Indiana

Controversial ‘puppy mill’ bill passes Indiana House

Published

2 years ago

January 31, 2024

Controversial ‘puppy mill’ bill passes Indiana House

The Indiana House on Monday passed a bill to prevent cities from banning the sale of dogs at pet stores, nullifying ordinances in 21 municipalities that sought to put a dent in unethical puppy mills and increase shelter adoptions.

House Bill 1412 was approved by a 59-36 vote and now moves to the Senate for consideration.

While nixing dog sale bans, the bill would also require pet stores to keep detailed records of the dogs they buy and sell and meet new maintenance standards. The stores, along with animal care and rescue operations, would register with the Indiana State Board of Animal Health, which could make random inspections and fine retailers if they violate the law’s provisions.

The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Beau Baird, R-Greencastle, called it an “anti-puppy mill” law that increases “transparency and responsible breeding practices.”

“It centralizes and improves pet standards in the community,” said Jonathan Lawler, a spokesman for the Indiana Council for Animal Welfare, an organization representing animal owners and breeders.

It is the second attempt in as many years at restricting the cities from regulating pet stores. A bill last year failed to get a vote in the House. But that legislation didn’t include any industry regulations and it didn’t touch the cities that already had banned dog sales in stores. There is no such grandfather clause in this year’s edition. Indianapolis and Carmel are among the cities that stand to have their pet store bans revoked.

Critics said the legislation was another usurpation of local control by the Indiana legislature and the enforcement provisions are too much for the Board of Animal Health to handle because the bill provides no funding for additional inspectors.

“The board doesn’t have the manpower to handle all this,” said Adam Aasen, a Carmel City councilor. “The pet stores know this and are telling us what rules they want to follow.”

Rep. Kyle Miller, D-Fort Wayne called the legislation an “unfunded mandate on an already understaffed” agency.

The registration fees will go into the Board of Animal Health coffers, as will fines assessed for violations of the bill’s safety provisions. But Rep. Matt Pierce D-Bloomington said on the House floor the agency can’t collect the fines if it doesn’t have the workers — and there is no requirement — just the option — to conduct inspections.

“If you aren’t doing inspections you can’t collect fines,” Pierce said. “We will be chasing our tail, so to speak.”

Rep. Chris Campbell D-West Lafayette said the bill is not only “unfeasible,” it takes away the localities’ ability to address puppy mill profits with their own laws.

“We need to let them decide since it doesn’t look like inspectors will be funded,” he said at the House session.

Pierce and Campbell conceded the legislation was well-intentioned in cracking down on puppy mills but urged the house to delay consideration until next year’s budget session when the Board of Animal Health could be properly funded.

The bill’s supporters, which include pet stores, said the measure provides a much-needed crackdown on under-supervised puppy mills and helps to ensure breeders treat dogs well and that retailers purchase pets from reputable breeders.

Baird said it also “empowers consumers by providing them with essential information” because pet stores will be required to keep records of a dog’s health and purchase history.

Lawler said the bill requires stores to take back dogs that have been sold if the owners decide they can’t handle them.

“There needs to be some type of impulse protection in case the consumer doesn’t fully grasp the commitment required but also to protect them if the dog is unfit due to illness or disease,” Lawler said.

The Council for Animal Welfare said there are 26 pet stores in the state that sell animals and 14 of them sell dogs. A representative from Uncle Bill’s Pet Centers testified at a House committee meeting in favor of the bill as did a representative for the Ohio-based chain, Petland.

Uncle Bill’s has two stores in Indianapolis and one in Fishers, which sells dogs. Petland has a store in Westfield. Carmel passed its ordinance outlawing puppy mill sales even though it has no stores that sell dogs or cats.

The cities with sales bans argued they would increase pet adoptions at overcrowded animal shelters if people did not have the option to buy dogs at stores.

The Legislative Services Agency said there are 192 commercial dog breeders, 113 animal rescues, 107 private animal shelters, 32 public animal shelters and six commercial dog brokers in Indiana.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the Humane Society and the Association of Indiana Municipalities were among those testifying against the bill.

Call IndyStar reporter John Tuohy at 317-444-6418 or email him at john.tuohy@indystar.com. Follow him on Facebook and X/Twitter.

