JEFFERSON CITY (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster announced a lawsuit on Monday against a Ray County, Mo., dog breeder for alleged violations of animal care and cruelty laws.

Koster, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Agriculture, filed the lawsuit against Jeannine Julian of Richmond, Mo., for alleged violations of the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act and the Animal Care Facilities Act.

Julian owns JJ Kennel, a commercial breeder facility located in Richmond.

Koster and the DOA allege that Julian failed to provide housing that protected the animals from injury, repeatedly refused to allow DOA inspections of the breeding facility, failed to maintain adequate lighting, left some dogs in complete darkness, failed to provide adequate veterinary care to animals that were in obvious medical distress, failed to prevent excessive accumulation of feces and food waste in the primary housing enclosures or to provide uncontaminated, wholesome food to the dogs, failed to ensure that interior surfaces were free of excessive rust and failed to maintain kennel doors.

JJ Kennel also allegedly failed to have adequate employees to carry out the required level of husbandry practices, which resulted in excessive feces throughout the outdoor runs, and failed to pay a $100 re-inspection fee required in the case of repeat violations of the ACFA.

Koster is asking the court to issue injunctions and a temporary order prohibiting Julian from any further violations of the ACFA or the Canine Cruelty Prevention Act and from conducting any commercial breeding activity until further order of the court. He also seeks a civil penalty of up to $1,000 per violation of the ACFA, court costs and for the court to assess a $100 ACFA license inspection fee.

"We have an obligation to protect the well-being of animals, and Missouri has recognized that obligation by passing laws outlining acceptable standards for pet breeders and commercial pet dealers," Koster said. "This office will diligently continue to see that those laws are enforced."