The Harsh Reality of Puppymills
"It can be hard to resist the cute puppies and kittens for sale in “pet” store windows, but a closer look into how these stores obtain animals reveals a system in which the high price that consumers pay for “that doggie in the window” pales in comparison to the cost paid by animals who are sold in pet stores.
That adorable little scamp in the store probably came from a “puppy mill,” a breeding kennel that raises dogs in cramped, crude, filthy conditions. The majority of these facilities are in the Midwest, but kennels can be found throughout the country, and some dealers even import puppies from other countries. Constant confinement and a lack of adequate veterinary care and socialization often result in animals who are unhealthy and difficult to socialize. As a result, many are abandoned within weeks or months of their adoption by frustrated buyers-further exacerbating the tragic companion animal overpopulation crisis.
Cages, Filth, and Neglect
Puppy mill kennels can consist of small cages made of wood and wire mesh, tractor-trailer cabs, or simple tethers attached to trees. One Arkansas facility had “cages hanging from the ceiling of an unheated cinder-block building …” Female dogs are bred twice a year and are usually destroyed when they are no longer able to produce puppies. Mothers and their litters often suffer from malnutrition, exposure, and a lack of adequate veterinary care.
Puppies are taken from their mothers and sold to brokers who pack them into crates for transport and resale to pet stores. Puppies who are shipped from mill to broker to pet store can travel hundreds of miles in pickup trucks, tractor trailers, and/or airplanes, often without adequate food, water, ventilation, or shelter. Two men faced charges after 38 puppies were found to be confined in a feces-filled van without food, water, or space to exercise. The men were transporting the animals from Oklahoma to Florida when a passerby noticed the dogs’ distressed barking and the foul stench of the van, which was parked at a Daytona Beach motel. In Tennessee, 150 overheated puppies, who were traveling from a Missouri puppy mill to pet stores on the East Coast, were found in a cargo truck without air conditioning; four died. Even if a store claims that it doesn’t buy from puppy mills, there is a good chance that it buys from a broker who does.
Young puppies who survive the unsanitary conditions at puppy mills and grueling transport to pet stores rarely get the kind of loving human contact that is necessary for them to become suitable companions. By not spending money for proper food, housing, or veterinary care, breeders, brokers, and pet stores ensure maximum profits.
Conditions don’t improve much when puppies reach pet stores. Dogs who are kept in small cages without exercise, love, or human contact tend to develop undesirable behaviors and may bark excessively or become destructive and unsociable. Unlike humane societies and shelters, pet stores do not screen buyers or inspect the future homes of the dogs they sell. Poor enforcement of humane laws allows shops to continue selling sick animals, although humane societies and police departments sometimes succeed in closing down stores where severe abuse is uncovered.
Farms and Brokers Do Big Business
In 2000, PETA conducted an undercover investigation at Neilsen Farms, a Kansas puppy mill. The dogs at Neilsen Farms had no bedding or protection from cold or heat. Some were suffering from untreated wounds, ear infections, and abscessed feet, and confinement and loneliness had caused some mother dogs to go mad. PETA’s investigator witnessed one USDA inspection during which the officer glanced at the cages but did not examine the dogs. Our investigation led to the Kansas facility’s closing, but Neilsen Farms has since moved to Montana where it continues to be involved in the selling of puppies.
There are thousands of breeders and dealers across the country-in Missouri alone there are an estimated 3,000 dog-breeding operations that generate $2 billion a year. The nation’s largest puppy broker is the Hunte Corporation in Missouri, which also exports dogs overseas. The company has been linked to numerous negligent pet stores and breeders and has sponsored American Kennel Club (AKC) meetings. The USDA has loaned the company more than $4 million for expansion and upgrades in the last three years-taxpayer money used to bring more misery to dogs and puppies.
Click here to watch PETA's undercover footage shot at Nielsen Farms
The Plight of Purebreds
Some people impulsively obtain purebred dogs, even though they may not be educated about the breed or ready for the commitment that animal companions require. Movies such as 101 Dalmatians and Beethoven, TV shows like Frasier, and commercials such as those for Taco Bell have caused a jump in the popularity of certain breeds, and yet, very few potential dog caretakers take the time to investigate the traits and needs of the breed that they are considering. “Every time Hollywood makes a dog movie, the breed goes to hell,” says one caretaker of Bouvier des Flandres dogs. A Dalmatian fancier concludes that “… the unscrupulous breeders will see there’s a profit margin there.” When there is a surge in demand for a particular breed, puppy mills try to meet that demand, but when Jack Russell terriers don’t turn out to be just like Frasier’s “Eddie” or St. Bernards don’t act just like “Beethoven,” rescue groups and shelters become flooded with these breeds.
The AKC, which opposes mandatory spay/neuter programs for purebred dogs, receives millions of dollars from breeders who pay AKC registration fees. The AKC registered more than 950,000 dogs in 2002, some of whom will join the millions of animals who end up in shelters every year. Buyers may be swayed by talk of “papers” and “AKC registration,” but these papers cannot ensure good temperament or good health. Says one veterinarian, “The best use of pedigree papers is for housebreaking your dog. They don’t mean a damn thing.” The AKC has minimum care standards for “high-volume breeding” facilities, but with 14 inspectors and an operating budget that is directed toward registration and dog shows, they can only manage to inspect their registered kennels once every two years. By their own admission, some of the more problematic kennels have simply sought registration services (such as Dog Registry of America, Sporting Dog Registry, American Hunting Dog Registry, All American Dog Registry, to name a few) that don’t perform inspections. At puppy mills, dogs are bred for quantity, not quality, so unmonitored genetic defects and personality disorders that are passed on from generation to generation are common. This situation results in high veterinary bills for people who buy these dogs and the possibility that unsociable or maladjusted dogs will be disposed of by their unprepared “owners.” “There is virtually no consideration of temperament,” says one dog trainer. “I wish legislators could sit in my office and watch ... people sobbing in extreme emotional pain over having to decide whether to euthanize their dog because of some serious behavioral problem.”
