Commissioners approve revisions to ban puppy mills

Bartholomew County Commissioners have given their final approval to an ordinance that seeks to ban puppy mills in the community.

The Commissioners approved revisions to the county animal control ordinances yesterday morning. The new ordinance would repeal the previous law, that has been in place since 1978.

The major changes limited breeders of dogs and cats to having a maximum of 10 unaltered females more than a year old in their facility. That was for owners breeding the animals for future sales of their offspring. The ordinance was revised from the first reading two weeks ago, when it would have applied to any non-agricultural animals.

Commissioners said the community has not had any concerns raised about the breeding of other animals such as guinea pigs or rabbits.

The new ordinance must still be published in the newspaper and a 30 day waiting period will go into effect after that before it becomes official, said County Attorney Grant Tucker.