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Humane Society takes custody of over 70 dogs in S.W. Mo. raid

Mo. Atty. Gen. Chris Koster visits with Humane Society of Missouri staff, and a few puppies, at the Humane Society's facility in St. Louis on July, 14, 2011.
(Rachel Lippmann/St. Louis Public Radio)
Mo. Atty. Gen. Chris Koster visits with Humane Society of Missouri staff, and a few puppies, at the Humane Society's facility in St. Louis on July, 14, 2011.

Seventy-three dogs rescued from a breeder in southwest Missouri today are now in the care of the Humane Society of Missouri in St. Louis. The dogs are the first seized under Missouri's new Canine Cruelty Prevention Act.

Attorney General Chris Koster filed suit against the kennel, owned by Linda Brisco, in June. He calls it a good first step toward changing Missouri's reputation as the "puppy mill capital" of the country.

Koster says the new law, a compromise on the voter initiative known as Proposition B, gives his office more tools to help the dogs.

"We can now seek civil penalties against violators of our dog breeding laws and obtain injunctions to prevent future violations," Koster said. "We now have a brand new crime in this state called canine cruelty."

Koster says Brisco is barred from running a kennel for six years, and after that will have to meet strict conditions to regain a license.

Rachel is the justice correspondent at St. Louis Public Radio.