Oprah Winfrey will back revised dog law for Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG - Talk about a lobbyist with clout.

Oprah Winfrey - the woman with the power to send authors to the top of the New York Times best-seller list and drive down the price of beef - is planning to appeal to viewers today to back a crackdown on puppy mills in the state.

Winfrey is expected to read excerpts from a letter Gov. Rendell sent her last month seeking support for legislation to overhaul the state's dog law, according to individuals who participated in a Monday conference call with producers of

The Oprah Winfrey Show

.

A spokesman for the show declined through e-mail yesterday to comment on the specifics of the live show.

Today's program follows an investigation for the show highlighting abuses at commercial kennels in Lancaster County. Video showed sick dogs, dogs crammed in undersize cages and dogs being mishandled.

It generated one of the largest e-mail responses in the show's history, a Winfrey spokesman said.

Two years ago Rendell vowed to improve conditions in Pennsylvania's commercial breeding kennels. He wrote Winfrey after the show on Lancaster kennels aired seeking help to counter "strong opponents in the breeding industry."

Rendell's office is aware of Winfrey's plans. "The governor, being the best known dog lover in the state, is appreciative of Oprah's efforts to support this legislation," said Rendell's press secretary Chuck Ardo.

Two bills - one that will overhaul the 1982 dog law and the other that will amend the animal-cruelty law - are expected to be introduced at a news conference at the Capitol next Wednesday.

Targeted are the hundreds of kennels that sell or transfer more than 60 dogs a year, many of them to pet shops in the Northeast.

Among the proposed changes to the dog law: increased cage sizes, the elimination of wire-floored cages, the addition of outdoor runs, requirements for temperature controls and annual veterinarian exams.

The bill also would give dog wardens greater authority to revoke licenses of problem kennels and monitor them to ensure they do not continue to operate. The bills come after criticism of regulatory changes Rendell had earlier proposed.

Under the proposed cruelty law, fines and penalties would be increased and anyone except a licensed veterinarian would be forbidden from performing cesarean sections or removing dog's vocal cords.

Officials with the Pennsylvania Dog Breeders Association, which represents 300 commercial kennels, could not be reached for comment. The group has said in the past it supports better enforcement of existing laws and that modifications to kennels would be too costly for its members.

The nation's two largest animal welfare groups, the Humane Society of the United States and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, are mobilizing tens of thousands of Pennsylvania members to back the legislation.

"Oprah spotlighted the abuses that are occurring in the state that desperately need a legislative remedy to stop the mistreatment of dogs," said HSUS president Wayne Pacelle.

The show has taken on other hot-button issues. In 1996, a show on mad cow disease triggered a drop in beef consumption and prices fell to a 10 year low.

Ed Sayres, president of the ASPCA, said the dog legislation is a reasonable compromise that ensures a basic standard of living for breeding dogs that must spend their lives in kennels.

"This is not an animal rights agenda," he said. "This is basic welfare for animals kept under these conditions."

The Sporting Dog Defense Coalition, whose members include representatives from 55 sporting dog groups and the American Kennel Club, the nation's largest breed registry, have not yet taken positions on the legislation.

AKC spokeswoman Daisy Okas said the group is concerned about the emphasis on "engineering standards rather than performance standards," in kennel inspections.

Rob Sexton, vice president for government affairs for the Columbus, Ohio, based Sporting Dog Defense Coalition, said the language on fines and penalties is vague.

"Our people need to know what carries the sledgehammer," he said, "and what carries the slap on the wrist."