Have you ever wondered where that puppy comes from in the window of pet stores? The answer in years past was breeders. However, today it is more likely that your puppy came from a puppy mill. The distinction between the two is in the quantity of production as well as the type of breeds and the quality of care for the animals. A puppy mill will generally produce more than one breed to increase their profitability, and they often do not breed pure or register their animals.
Pet store owners are profiting handsomely from the dogs in the window and are keeping the puppy mills in business. It is cheaper to buy stock from a puppy mill than to pay a registered breeder. However, the product is inferior and the conditions for the animals are often very poor, amounting to cruelty to animals, where conditions are sometimes as bad or worse than the notorious Bedlam Asylum for the Insane.
In American society, today businesses are highly regulated by the government. The purpose of the regulations is to make sure that the businesses are not violating the rights of the people in their efforts to be profitable. In regards to puppy mills, the rights of the people are not all to worry about, but also think about the rights of the animals. The pet stores buy them first, and then the consumer makes them profitable. It is a sad statistic that of approximately 77.5 million dog owners in the United States only 19 percent of those dogs were acquired from animal shelters. Even fewer are purchased from registered breeders. Dog owners need to insist on being informed and concerned with the quality of the puppy they are purchasing.
Dogs have been domesticated for thousands of years. This recently became a money-making business. The first major purpose for dogs was hunting. During ancient Greek times, dogs became guards and trained soldiers to fight in battles. When the Roman Empire fell, dogs no longer held a purpose. This left many dogs stranded and roaming the streets. Shortly after, dogs started becoming pets, and stories of dogs assisting owners with their lives circulated. Post World War II crops were failing, so farmers searched for alternatives. The US Department of Agricultural encouraged the raising of puppies as a crop.
The farmers entered into this new business with little knowledge of how to breed responsibly. The conditions that dogs were housed in were often unsanitary. These new businesses went unregulated for many years.
As the new business of puppy farming increased in popularity, so did the need for supervising the welfare of the animals. The Department of Agriculture, having no authority to regulate the farming of dogs, was in need of assistance. By the 1960’s articles about the poor conditions of dog, farms began circulating in magazines like Life Magazine and Sports Illustrated. An article in Life Magazine titled “Concentration Camp for Dogs” (“‘Concentration Camps for Lost and Stolen Pets’: Stan Wayman’s LIFE photo essay and the Animal Welfare Act ) depicted the dismal environment in pictures and sparked growing concern of the public. This article spurred more public outrage than any of the Vietnam War or civil rights articles. The wide publicity forced Congress into action. By August 24, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Animal Welfare Act of 1966 into law. (Encyclopedia Brittanica 2010). The new law required dealers of animals to be licensed and comply with minimum standards.
As the United States entered the 1990’s, the popularity of puppy mills grew even more. The law of 1966 was no longer enough control, and enforcing the law was a problem.
The average puppy mill houses between 65 and 75 animals. (“IDA Puppy Mills Campaign “). The housing of these animals leads to inhumane treatment and the destruction of dogs that cannot survive. The dogs are usually housed in cages that are wired together. The flooring is wired, so feces and urine can fall through. The staffing is kept very low so many of these facilities are not cleaning the partitions. The spaces are cramped and sometimes faulty.
The weaker dogs are trampled and the violent dogs attack others. The dogs are often injured and ill-kept. Besides the conditions, female dogs are forced to breed at a rate that is unhealthy. When a female breeding dog turns five years of age, it is usually euthanized (“ASPCA ). A puppy that is sick is not given veterinary care. Puppy mills are a business based on profitability; therefore, the upkeep of a sick dog means a loss of profits. The puppy that survives the mill is sent to a pet store or directly to a consumer. The others are destroyed or used as breeders.
The destruction of animals is illegal, but many puppy mills have found a way around this law and others. Much of this increase has been caused by owners’ ability to operate through a “loophole”. Currently, Puppy Mills are regulated by the Animal Welfare Act. Any mass producers of dogs that sell their animals to pet stores are forced to follow those regulations. In recent years Puppy Mill owners are capitalizing, by selling directly to the consumer via in person or over the internet. This type of sale is a “loophole” in puppy mill licensing. It is estimated that there are 300 puppy mills that operate over the Internet. (Freidman) These mills can escape from having federal licenses, thus eliminating any of the guidelines and restrictions of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). (“ASPCA ).
