Puppy Mill Bill Cracks Down on Online Dog Sales
Great news! This week members of Congress reintroduced legislation to establish greater federal oversight of puppy mills and online dog sales.
The Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act would require commercial breeders who sell their puppies directly to the public, sight unseen, including via the web, to be licensed and inspected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Currently, only breeders who sell dogs to pet stores or to puppy brokers are subject to federal oversight.
Many puppies sold online come from puppy mills and are commonly bred in unsanitary, overcrowded and often cruel conditions without sufficient veterinary care, food, water or socialization. While facilities that breed puppies for commercial resale through pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected, breeders who sell directly to consumers, via the Internet, newspaper classifieds or other outlets, are exempt from any federal oversight.
“As the ASPCA has seen firsthand, the photos of happy, healthy puppies posted on a breeder’s website often grossly misrepresent what conditions are really like for these puppies and their parents,” says Nancy Perry, Senior Vice President of ASPCA Government Relations. “Puppy mills are able to completely evade federal oversight by taking advantage of a pre-Internet loophole in current law, but the PUPS Act would change that.”
As mentioned in USA Today, the PUPS Act will require that any breeder who sells more than 50 dogs each year to pet stores or online must meet federal standards.
“The current loophole has allowed too many dog breeders to get away with abusive behavior for far too long,” adds Cori Menkin, Senior Director of the ASPCA’s Puppy Mill Campaign. “We encourage Congress and the USDA to take meaningful steps to protect dogs in commercial breeding facilities.”
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Comments
Not sure these bills are enough. Does the USDA actually have people and standards that protect the animals? Or are they more sympathetic to the breeders? That is crucial! People should be taught to only get their pets from shelters and rescuers. However even my sister uses breeders for her Yorkies. So this education needs to be inculcated from pre-K if possible, and be as internalized by youngsters as religion is for many.
We also need the people who do the inspections to do their job,s correctly, by NOT letting anything slide!! There needs to be much more animal protection. 50 dogs a year are too many for anyone to sell in a year!
The main problem is not the selling, but
the inhumane conditions that we allow to go on. If we inforce
better treatment, the unfit breeders will stop because they are not
going to spend money to create a healthy environment for
the animals. Their motto is: The less we spend, the more we make.
I agree. 50 puppy threshold is too many. To compromise, it should be 30. Many of these dealers and puppy mills will be selling dogs and animals under more than one name.
Our beloved shih tzu, "Autumn", unbeknownst to us at the time, was actually from a puppy mill. She was such an amazing little bundle of pure love for the years that we did coddle and care for her. Suffering from puppy mill's neglect and poor breeding, she had to have 5 surgeries, treatment over the years for yeast infections, eye infections, ear infections, bladder stones, hernia surgery that didn't help, treatment for liver cancer, total blindness her last 6 months, (and professional grooming every 2 weeks). We lavished tons of love and attention on our little girl. She slept with us, ate with us, enjoyed exploring our fenced backyard, and trying to interact with our Maine Coon. We will forever have a hole in our hearts as we wished this sweetie of ours had had the opportunity to have not been born into such a hell-hole. People, please, please do your homework before you purchase your next companion. Always adopt from a rescue or humane shelter. And keep supporting the closure of all puppy mills. That's the only solution to solving their true, life-long misery!!!
How can I help. I detest animal abuse. Anyone who abuses an animal should go to jail for a very long time
Years ago we "rescued" a puppy from the pet store at 12 Oaks Mall. During his lifetime, we literally spent thousands of dollars on him due to all the medical problems he had. Puppy mills are MONEY MILLS. The owners have one thing in mind-cash flow. They have no respect for life and are without morals or conscience. 50 dogs is still TOO MUCH- how can you truly provide a safe, healthy, comfortable home for 50 dogs? You can't. Something must be done to end this merciless torture of innocent animals.
I, too, have adopted a dog rescued from a puppy mill, an Amish one! To the Amish, dogs and all animals are commodities, not living, feeling beings! after nine hellish years in a rabbit cage being bred over and over, my sweet min-pin was about to be shot, when the farmer listened to reason and released her to a rescue! She thrived w/ love, vet care, and good ffood, but only got 18mos of a free life before she passed! I am crying as I write this; four years have not dulled the pain of injustice suffered by her and the countless other dogs, cats, horses, petting zoo and other mistreated animals who trust us, the higher being to care for rthem! Sometimes, the problem seems too overwhelming and I feel there is no hope. Then I look into the sweet faces of my four rescues w/ me now, and the kind words of others, and feel some peae!! Thank you all!!
Wow. The consumer-protection aspect of this is astounding! Everyone who ends up with a sick puppy should report that to their local attorney general and the Better Business Bureau in the state where the breeder resides. Over time they'll have enough evidence to put pressure on the breeders to do a better job. That will equate to better conditions. We'll never get rid of puppy mills, but we can hold them to a higher standard.
Visit our website, www.iafriends.org, to see photos of the inside of many mills in Iowa. We unfortunately rank #2 in the nation with approx 250 mills. They house 20,000+ adult breeding dogs and at least 40% of breeders have recently been cited for significant violations to the federal Animal Welfare Act. But just try to "do something" to help the dogs in puppy mills. Farm Bureau (local and national) screams foul and fans the flames of fear that anything we do to help dogs will result in having to provide better conditions for ag animals. So to avoid having to help ALL animals we can't help ANY animals.
Animal welfare advocates must unite to get something done. If you're an Iowan please sign up for our e-newsletters on our website. We're working legislatively and we need your help! The dogs need your help!
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ratstyday <a href="http://vikawieier.com">xaikalitag</a> emaignDrege http://uillumaror.com - iziananatt vanciatreri http://gusannghor.com arcandoro
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