Say NO to Animal Breeding Facility

The dog breeding facility will be located at 4446 Route 247, North of the intersection of Lake to Lake Road. According to the Canadaigua Daily Messanger, the planning board unanimously approved a special use permit and site plan following a public hearing last week for the facility requested by Curtis and Jolene Martin.

The Martins presented detailed engineering and design plans for what would be a wholesale business in a new building equipped for anywhere from 200 to 600 dogs.

Reached in Varick, Seneca County, where the Martins do business in a rented space, Curtis Martin said he didn’t want to talk publicly about their plans. “It is my own personal business,” he said.

Steve Lewandowski, a watershed consultant and member of the Canandaigua Lake Watershed Association, said a dog breeding operation raises a number of environmental concerns about how the waste is handled. Proper treatment of dog feces is crucial, he said, because dogs are meat eaters and dog waste has a particularly high bacterial count. Also, as dogs have been in long association with humans, humans are susceptible to dogs’ disease organisms and parasites. Other concerns center on the handling of medical waste and dog carcasses.

“We are concerned that these wastes be properly treated before disposal, since ‘disposal’ will be to the ground and surface water of the Canandaigua Lake watershed,” Lewandowski said in an email.

 Harvey said the Martins presented a plan that addresses the concerns, with state-of-the-art systems for handling the waste and storm water management. The state Department of Environmental Conservation and USDA will be involved, he said. The operation would still need a building permit before the structure goes up, he added.

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