The licensed puppy mills are not being controlled by the federal government either. It is a case of too many puppy mills to regulate with low manpower. The doubling of the number of puppy mills resulted in federal government officials being inundated with inspection demands. Under USDA guidelines, inspectors were supposed to conduct yearly inspections. Due to high violations of the inspection, federal officials have gone to a “risk-based” inspection program. This new approach allows a puppy mill an opportunity to correct their violations, thus allowing them to continue to operate under illegal conditions indefinitely (“IDA Puppy Mills Campaign “). The bad conditions cause greater problems for both the puppy and the consumer.
The unhealthy living quarters cause dogs to become so stressed that they resort to violence. The cages are meant to have partitions to keep the dogs divided; however, the partitions often are broken due to the overflow of the animals. The weaker dogs are often trampled to death leaving the more violent dogs to prevail. The violent dogs create a mound of injuries to other dogs. The cost of veterinary bills can cut into the profits of puppy mill owners, so injured dogs are seldom treated. It is cheaper to breed more.
The cramped and unmaintained quarters cause diseases and infections to spread. The following is a list of genetic problems that commonly occur in puppy mill dogs:
- Epilepsy
- Heart disease
- Kidney disease
- Musculoskeletal disorders (hip dysplasia, luxating patellas, etc.)
- Endocrine disorders (diabetes, hyperthyroidism)
- Blood disorders (anemia, Von Willebrand disease)
- Deafness
- Eye problems (cataracts, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy, etc.)
- Respiratory disorders
Also, the diseases common among puppy mill puppies are:
- Giardia
- Parvovirus
- Distemper
- Upper respiratory infections
- Kennel cough
- Pneumonia
- Mange
- Fleas
- Ticks
- Intestinal parasites
- Heartworm
- Chronic diarrhea (“ASPCA )(“What You Can Do to Stop Puppy Mills: The Humane Society of the United States “).
The puppy mill owner attempts to pass off a sick puppy on to pet store owners, so as not to lose profitability. The internet is another source used to sell sickly animals. The consumer is unable to visually see any problems with the puppy. Puppy mill owners provide false veterinary information making the consumer believe the puppy is in good condition. Some even falsify breeding records.
Even with these deceptive practices some puppies are not able to be passed off and are destroyed as damaged stock. The definition of culling is something picked out from others, especially rejected because of inferior quality. Puppy Mill owners resort to this procedure to keep their inventory of only profitable animals. (“ASPCA ).
So what can we do about puppy mills? We can stop buying their products. They advertise in newspapers and on the Internet and often now offer crossbreeds with cutesy invented breed names like peekapoo or freedom or some equally silly label that simply means the dog is not purebred and you cannot depend upon any characteristics of any of the claimed breeds, sometimes three or four. You can wind up with some very expensive vet bills to correct problems caused by the indiscriminate cross-breeding of small dogs. Some of them are downright ugly too.
If you do not want to go to an animal shelter, then contact a registered breeder through the AKC or CKC (in Canada) and get a guaranteed well-treated and carefully bred animal that has been socialized and immunized. Other things you can do include:
- Lobby for better laws to control puppy mills.
- Vote for those propositions, such as Proposition B passed in Missouri (“Missouri Voters Approve Prop B, Reject Puppy Mills ). This will be improved upon in the near future. (“Animal Welfare Act: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions: Symposium Proceedings Sept. 1996 “).
- Educate yourself locally and on the Internet
- Print and distribute flyers
- Join online campaigns on places like Facebook
- Donate to campaigns, animal shelters, and protection agencies
- Work with local pet stores to get their cooperation
- Spread the word (“What You Can Do to Stop Puppy Mills: The Humane Society of the United States “).
Most of all, do not be a customer. That adorable puppy in the pet store window may be ok, but there are possibly a dozen or more who died where he came from and his mother if she still lives, is in a tiny cage. She never has any real human contact, never runs, never plays and she will never find a home like yours.
References
“Animal Welfare Act.” Encyclopædia Britannica. 2010. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Web.
“Animal Welfare Act: Historical Perspectives and Future Directions: Symposium Proceedings. 1996. Web.
“ASPCA | What Is a Puppy Mill “. Web.
“‘Concentration Camps for Lost and Stolen Pets’: Stan Wayman’s LIFE photo essay and the Animal Welfare Act | The Humane Society of the United States “. Web.
“IDA Puppy Mills Campaign “. Web.
“Missouri Voters Approve Prop B, Reject Puppy Mills | Animal Law Coalition”. Web.
“What You Can Do to Stop Puppy Mills : The Humane Society of the United States “. Web.