Nicewonger1

EmilyNicewonger
Dr.SpielvogelCAS138(T)
th
April12
,2016

CanineCommercialbreedingestablishments(puppymills)aredefinedasinhumane
facilitiesthatdisregardthehealthoftheanimalsforfinancialgainsbytheUnitedStatesHumane
1
Society
.PuppymillscameintoexistenceshortlyafterWorldWarII,becausefarmersthought

thatitwasanopportunity
tomakemoneyinthefaceofwidespreadfailuresandaspetstores
2
beganputtingpuppiesinsidethestores,thedemandwidelyincreased
.Inthebeginningthe

USDAencouragedfarmerstoraisethepuppiesascashcropsandtheybegantodosoby
3
overlookingthewellbeingofthedogs
.
Asof2015therewereanestimated10,000operating
4
puppymillsproducingovertwomillionpuppiesfromanestimated174,000breedingfemales
in

theUnitedStates.
Whataretherisksofthesefacilities?
Thesefacilitiesposesignificant,longlastingeffectspsychologicallyandphysicallyon
theanimals.Psychologicallydogsmaintainedintheseenvironmentsdevelopextremeand
persistingfears,possiblelearningdeficits,andoftenshowdifficultyincopingsuccessfullywith
5
normalexistence
.Puppymillsemphasizequantityoverqualitywithnoregardtocrowded
6
conditionswhichcausediseasestospreadquicklyandeasily
.Thesefacilitiesalsohaveno

regardtothetemperamentofthedogstheyrebreeding.Duetocontinualconfinement
animalssufferfromchronicanxiety,socialisolation,inadequatestimulation,andlackof
7
physicalexercise
.Commercialbreedingfacilitieshavepoorsanitation,food,andwater.Many

timesthereisinadequatewastecontrolforcingtheanimalstobeinconstantcontacttotheirown
8
wasteandthatofotheranimals
.Femalebreedingdogsarebredwaytoofrequently,withno

Nicewonger2

concerntotheirhealth,andwhenitreachesthepointwheretheycannolongerreproducethey
9
areoftenkilled
.

Manyofthesefacilitiesdonotemployproperbreedingtechniques,subsequentlythe
animalsoftenhavehealthissuessuchas:epilepsy,deafness,respiratorydisorders,heartand
10
kidneydiseases,andmusculoskeletaldisorders
.Ontopofthatwhenthedogsarrivetotheir

newhomestheyoftenhaveillnessessuchas:pneumonia,mange,fleas,ticks,heartworm,kennel
11
cough,intestinalissues,parvovirus,andmanymore
.Asanexample,inaneightydogbustin

NorthCarolinaitwasdiscoveredthat50%ofthedogshadparasites,23%hadearinfections,
15%hadaseveredryeyeconditions,andallofthoseolderthan18monthshadsomeformof
12
gumdisease
.

Whatarethecurrentlaws?

13
Figure1.1puppymilllaws

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Asseenabovemanystatesdonothavelawsagainstpuppymills,ordonothavestrict
lawsagainstthepractice.Americaasawholehasalawthatwascreatedin1966,TheAnimal
Welfareact,whichsetminimumstandardsforanimalwelfare,anddictatesthatlargecommercial
breedingfacilitiesneedtobeinspectedregularlybytheU.S.DepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)
14

.Howevertherearemanyfailuresandloopholestothesystem.Thelawonlyrequires

wholesaleoperationstobelicensedanddefineswholesaleoperationsasthosethat
breedor
brokeranimalsforresaletopetstoresforexampleorsellpuppiessightunseen
15
.These
lawsignoreoperationsthatselldirectlytothepublic,theyarenotrequiredtoadheretothe
AnimalWelfareActeventhoughtheycouldpotentiallyproducejustasmanypuppiesastheir
counterparts.Mostlawsaredesignatedatastatelevel,andarehighlyinadequate,thereforemany
largecommercialbreedersgetawaywithanimalcrueltyduetothefaultsofthesystem.Asseen
inthegraphbelowofMichiganwholesaleoperations,breedersareoftenallowedtohave
16
multipleviolationswithoutlosingtheirlicenses
.

17
Figure1.2violationsrecord

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18
Asof2008only26stateshadanylawsregulatingcommercialbreeding
,andthosethat

doaddresssanitation,housing,foodandwaterrequirements,thegoverningagency,and
inspectionsfewaddressveterinarycareandthehumanetreatmentofdogs,ventilation,and
19
exercise
.Moststatesdefinecommercialbreeding,commercialkennel,breedingfacility,
20
retailpetstore,andotherrelativetermsdifferently
.Anotherproblemthathappensoftenwith

branchesofthegovernmentisunderfundingandunderstaffing,whichcausessomeoperationsto
fallthecracksandgoayearwithoutinspection.
Whatcanwedotostopthis?
Currentlytherearemanymovementsaimingtobanpuppymillsortostopthemfrom
beingsoprofitableinoursociety.ThehumansocietyhasamovementcalledthePuppyfriendly
Petstoreinitiativewhichaimstohavecommunitymembershelptheirpetstoreimplement
21
policieswheretheyhelpadoptouthomelessanimalsinstead
.Byutilizingthesetypesof

movementsandotherpublicoutreachmethodsthegeneralpublicisbecomingmuchmore
educatedaboutthesubjectandtheprofitabilityoftheseoperationsisdecreasing.Approximately
22
1.2milliondogsareeuthanizedeachyearinkillshelters
.Oneoptionwouldbetoincentivize

allpetstorestofeaturehomelessdogsinsteadofpuppies.Apossiblefundingsolutionwouldbe
toprovidesubsidiestotheseoperationsbyredirectingthemoneyfromkillshelters.Bymaking
moreoftheseanimalsaccessibletothepublictherebecomesabiggerchancethattheywillbe
adopted.Thepublicmayalsocontacttheirlocalcongressmenandotherlegislatorstoinform
23
themoftheirconcerns
.Ifmorepeoplecontacttheirrepresentativesthelocalandfederal

governmentswillbeforcedtoaddressthisissue.

