Puppy Mills

Get the Facts on Puppy Mills


The HSUS's Role
The HSUS has been fighting a relentless battle against puppy
mills since the early 1980s, including monitoring the USDA's
performance in this area and pushing for better AWA enforcement.

In 1984, the General Accounting Office, the investigative agency
of the U.S. Congress, found major deficiencies in the enforcement
of the AWA regulations concerning puppy mills. Despite
improvements in its inspection process, the USDA lacks the
resources to effectively enforce these regulations.

In 1990, frustrated by the apathy of federal and state officials,
The HSUS led a nationwide boycott of puppies from the seven worst
puppy mill states: Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania. The boycott captured a great deal of
national media attention, including numerous newspaper articles
and television reports on shows such as 20/20, Good Morning,
America, and The Today Show.

Raids on puppy mills subsequently took place in Kansas, where the
state legislature, attempting to protect recalcitrant puppy mill
operators by hampering investigators, enacted a law making it a
felony to photograph a puppy mill facility.


Lemon Laws

As the horror of puppy mills gained attention, some states
responded with "lemon laws" to protect consumers who buy puppies.
As of August 2001, 17 states had enacted laws or issued
regulations that allow consumers to receive refunds or the
reimbursement of veterinary bills when a sick puppy is purchased.
While these laws place a limited onus on pet stores and puppy
mills to sell healthy puppies, and theoretically improve
conditions at the breeding facilities, The HSUS feels that they
do not adequately protect the animals who suffer in these
establishments.


Latest Developments and HSUS Action

Facing an unreliable regulatory environment and legislatures
unwilling to pass statutes that directly combat the problem of
mass breeders and their nationwide network of dealers, The HSUS
continues to target the consumer for its anti-puppy-mill
messages. Consumer demand for purebred puppies, more than any
other factor, perpetuates the misery of puppy mills.

Unfortunately, a dog's lifespan is often longer than a consumer's
desire to maintain this "product." As a result, millions of dogs
are sent to animal shelters every year, where roughly half will
be euthanized. The HSUS estimates that one in four of the dogs
that enter U.S. animal shelters is purebred.


What You Can Do

To close down puppy mills and ensure the safety and humane
treatment of dogs trapped in commercial kennels, you can:


Encourage state and federal officials to stop the mass production
and exportation of sick and traumatized dogs. In addition to
passing new laws, legislators can demand that existing laws be
enforced.

Urge other people not to buy puppies from pet stores, over the
Internet, or from newspaper ads.

Write letters to the editor about puppy mills and pet stores.
Explain the mills' inhumane treatment of puppies and their
contribution to pet overpopulation.

Visit a local pet store to determine where it obtains its
puppies. Don't be misled by claims that its dogs were not bred in
puppy mills. Insist on seeing breed registry papers or the
interstate health certificate for each puppy. The papers will
list the breeder's and/or wholesaler's name and address.

Contact your member of the U.S. House of Representatives and your
two U.S. Senators, asking them to urge the USDA to strictly
enforce the Animal Welfare Act and to support efforts to increase
funding for USDA/Animal Care. Members of Congress can be
contacted at: The Honorable _______________, U.S. Capitol,
Washington, DC 20510.

File a Breeder Complaint Form if your new puppy appears to be
suffering from a medical condition.
Copyright © 2004 The Humane Society of the United States. All
rights reserved
http://www.hsus.org/ace/11797?pg=2

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