Inadequate Inspections
The USDA is supposed to monitor and inspect kennels to ensure that they are not violating the housing standards of the Animal Welfare Act, but kennel inspections are a low priority. In 2001, with a staff of 82 officers, the USDA conducted more than 4,700 inspections of dealers-defined as any person who sells or buys animals for experimentation, exhibition, or companionship but not those who sell to private individuals-of which 42 percent did not meet standards. Even when violations are found, kennel operators are rarely fined, much less shut down. Persistent offenders may refuse to grant the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) personnel access to their facilities to conduct inspections; APHIS reported that inspectors were denied entry to 705 facilities in 2001.
Puppy mills are rarely monitored by state governments, and existing regulations vary from state to state. In Missouri, for instance, each of the 2,100 facilities is supposed to be inspected once a year, but there are only 12 inspectors employed to handle the task. With an estimated 1,300 puppy mills in Wisconsin, voluntary inspections are expected of breeders who sell at least 50 dogs and cats, but there is no funding for enforcement of these regulations.
Dealers who want to avoid U.S. laws-what few exist-look elsewhere to continue doing business. Says one Canadian lawyer, “[P]uppy mill operators in the States buy from us. And crossing the border isn’t a problem either. They cross them all the time.” A New Hampshire breeder, who was arrested for cruelty to animals when dozens of dogs and cats were found living in filth, was selling puppies from Russia for as much as $1,900 each on the Internet.
Some states have enacted “puppy lemon” laws that give caretakers the right to return sick or dead puppies for replacement or offer the option to have veterinary expenses paid by the seller. Unfortunately, depending on the state, the law may not clearly say whom it applies to, or it may affect only pet stores or breeders that sell a certain number of animals each year. Check with your state’s attorney’s office to find out about your state laws.
Searching for a Canine Companion
With millions of unwanted dogs and cats (including purebreds) dying every year in animal shelters, there is simply no reason for animals to be bred and sold for the pet shop trade. Without these stores, the financial incentive for puppy mills would disappear, and the suffering of these dogs would end. The best place to find an animal companion is through an animal shelter or rescue group."
From http://www.helpinganimals.com/Factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=45
What is a puppy mill?
From http://www.thevoicefordogs.org/Mills/puppmill.shtml
"Each year, millions of dogs are killed in animal shelters, while at the same time, "puppy mills", also known as "commercial breeders" in the eyes of the government, breed thousands of puppies a year for sale to pet shops across the country.
In a world of "pregnancy for profit," most of these dogs are forced to live their entire, sometimes very short lives, in dark warehouses . . . in tiny, crowded, and indescribably filthy conditions. Females are bred continuously until they die. Between pregnancies, hundreds of dogs compete for attention and food - their bony bodies a testament to inadequate food and water, substandard housing, insufficient exercise and infrequent, if any, veterinary care. Puppies are taken away from their mothers as young as four weeks of age, packed several to a crate, with little food, water, or ventilation and transported to pet stores across the country.
Their soft and fuzzy faces tug at our heartstrings, compelling us to stop and buy that one lonely puppy. But beyond that innocent face in the window lies a callous industry fraught with deception and cruelty. Many times the puppies arrive at the pet stores malnourished or ill; some never make it at all. The people who buy these puppies think they are taking home a healthy, well adjusted companion animal. But sadly, many times they discover they have purchased a dog that has a personality problem, disease, or genetic defect - caused by over breeding, inbreeding, or the unsanitary, squalid conditions at the puppy mill.
I suggest that people looking for companion animals adopt them from their local human society, shelter, or breed rescue club. Only when people make a vow to stop supporting puppy mills/commercial breeders by buying pet store puppies and kittens, will we be able to see a reduction in the millions of companion animals tragically killed in our nation's shelters.
I have personally visited several puppy mill/commercial breeder facilities that are not the filthy norm. The dogs live in fairly clean areas, kennel runs and some even in the house. This does not sound like a typical mill now does it? It is though. It is, because these dogs are bred every time they come into season without doing any genetic testing and they are not even necessarily bred to the same breed. The only reason anyone should breed anything is to better the existing breed, not to create cute fuzzy little mixed breed mutts for the almighty dollar that will utlimately end up in shelters being euthed for temperment problems and or medical disorders that the owners were never warned about.
Just because these dogs may not live several crammed into a wire rabbit cage, may get groomed or may even sleep on someone's bed doesn't change the fact that they are bred every single season until their little bodies are failing or they are sold as "older rescue dogs".
Bottom line...a puppy mill, or, to be politically correct, commercial breeder,is in business to crank out as many puppies as they can to sell to pet stores, flea markets, on the side fo the road, individual ads in the paper and now through internet classified ads.
The millers have educated themselves and are now using the term Rescue im their ads to sell their older bitches who are no longer of any use to them. They refer to them as "older rescue" dogs. DO not be fooled by this new catch phrase among comercial breeders an puppy millers. If you do fall for this you will end up with a dog that has rarely been touched by human hands, is not house or crate trained, more than likely will be a fear biter and very fearfulof people. Very few of them adjust to any semblence of the normal well adjusted family pet. It is a heart break for everyone involved and especially the dogs who are the truly victims of greed."
Some great sites about puppymills:
http://www.helppuppies.com/
http://www.helpinganimals.com/
http://www.animalactivist.com/
http://www.peta.org/
http://www.prisonersofgreed.org/
http://www.nopuppymills.com/
