MILWAUKEE – The Wisconsin Humane Society says it will buy and close one of the nation's largest dog-breeding facilities.

Cory Smith of the Humane Society of the United States says the effort may be the first time a chapter has dealt with the issue of so-called puppy mills by buying one of them.

The Wisconsin society said Friday it will find homes for the more than 1,100 dogs at the Puppy Haven Kennel in Markesan.

American Kennel Club spokeswoman Daisy Okas says the club suspended and fined the kennel's owner in 2006 over the facility's conditions.

The Wisconsin society has not said how much it is paying Wallace Havens. It says Havens agreed to sell because he plans to retire.

Havens did not immediately return a message left by The Associated Press.