Groups scrap over proposed puppy rules

WASHINGTON -- Hardly a whimper was heard when the Senate approved a Puppy Protection Act specifying how often dogs can be bred and how their puppies are to be treated. Happy puppies make better dogs, said backers of the rules.

But the American Kennel Club is lobbying to stop them from becoming law, arguing that federal inspectors would be unleashed to poke around private homes all over the country. The group wants the rules stripped from the final version of a bill overhauling federal farm programs.

The Puppy Protection Act, which the Senate passed on a voice vote, is one of several animal welfare provisions that were added to either the Senate or House versions of the farm bill, and they are all in trouble as negotiators write the final legislation. One measure would ban trafficking in bear parts, while others would forbid the interstate shipment of fighting birds and stop the marketing of sick and injured livestock.