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The Tragedy of Puppy Mills
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Approximately 500,000
puppies per year are bred in puppy mills, facilities
known for their filthy, overcrowded conditions and the
unhealthy animals they produce. Each of the 4,000-5,000
puppy mills in the U.S., most of which are located in
the Midwest, houses between 75 to 150 breeding animals.
Only half of the dogs bred at puppy mills make it to the
pet store; the other half die from the mill's squalid
conditions, hypothermia, starvation, or other horrors of
transport. Cat breeding occurs on a smaller scale but
under similar conditions. Most of the dogs sold in pet
stores come from puppy mills. |
Mill Life
Puppy mill kennels generally consist of small, outdoor wood
and wire cages or crates. The animals are cramped into filthy
cages. Their eyes are filled with puss and their fur with
excrement. Many of the puppies suffer from malnutrition and
exposure; they usually remain outside year round, enduring both
freezing temperatures in the winter and intense heat in the
summer. Like pet store owners, breeders save money, and thus
maximize profits, by spending little on food, shelter, and
veterinary care. Puppies consequently receive below standard
food, minimal if any veterinary care, and inadequate shelter
which, combined with the inbreeding prevalent in puppy mills,
produce animals with genetic diseases and abnormalities.
Puppies' legs often fall through the bottom of their wire cages,
causing additional injuries. Because they are mistreated
(instead of socialized by humans) during an important
developmental period, they may be excessively timid or ferocious
and thus unsuitable as house pets. |
"Brood Bitches"
Dogs that are kept in puppy mills their entire lives are
called "brood bitches." They are typically undernourished and
receive little veterinary care, in spite of being kept
perpetually pregnant. Their puppies are frequently taken from
them before being weaned; as a result, some puppies do not know
how to eat and die of starvation. At approximately six or seven
years of age, when they can no longer breed more puppies, "brood
bitches" are killed.
Transportation and Sale
At four to eight weeks of age, puppies are taken from their
mothers and sold to brokers (or retail businesses). The brokers
then pack them in crates and transport them for sale at various
pet shops. Frequently, the puppies are not provided with
adequate food, water, ventilation, or shelter during transport;
consequently, many die en route. Those that are not sold will be
killed, brought back to the mill to breed, or sold to
laboratories for research.
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Diseases Common to Puppy Mill Dogs
The Problem with Pet
Stores
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Most of the puppies
sold in pet stores come from puppy mills. Purchasing pet store
animals entails not only supporting the cruel puppy mill
industry but also taking a home away from one of the 17 to 20
million unwanted animals who are killed each year.
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Because of the
inbreeding and filthy conditions common to puppy mills, they
often produce animals with serious health problems, which
typically result in hefty vet fees for adopters.
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Pet stores generally do
not socialize their animals; the puppies may consequently
develop behavioral problems which make them far from ideal
pets.
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Most pet shops do not
check the references or histories of their customers. They
therefore send animals home with potentially abusive and
irresponsible "owners" without taking even the slightest
precautions.
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Pet shops dispose of
unsold animals in, at times, unscrupulous ways. For instance,
former pet store employees have reported finding animals starved
or frozen to death.
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Cockroach and rodent
infestation may spread disease to animals in pet shops.
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The overcrowding common
in pet stores sometimes causes animals such as birds to beat up
on one another.
Ailments Common to Pet
Store Puppies
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The American Kennel
Club
Although the AKC claims to be devoted to advancing the health
of purebred dogs, it typically spends only about 2% of its total
yearly income on research towards that end. Moreover, AKC papers
do not guarantee the value or health of a puppy. The organization
does not try to work with breeders to improve mill conditions,
perhaps because breeders pay the AKC millions of dollars in
registration fees for purebred dogs each year.
The Law
Anti-cruelty laws are rarely enforced in the rural areas where
most puppy mills are located. The United States Department of
Agriculture is responsible for inspecting puppy mills to ensure
that they are complying with the Animal Welfare Act, but kennels
are inconsistently inspected. When violations are found, puppy
mill operators are allowed to remain open while they remedy them.
Repeat offenders often refuse to allow Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service workers to enter and inspect their facilities;
those kennels sometimes remain licensed in spite of this
noncompliance.
You Can Help
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Adopt from an animal
shelter or rescue group; never buy from a pet store. Remember
that 25% of shelter animals are purebreds.
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Do not shop at stores
that sell animals.
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Volunteer at your local
animal shelter or rescue group.
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Ask your elected
officials to outlaw puppy mills. Urge them to demand that the
USDA enforce the Animal Welfare Act. For your senators' and
representatives' contact information, visit
www.vote-smart.org/index.phtml
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Write letters to the
editors of your local newspapers about the horrors of the puppy
mill industry and its connection with pet stores.
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Distribute brochures
about puppy mills and pet overpopulation outside of pet shops
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Ask shopping mall
managers not to renew the lease of the pet store on their
property.
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Report pet store abuses
to whomever is responsible for enforcing anti-cruelty laws in
your town. Write a detailed statement of the abuses and take
photographs, if possible.
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Educate others about
the cruelties of puppy mills and the importance of adopting from
shelters
You can Contact the Humane Society of the
United States at
www.hsus.org/ace/13544
Additional Puppy
Mill Links
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