OTTUMWA, IOWA -- A previous KTVO story on proposed legislation in the Iowa House designed to crack down on so-called puppy mills brought some viewer comments looking for more information.

Our Fact Finder team talked with Representative Jim Lykam to find the current state of the bill.

Lykam told Fact Finder the bill recently moved out of committee and is headed for debate.

The bill will fund an inspector to look at complaints of USDA licensed breeders under violations of the "standard of care" which includes food, water, shelter, vet care, and grooming.    

Lykam said the current USDA inspectors reviewing complaints come from Colorado.  He said there are not enough of them and they often are unable to follow up on complaints.

He told Fact Finder there are roughly 440 breeders in Iowa licensed through the USDA compared to 200 licensed with the state. He said there are more than 100 other breeders in Iowa that are not-for-profit.

Iowa currently has five inspectors for the state licensed breeders, but Lykam said those inspectors are not allowed to investigate complaints on those 440 USDA breeders.

To fund the one inspector, the bill will raise the annual licensing fee to $175 for licensed breeders and $75 for not-for-profit breeders.  The increased fees look to generate $140,000 for the salary and supplies.

Lykam said the fines for breaking a violation can cost up to $1000 a day for unlicensed breeders and up to $500 a day for licensed breeders.

Fact finder also talked to some reputable Iowa breeders to get their opinion on the proposed bill.

Larry Turner of Winding Creek Papillons said he thinks the regulations are there, they just need to be better enforced.

"I don't feel we really need this bill on one hand if the USDA was doing their job. And maybe there needs to be pressure put there to get the USDA to do their job better," said Turner.

Turner said he doesn’t need to be licensed with USDA, but is because it provides a little bit of relief for his customers, which come from across the country.

“Anybody who is a good breeder gets a black eye because of the idiots that are out there mistreating their animals and not raising them in the right way,” Turner said. “I’ll be the first one to admit those people are out there because I have seen some of them and I don’t know how they ever keep their license in the first place.”

Brandy Bauer of Bauer’s Bouncing Boxers in Centerville tells Fact Finder she treats her puppies like children and would expect to be punished if she was doing something wrong.

“In the long run it’s going to help because of the fact that it will eliminate those that are doing it just for the money and not taking care of not only just the puppies but also the male and the female used to produce,” said Bauer.

Bauer said she only uses three females for breeding.

By law, she qualifies as a hobby breeder and does not need to be licensed.

Representative Lykam told Fact Finder that some self policing will be needed as well among the dog breeding community.  

“The bill is after bad actors who are not treating animals right,” said Lykam.

He said the good breeders are needed to report the bad or unlicensed breeders.