Apr 4, 2007 7:10 am US/Central
Morrison Co. To Approve Controversial Dog Kennel
Little Falls, Minn. (AP) ―
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The number of dogs McDuffee wanted to breed, along with questions about conditions at kennels he previously ran with his former wife, drew opposition from around the world, much of it fueled by Internet networking and online petitions.
Morrison County commissioners plan Thursday to approve a controversial permit for a 500-dog breeding operation, though they will likely attach several conditions.
Last year, commissioners approved a permit to allow Gary McDuffee to have as many as 600 breeding dogs at his kennel in Belle Prairie Township. They reduced the number at a meeting Tuesday after requiring McDuffee to set aside one-sixth of his indoor kennel space for the dogs to exercise.
The conditions will include requiring McDuffee to plant a buffer of trees along some of his property to reduce noise and forbidding him from debarking the dogs or using shock collars.
McDuffee received an initial permit in January 2006. But after neighbors and the Minnesota Federated Humane Society appealed, the state Court of Appeals ordered the county to revisit the issue.
The number of dogs McDuffee wanted to breed, along with questions about conditions at kennels he previously ran with his former wife, drew opposition from around the world, much of it fueled by Internet networking and online petitions.
"We've all caught a lot of hell on this thing, both ways," board chairman Don Meyer said during Tuesday's hearing.
McDuffee declined to comment Tuesday.
The county has a moratorium on new breeding facilities and is rewriting ordinances that govern how many dogs a breeder can have at one kennel. Commissioners hope to have new ordinances in place by July, county administrator Tim Houle said.
A lawsuit challenging an earlier board decision against requiring an environmental assessment worksheet is pending in Morrison County District Court. The changes McDuffee has agreed to, along with the conditions commissioners put on his permit, will likely be presented in court as reasons commissioners don't need to order the environmental assessment.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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