincinnati. Sommers was arrested in February 2023 by the Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office as a result of USDA violations found in 2023. He was charged with two counts of animal neglect resulting in serious injury or death, three counts of animal neglect resulting in injury, and two counts of animal neglect without injury.
A plea deal resulted in five of the seven charges being dismissed in return for a guilty plea on the two felony charges of animal neglect resulting in serious injury or death. Sommers was sentenced to two years of probation and fined $1,710.
The USDA had cited Sommers for failing to provide adequate veterinary care for his dogs in September 2019, September 2021, January 2022, April 2022 and August 2022. Sommers canceled his USDA license in the first quarter of 2023 after he was charged in the criminal case.
The other Iowa breeder who was penalized in 2023 was Steve Kruse of Stonehenge Kennels in West Point. Kruse operates of Iowa’s largest dog breeding facilities. In March 2023, the USDA notified Kruse it was suspending his license for 21 days.
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A male Australian Shepherd with significant dental health issues was photographed by USDA inspectors in 2021 at Steve Kruse’s Stonehenge Kennels in West Point, Iowa. (USDA photo courtesy of Bailing Out Benji)
During a subsequent April 2023 inspection, Kruse had 435 dogs on hand and was cited for inadequate veterinary care and inadequate cleaning, sanitization, housekeeping and pest control. The inspector returned on May 9 and again cited Kruse for inadequate veterinary care.
Over the years, Kruse has been cited for numerous violations, including pouring hot sauce into a dog’s wound to prevent the dog from licking it. In December 2015, Kruse received a 21-day USDA license suspension after throwing a bag of dead puppies at a USDA inspector.
In its report, the ASPCA also took issue with the USDA’s long-standing practice of renewing the licenses of breeders at the same time the agency is citing them for failing to meet animal-welfare standards. A breeder’s history of violations, the ASPCA noted, has no impact on a facility’s ability to have its license renewed. All dealers who want to be relicensed, and who pay the associated fees, are relicensed – even if they are repeat violators.
“The Animal Welfare Act sets minimal welfare requirements for animals in commercial facilities, including dogs in puppy mills, yet the USDA has continually failed to enforce those requirements,” said Robert Hensley, senior counsel for the ASPCA. “We urge Congress to step in to fix the USDA’s broken system and ensure animals in federally licensed facilities get the protections they deserve.”
In a written statement, the USDA said it takes enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act seriously.
“When we find issues that are not compliant with the AWA regulations, we issue citations and work hard to bring facilities back into compliance as quickly as possible,” the agency said. “Our investigations may result in an enforcement action such as letters of warning, monetary penalties, and license suspensions and revocations.”
As an example of the violators who faced no penalties for regulatory violations, the ASPCA report cites David Horning of Ionia. During the second quarter of 2023, Horning was issued an official warning by the USDA. The warning was tied to violations cited in February 2023, when inspectors noted a lack of veterinary care that had affected five dogs and one dead puppy that was found underneath the floor of a dog enclosure.
A dog photographed by USDA inspectors at David Horning’s kennel in 2018. (USDA photo courtesy of Bailing Out Benji)
The inspector also found one 3-week-old Boston Terrier puppy that was much smaller than its littermates and had a thick, white discharge from one eye that she couldn’t keep open. The puppy also had a very large head, as well as continuous tremors and “open, red, raw sores on her hind paws.” Horning subsequently canceled his USDA license – a step some breeders take to avoid USDA inspections that are imposed only on those breeders who sell to brokers and pet stores.
The ASPCA has asked Congress to incorporate animal-welfare legislation called Goldie’s Act — named after a golden retriever that died in an Iowa puppy mill — into the Farm Bill.
Sponsored by a bipartisan team of lawmakers that includes Rep. Zach Nunn, a Republican from Iowa, Goldie’s Act would require the USDA to conduct more thorough inspections, impose penalties for violations, and report suspected cruelty to local law enforcement for potential criminal prosecution.
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