Policing Problematic Puppy Mills
By Wes Hessel
Producing Pets For Pure Profit
By definition a “puppy mill” is problematic. These breeders raise animals purely for profit. At best, conditions barely meet legal minimum standards. Most often there is flagrant disregard of laws and the animals’ welfare, subjecting animals to horrendous conditions.
Per Wikipedia
Per Wikipedia, a codified uniform legal characterization has not yet been made. A case law definition was established in 1984 by Avenson v. Zegart, as “a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits”. “Emphasis on quantity over quality, indiscriminate breeding, continuous confinement, lack of human contact and environmental enrichment, poor husbandry, and minimal to no veterinary care”, is how The Humane Society of the United States’ (HSUS) Veterinary Medical Association describes the practice.
Make It Stop..
Senior director John Goodwin of The Humane Society of the United States is spearheading a stop puppy mills campaign. The goal of the campaign is to activate the average citizen. Goodwin believes it is imperative that citizens report puppy mills and then refuse to patronize stores who sell animals that come from these suppliers. Some Mennonite and Amish communities have concentrations of puppy mills, particularly in Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. The Midwest has a large percentage of the offenders: the animal protection organization’s “Horrible 100” has five Indiana dog breeders on the list, for example, one of which is tied for the seventh worst. Missouri, who has the highest number of puppy mills in the U.S., reported two breeders with significant numbers of emaciated dogs and abhorrent conditions.
It Gets Worse…
An Iowa puppy mill with 650 dogs had more than 50 that were ill or injured. Some of these operations have over a thousand canines in their charge. Circumstances at smaller breeders aren’t necessarily better. The Attorney General of Michigan is pursuing action against an AKC breeder for allegedly deceiving customers, euthanizing unwanted puppies, and selling sick animals. A Kansas puppy miller admitted to shooting and killing over two dozen dogs. Some others have been known to drown animals rather than go to the expense of humane euthanasia.
