RALEIGH – The director of the Humane Society of North Carolina is working with animal control officers and legislators on a bill to regulate commercial dog breeders in hopes of preventing operations such as one in Stokes County where dogs were found sleeping in their own waste.

Kim Alboum told reporters said she hoped the raid last week will spur the state to change its law. In that raid, 160 dogs were found sleeping in their own waste, in makeshift kennels that had exposed wires and mice infestations.

“My expectation is that our legislators are going to see the outcry from the general public and hopefully help us move something forward and get some regulations in place,” Alboum said. “The majority of people want to have regulations for commercial dog breeders in North Carolina. They want to have some level of accountability.”

North Carolina licenses breeders who sell animals to research facilities and pet stores. But about 90 percent or more of the state’s breeders sell directly to buyers through newspaper or Internet ads, said Ann Church, vice president of state affairs for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

A bill to regulate commercial breeders passed the state Senate in 2009, but it died in the House after pressure on lawmakers from groups including the N.C. Pork Council and the Farm Bureau. Nationally, at least 19 states have some level of regulation in place for commercial dog breeders, the Humane Society says

The Humane Society estimates 250 to 300 commercial dog breeders operate in North Carolina, and most are responsible, Alboum said.

The 2009 bill had no specific language relating to farm animals or food production, but farm groups worried about the participation of the Humane Society, which in the past has pressured Smithfield Foods and other pork producers across the nation to phase out the use of gestation crates for sows in company-owned facilities.

“We’re concerned about their motives,” said Deborah Johnson, chief executive officer of the N.C. Pork Council. “We’re concerned about their involvement in food-animal production. We know there are people with motives about animal agriculture that are involved with commercial dog breeders. That causes us caution and concern.”

Alboum said the issues are separate, and that this effort is about companion animals only.

The American Kennel Club also had problems with the bill, fearing that it would make things more difficult for reputable breeders and hobby breeders. Alboum said her group is working with the AKC to resolve those concerns in a way that protects dogs and also ensures that responsible breeders are not negatively impacted.