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ALERT UPDATE: SAUK CO. OKS PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL BREEDERS OF LABRATORY HOUNDS TO OPEN FACILITIES IN SPRING GREEN, WI!
 

     Update, August 21 2019: "[On August 20], an attorney through Dane4Dogs, will be filing appeal paperwork to Sauk County regarding the county's approval of the kennel permit in Big Hollow. [Dane4Dogs] do continue to fight."

     Please click here to read about all the steps being taken by Dane4Dogs and the residents of Spring Green,

     Devastating news from Sauk County, WI: "Despite multiple documented violations, a room packed with people opposed to the research puppy mill, a village board that denied the permit, and a town board that rescinded its approval, the Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Committee voted to approve a Conditional Use Permit for the Spring Green research puppy mill." The owners of the "breeding facility," even before being granted the permits, have begun breeding "purpose-bred" coonhounds. For more details, please see: Sauk County committee approves Spring Green dog breeding facility and The Kanes in violation of Sauk County Zoning - Operating a Kennel Without a CUP.

     Dane4Dogs and the Spring Green Conditional Use Kennel Permit Discussion Group are taking a moment to catch their breath and figure out what course of action to take next. For up- to- the- minute information, please check with these groups directly:

 pawprint bullet point   Dane4Dogs/Spring Green Research Puppy Mill   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   Spring Green Conditional Use Kennel Permit FB Group   pawprint bullet point

      Understandably, feelings are running very high right now, and opponents of the "research puppy mills" are contacting local and state officials to protest the decision. Difficult as it might be, if you choose to communicate with the Sauk Co. Commissioners or the Kanes, your state legislators, the Governor of Wisconsin, or state and federal regulating agencies, please try to remember that (1) name-calling and rude or abusive letters or emails -- while they may make US feel better -- will ultimately hurt, rather than help, our cause; and (2) DATCP and the USDA can only enforce the laws that are already in existence.

     We at Wisconsin Puppy Mill Project strongly support efforts to block this new "business" in our state -- in our opinion, of all the puppy millers, those who breed animals for research are guilty of the worst kind betrayal of trust. Dane4Dogs' and the organizers of the Spring Green Conditional Use Kennel Permit Discussion Group are the "lead" in this effort. Please contact them directly for the latest information and WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP!

 pawprint bullet point   Dane4Dogs/Spring Green Research Puppy Mill   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   Spring Green Conditional Use Kennel Permit FB Group   pawprint bullet point
 

One of the coonhounds being bred for "medical research" by the Kanes in Spring Green WI     Jill Janssen Kane and Clint Kane, homeowners in the town of Spring Green, WI, are applying for local permits so that they can breed dogs for experimentation. They intend to house most of the estimated 150 - 1,000 beagles in a former veal barn that the Kanes rent approx. 3 miles from their home, with "no outside facility" for the dogs.

     As if that weren't bad enough, the Kanes also want to use their residential garage as a whelping facility! Their plan is to bring the mothers in 1 - 2 weeks before the pups are due, whelp them in the garage facility, then transport them back to the barn when the pups are 7 - 8 weeks old (or legal age to sell). The mothers would be rebred, and the pups would be sold. (Note: Jill Jannsen Kane is a practicing veterinarian at a clinic in the Spring Green area.)

     Currently, according to their lawyer, the Kanes are expecting to house an estimated 6 mothers and approx. 48 puppies in the garage at any given time. They reportedly have already started their breeding operations and are said currently to have 2 hounds that have whelped and their puppies at their residence.

     Both properties are already reportedly zoned agricultural, so the Kanes applied for a Conditional Use Permit from the Spring Green Planning Commission "for the establishment of a kennel in an agriculture building on Big Hollow Rd." According to the Dane4Dogs website, the Planning Commission thought the application was for a dog daycare and/or boarding facility.

     A WMTV.com news story confirms that "Committee Chairperson Joel Marcus says he thought the item was 'routine,' for a family hoping to breed puppies. He tells NBC15 news he was 'blindsided' when he says, he was told the family was asking to breed puppies on their property, and eventually transfer them to a larger, medical testing facility."

     The Kanes need both Town of Spring Green, and Village of Spring Green approval, for two separate properties. If the item passes the Village of Spring Green Plan Commission and Joint Extraterritorial Zoning Committee next month, it will still need approval by the Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Board.

     Please note: Though mention is made of the Kanes' promise to adhere to USDA regulation, this type of breeding operation also must be licensed and inspected by the WI Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) under Wisconsin's S.173.41, Wis. Stats., Dog Breeders and Sellers Law.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: (Please visit the Dane4Dogs website or Spring Green Conditional Use Kennel Permit Discussion Group on FaceBook for the most recent needs and news!)

RESIDENTS:

     Dane4Dogs is asking all residents of Spring Green to attend the Village of Spring Green Plan Commission and Joint Extraterritorial Zoning Committee meeting on the 17th of July and, if necessary, the Sauk County Land Resources and Environment Board on July 23rd, to voice their concerns and ask the Commission to DENY the use permit. Prior to then, the organization will have volunteers will be going door to door in Spring Green, informing neighbors of what is happening and gathering signatures for a petition in support of an ordinance banning research dog breeding facilities.

NON- RESIDENTS:

     If you are NOT a resident of Spring Green or Sauk County, Dane4Dogs suggests: "Right now, the best thing you can do is share our posts and spread the word. Educate your friends and neighbors that this can happen to them too." Dane4Dogs also invites you to contact them for help to try to pass a local ordinance to protect from businesses such as the Kanes propose. A spokesperson for Dane4Dogs tells us, "I can assure you, the Spring Green residents wish they had something on the books - they are feeling completely defenseless at this point. It is far better to prevent a business from coming to town than it is to try to take on this fight."

Coonhounds in a medical research puppymill in Wisconsin

 pawprint bullet point   Dane4Dogs/Spring Green Research Puppy Mill   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   Petition: Say NO to research puppy mills in the Spring Green, WI area   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   WMTV.com news story   pawprint bullet point   Channel 3000 news story   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   S.173.41 Regulation of persons who sell dogs or operate animal shelters.   pawprint bullet point

 pawprint bullet point   ATCP 16 Administrative Rules Full Formal Language (pdf)   pawprint bullet point
 

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Photos acquired by Dane4Dogs via FOIA request. Taken by Sauk Co. inspectors as part of a zoning violation report.

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