The Humane Society of the United States is highlighting a puppy mill shutdown in Wilson as further evidence of the need for a ban on the mass breeding operations.

The society pushed for legislation during this year's General Assembly that would have tightened regulations on dog breeders but the bill was weakened and ultimately never passed amid criticism that the organization was trying to turn the public vegetarian. The legislation could be revived in the spring.

In the Wilson case, 38-year-old Ranna (RAY-nah) Scott, of Lucama, has been charged with 13 counts of felony cruelty to animals. Authorities said she kept more than 230 dogs, many in need of medical attention for, among other ailments: insect infestation, rotting teeth, eye infections and intestinal parasites, according to the Associated Press.

"Had lawmakers in Raleigh passed puppy mill legislation earlier this year," the group said in a news release Monday, "authorities could have intervened (in Wilson) to stop the extreme suffering of the animals much earlier and with less cost to the taxpayers."

* Members of the Institute for Emerging Issues tax reform panel say the Senate's plan, while different, is headed in the right direction.

* The Dome wraps up all those annoying North Carolina earmark requests posts into one big package and a couple of sidebars.

* Former News & Observer business reporter Jim Barnett has started a blog exploring nonprofit newspapers' business model.

* The state meat industry is fighting a bill from the Humane Society of the United States that it says is a step toward ending meat eating.

The National Rifle Association opposes a bill on puppy mills.

The gun rights group e-mailed supporters in North Carolina today urging them to call state legislators considering a bill to regulate commercial dog breeding sponsored by two Democrats and two Republicans.

The e-mail argues the bill is "part of the same old lie" by the Humane Society of the United States, which it says wants to eventually ban all hunting in America.

"Kennel owners who own and train hunting dogs will be hauled into court under the provisions of the legislation and will be forced, at great cost, to put forward an affirmative defense pursuant to the exception," the e-mail says.

It argues that if the House bill is passed, the Humane Society will be back "with even more radical proposals like this."

U.S. Rep. Walter Jones will be honored by the Humane Society next week for helping the family of a fallen Marine adopt the Marine's canine partner, Lex.

Jones, a Farmville Republican, encouraged the Marine Corps to allow the family of Cpl. Dustin Jerome Lee, of Quitman, Miss., to adopt the German shepherd. Lee was killed in action March 21, 2007, in Fallujah.

He and Lex worked together as an explosives detection team.

The Humane Society is holding a reception next Tuesday evening in a House office building on Capitol Hill.

The Humane Society of the United States is applauding the N.C. State Highway Patrol's decision to disband its canine unit and build a new one that does not use aggressive training tactics and solely uses dogs for sniffing out narcotics.

N.C. Crime Control Secretary Bryan Beatty and patrol Commander Walter J. Wilson Jr. announced the plan on Monday, Dan Kane reports.

"We commend Secretary Beatty and Colonel Wilson for working to ensure  that all dogs employed by the North Carolina Highway Patrol are treated in a humane manner, and that all officers who handle these animals are fully and properly trained," said Amanda Arrington, the society's North Carolina state director.

The patrol suspended the unit after testimony in a personnel hearing seven months ago showed that troopers were using harsh training tactics such as swinging and suspending dogs by their leads, shocking them with stun guns and throwing plastic bottles filled with pebbles at them.

The hearing was held to determine if Sgt. Charles L. Jones should get his job back.

More after the jump.

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The Humane Society of the United States supports N.C. Crime Control and Public Safety Secretary Bryan Beatty suspension of the N.C. Highway Patrol's canine program until a review determines if dogs were regularly mistreated.

"Secretary Beatty has done the right thing by suspending North Carolina's K9 program while a full review is pending," said Ann Church, HSUS regional director for the Eastern mountain states, in a news release. "He deserves great credit for making a politically difficult decision to step in before a dog is killed. Taxpayers deserve greater transparency of K9 training protocols, and the dogs who serve the people of North Carolina deserve to be treated humanely."

Beatty ordered the suspension after canine handlers and trainers testified in the personnel hearing of fired Sgt. Charles L. Jones that police dogs had been subjected to rough obedience techniques such as suspending them by their leashes, twirling them until they are disoriented and shocking them, Dan Kane reports.

Jones, who is trying to get his job back, was shown on a cellphone video kicking his police dog Ricoh after suspending him from a loading dock rail. Ricoh was not seriously hurt and has been retired from the force.

The Humane Society said it strongly supports canine law enforcement work and believes that the vast majority of canine officers in the nation treat their assigned animals with love and respect. The Humane Society also said there is a need for humane training protocols for canine units across the nation.