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AmajoropponentoftheseregulationsistheAmericanKennelClub,asof2015they
24
havefoughtagainstoveronehundredandfiftyproposedlegislations
.TheAKC
Government

RelationsDepartment(GR)isdedicatedtoprotectingtherightsofalldogowners,promoting
responsibledogownershipandensuringthatlawsgoverningdogownershipandbreedingare
25
reasonable,enforceableandnondiscriminatory
.Howevertherehavebeensomeseverecases

ofabusefoundwithintheAKCbreeders.Onesuchcaseamanwasconvictedwith91casesof
animalcrueltyandchargedwith30yearsinprison,and
Underoath,hetestifiedhefelt
confidenthewasobeyingalllawsandthestricterAKCrules,
sinceanAKCinspectorhadtwice
recentlyfoundhimtobeincompliance
26
.
Conclusion:
Currentlythelawsregardingpuppymillsarehighlyinadequateandleadtomany
sufferinganimalsinourcountry.Byworkingwithallfacetsofdogbreedingandpurchasingto
createequallawsthatdontimposeontherightsofthepublic.Butlawsarenottheonlywayto
getridofpuppymills.Ifpetstoresareincentivizedtohelphomelessanimals,theywillnolonger
needtopurchasefrompuppymills.Subsequently,ifthepublicbecomesmoreinformedabout
theissueswithpuppymillsthentheywillnolongerbuyfromtheseestablishmentsandthe
profitswilldecreaseseverely.Decreasingtheamountandcrueltyofpuppymillswillcreatea
saferenvironmentforanimalsthroughoutthecountryandgivegoodhomestomanydogsthat
wouldbeeuthanizedotherwise.

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Endnotes
1."PuppyMills:FrequentlyAskedQuestions."
RSS
.TheHumaneSociety,16Jan.2015.Web.10
Apr.2016.
2.Remitz,Jessica."HistoryofPuppyMillsPet360PetParentingSimplified."
Pet360
.N.p.,n.d.
Web.10Apr.2016
3.ibid
4.AFSPFactsandFigures."
PsycEXTRADataset
(n.d.):n.pag.
TheHumaneSocietyofthe
UnitedStates
.TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates,Jan.2015.Web.8Apr.2016.
<http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/puppymillsfactsandfigures.pdf
>.
5.McMillan,FranklinD.,DeborahL.Duffy,andJamesA.Serpell."Mentalhealthofdogs
formerlyusedasbreedingstockincommercialbreedingestablishments."
AppliedAnimal
BehaviourScience
135.1(2011):8694.
6."HumaneSocietyMedicalAssociationVeterinaryReportonPuppyMills."
HumaneSociety
VeterinaryMedicalAssociation(HSVMA)VeterinaryReportonPuppyMills
(2013):15.
HumaneSocietyVeterinaryMedicalAssociation,May2013.Web.5Apr.2016.
<http://www.hsvma.org/assets/pdfs/hsvma_veterinary_report_puppy_mills.pdf>.
7.ibid
8.ibid
9."ACloserLookatPuppyMills."
ASPCA
.ASPCA,n.d.Web.4Apr.2016.
<http://www.aspca.org/animalcruelty/puppymills/closerlookpuppymills>.
10.ibid
11.ibid
12."PrioritisingProblemsinDogs."
VeterinaryRecord
171.6(2012):12.
HumaneSociety
.2012.
Web.7Apr.2016.
<http://www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/pets/puppy_mills/veterinary_problems_puppy_mills
.pdf>
13."PuppyMillDevastation."
UnforgettableUnderdogs
.N.p.,03Dec.2013.Web.6Apr.2016.
<http://www.unforgettableunderdogs.org/puppymilldevastation/>.
14.PuppyMills:FrequentlyAskedQuestions.
15.Ibid
16."TheFamilyPuppyBreederList."
TheFamilyPuppyBreederList
.N.p.,2012.Web.6Apr.
2016.<http://michiganpuppymills.com/tfpbreederlist.php>.
17.
Ibid
18.Katz,RobynF."FullTitleName:DetailedDiscussionofCommercialBreedersandPuppy
Mills."
DetailedDiscussionofCommercialBreedersandPuppyMills
.AnimalLegaland
HistoricalCenter,2008.Web.10Apr.2016.
<https://www.animallaw.info/article/detaileddiscussioncommercialbreedersandpuppymills#i
d3>.
19.Ibid
20.Ibid
21."SevenWaysYouCanStopPuppyMills."
TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates
.The
HumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates,12Nov.2015.Web.4Apr.2016.
<http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/tips/what_you_can_do_stop_puppy_mills.ht
ml?referrer=https://www.google.com/>.

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22."PetStatistics."
ASPCA
.ASPCA,n.d.Web.8Apr.2016.
<http://www.aspca.org/animalhomelessness/shelterintakeandsurrender/petstatistics>.
23.SevenWaysYouCanStopPuppyMills.
24."TheAKC:WorstinShow."
RSS
.TheHumaneSocietyoftheUnitedStates,6Feb.2015.
Web.10Apr.2016.
<http://www.humanesociety.org/news/news/2015/02/theakcworstinshow.html?referrer=https
%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F>
25."GovernmentRelations."
TheAmericanKennelClub
.TheAmericanKennelClub,2016.
Web.10Apr.2016.<http://www.akc.org/governmentrelations/>.
26.TheAKC:WorstinShow.