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Indiana

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Published

11 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Press Room

Freshmen from Indiana show potential in UConn-Butler game: ‘Heck of a player’

Former UConn forward, NBC Sports broadcaster Donny Marshall knows a thing or two about talented UConn guards.

The former Husky played for legendary coach Jim Calhoun and was teammates with the fifth pick in the 1996 NBA Draft, 10-time NBA All-Star Ray Allen. Watching UConn play against Butler on Tuesday night, Marshall said he sees a lot of Allen in reigning Indiana Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins.

Mullins made the second start of his career against the Bulldogs. The former Greenfield-Central star missed UConn’s first six games of the regular season with an injury, but the 6-foot-6 guard is quickly coming into his own and showing why he’s a projected lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

Against Butler, Mullins showed off his sweet jump shot, going 2 for 5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, two blocks and one steal.

“He’s a scorer,” Butler coach Thad Matta said of Mullins. “He’s got a scorer’s mentality. He gets his shot off quick. They move him around and create some angles for him. Obviously, he’s a heck of a player.”

Mullins did most of his damage in the first half, scoring eight of his 12 points before halftime. The former five-star recruit was the highest-ranked player in UConn’s 2025 class. Butler’s top-ranked recruit, Azavier “Stink” Robinson isn’t the NBA prospect Mullins is, but he held his own after a shaky start to the game.

Robinson has been thrust into the starting lineup with starter Jalen Jackson out for the season with an ankle injury. Robinson looked out of sorts at times in the first half, going scoreless with two assists and a turnover. In the second half, Matta moved him off the ball, giving him catch-and-shoot looks, and opportunities to drive to the basket without worrying about running the offense.

The former Lawrence North star responded with one of the better halves of his career, scoring 10 points on 3 for 6 shooting, including 2 for 5 from 3 to go along with two rebounds, one assist, one steal and one turnover.

Facing a veteran team like UConn, nothing comes easy. UConn’s guards harass ball handlers and getting into an offensive set is not easy. This time last year, Robinson was still in high school and, on most nights, the most athletic player on the court. Playing a UConn team where the goal is a national championship, Robinson was forced to grow, and he did not back down from the challenge in the second half.

“He’s coming along,” Matta said of Robinson. “That’s the first Big East road game of his career against maybe the best team in the country. It tells you how tough he is. He’s resilient. He keeps going.”

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Indiana

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Published

23 hours ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Indiana's Curt Cignetti becomes the first back-to-back winner of AP coach of the year

Curt Cignetti has been named The Associated Press coach of the year in college football for the second consecutive season. He is the first coach to win the award back-to-back since it was first presented in 1998. Cignetti has led Indiana to unprecedented success, with a 24-2 record over two seasons. The Hoosiers are 13-0 this year, Big Ten champions for the first time since 1967, and the top seed in the College Football Playoff. Cignetti received 47 first-place votes. Texas Tech’s Joey McGuire and Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea received two each, and Virginia’s Tony Elliott got one.

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Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

Published

1 day ago

December 16, 2025

Press Room

Central Indiana schools announce closures, delays planned for Tuesday

INDIANAPOLIS — Some schools in central Indiana are planning to close or delay the start of their classes on Tuesday.

The closures and delays come in the wake of a difficult weekend of severe winter weather in the Hoosier State. On Saturday, a wintry system dumped more than six inches of snow in some portions of the state.

Points north of Indianapolis like Lafayette received between three and four inches of snow. Towns south of the Circle City like Seymour saw similar snowfall totals. As for Indianapolis itself, more than five inches of snow were recorded in some portions of the city.

After Saturday’s snow, frigid temperatures took hold in the area. A Cold Weather Advisory was issued for much of the state as wind chill values dipped well below zero.

The cold and snow triggered a bevy of school closings and delays for Monday. Schools began to announce delays and closures for Tuesday late Monday night as snow removal crews across the state continued to try to keep roadways clear.

Though some schools plan to close or delay the start of classes on Tuesday, temperature improvements are forecasted. High temperatures are anticipated to exceed the 32-degree freezing threshold and hit 36 degrees. The warming trend is expected to continue on both Wednesday and Thursday, with high temperatures forecasted to reach 40 and 50 degrees, respectively.

Precipitation is forecasted for Thursday, though temperatures are expected to remain warm enough for Indiana to get rain instead of snow.

FOX59/CBS4 is tracking the closures and delays schools plan to implement on Tuesday. Check out the latest available list of closings below:

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