DANVILLE, Kan. (KSNW) – A dog blood bank is not coming to southern Kansas. The Harper County Commission rejected a zoning change that would have placed the bank in the small town of Danville.

The potential blood bank has been in the works for a while. The decision to change zoning laws on the property owner’s land was presented to the county commission last week for a vote, but was pushed back. Despite the zoning committee recommending that they pass the change, it was denied on Monday.

The blood bank would have housed dozens of dogs, which would have had their blood taken periodically and then sold to a variety of buyers, including veterinary clinics.

Despite garnering controversy about the ethics of an operation like this, including a condemnation from the animal rights group PETA, people in Danville tell me they were largely indifferent to the project.

“I’m assuming they turned it down for a good reason. I mean, this is an ag country. We raise farm animals for food and whatnot. To me, dogs are different, but for me, it all comes back to ‘is it humane?'” Danville resident Rob Anderson said.

Anderson lives just up the road from the site. He says he and his wife walk past the property almost daily.

“If my dog needed blood, I’d want it to have it cause they’re like our children. But if it means another animal living in an inhumane situation? No, not at that cost,” he said. “People give blood, dogs can give blood.”

Anderson says as long as he knew the dogs were fed, exercised and had a decent quality of life, he wouldn’t have been opposed to the blood bank.

That blood bank was already partially completed, with fences and kennels set up at the property owner’s home. Now that the zoning change was denied, it is unclear exactly what will happen to that equipment.

There are two dog blood banks in Kansas, but none in southern Kansas. One is at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine in Manhattan, and another is at VCA Central Kansas Animal Hospital in South Hutchinson.

County commissioners have not provided additional details as to why they rejected the project and refused an on-camera interview after the commission meeting. KSN was instead referred to a statement that the county is working on. KSN will add said statement to this article once we receive it.