Gov. Jim Doyle in December signed a bill to regulate breeders who sell more than 25 dogs or three litters a year in the state of Wisconsin.

The new law requires large-scale breeders to be licensed by the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. It also sets care standards and requires facility inspection.

Out-of-state dealers must obtain a license to operate within Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin bill was one of dozens of breeder bills introduced throughout the country in 2009 that focused on the number of dogs maintained at a facility. Some bills, like the Wisconsin bill, relied on numbers to define a commercial breeding establishment. For example, the Commercial Breeder Act enacted in Tennessee set the number at 20.

Other bills sought to limit breeders by placing caps on the number of sexually intact dogs they could own. For example, California would have imposed a 50-dog limit. Legislation in Delaware proposed caps of 25 animals. Bills in Illinois and Indiana would have banned ownership of more than 20 intact dogs over a year of age. Maine considered a measure that would have prohibited any person from having more than 10 adult female dogs or cats capable of breeding.

Although the specific numbers varied, the bills all had one thing in common: They were driven by the Washington-based Humane Society of the United States, said opponents of the legislation. Furthermore, the bills were less about animal welfare than the goal of ending dog breeding, according to the American Kennel Club (New York) and the Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (Washington).

“Extremists have succeeded in persuading many legislators to support this type of initiative by diverting attention away from the reality that limit laws have nothing to do with animal welfare,” said PIJAC. “Such laws don’t require that dog and cat breeders maintain good standards; they just force some breeders out of business and reduce the availability of dogs and cats to loving pet owners.”

More than 90 percent of the breeder bills introduced in 2009 were amended or defeated, by AKC’s count. However, Oregon adopted a law that prohibits breeders from having more than 50 sexually intact dogs. Washington also adopted the 50-dog limit, but the law provides an exemption for USDA-licensed breeders.

The final tally isn’t in, however—several of the bills carried over to the 2010 legislative season. [February 2010 PET AGE]