By Pat Loeb

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Pennsylvania Agriculture Department says it has taken action against 37 illegal dog-breeding kennels, this year, including several in the Philadelphia area.

The department says it has stepped up efforts to enforce the 2009 anti-puppy-mill law.

Agriculture Department spokesperson Samantha Krebbs says the dog law enforcement office has beefed up a number of areas. It worked with state police to give additional training for the state’s 53 dog wardens. It put a greater emphasis on enforcing dangerous dog laws– making sure owners of dogs deemed dangerous by a judge had registered them. And, she says, it cracked down on online dog sales.

“Six of the kennel owners that we cited were discovered and charged by the office focusing its efforts on investigating the illegal sale of dogs on line.”

Krebbs’ account is at odds with a report issued by an advisory panel in September that found the state was not enforcing the law. Krebbs says the advisory panel had
used incorrect information.