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Facts provided by the Humane Society of the United States:
Puppy mills are breeding facilities that produce purebred puppies in large numbers. The puppies are sold either directly to the public via the
Internet, newspaper ads, at the mill itself, or are sold to brokers and pet shops across the country. Puppy mills have long concerned The
Humane Society of the United States.
The documented problems of puppy mills include overbreeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack
of socialization with humans, overcrowded cages, and the killing of unwanted animals. To the unwitting consumer, this situation frequently
means buying a puppy facing an array of immediate veterinary problems or harboring genetically borne diseases that do not appear until
years later.
Sadly, some dogs are forced to live in puppy mills for their entire lives. They are kept there for one reason only: to produce more puppies.
Repeatedly bred, many of these "brood bitches" are killed once their reproductive capacity wanes.
Thousands of these breeding operations currently exist in the United States (see our web page –See What’s Happening in PA for a map of
kennels in PA), many of them despite repeated violations of the federal Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) is charged with enforcing the AWA; however, with 96 inspectors nationwide who oversee not only the thousands of
puppy mills, but also zoos, circuses, laboratories, and animals transported via commercial airlines, they are an agency stretched thin.
The HSUS, along with other animal-protection groups, has successfully lobbied for increased funding for AWA enforcement. Although all 50
states have anti-cruelty laws that should prevent neglect and mistreatment of dogs in puppy mills, such laws are seldom enforced.
The Laws Aren't Enough
Because a puppy mill is a business, the facility is designed purely for profit, not comfort. Laws are on the books to provide minimum-care
standards for puppy-mill animals, but enforcement has historically been spotty at best. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) licenses
and inspects puppy mills for violations of the Animal Welfare Act; likewise, some state laws are designed to protect the charges in the
average puppy mill. But puppy mills can successfully navigate around these laws, whether by selling directly to consumers (thereby
avoiding USDA licensing requirements) or simply by avoiding the reach of law enforcement (with so few USDA inspectors and minor fines,
it's easy to stay in business).
What You Can Do
To help 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 dog appears to be suffering from a medical condition.
Main Liners lead way to protect dogs
By:Jeff Cobb 12/28/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
In a campaign to prevent abuse by many Pennsylvania dog breeders, three Main Line
residents are leading the way.
Advertisement
Marsha Perelman, Mary Remer and Ms. Douglas Newbold are part of the newly appointed
Dog Law Advisory Board (DLAB) and were handpicked by Gov. Ed Rendell in October. In
May this year the Governor fired all 14 members of the previous board. His new board of 16
people includes Remer and Newbold, and five additional "at large" members including
Perelman.
Remer is a highly regarded Bull Terrier breeder in Villanova, Newbold, of Malvern, is a
member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and Perelman, of Wynnewood served in 1992 as
the acting president for the Philadelphia Zoo.
In recent years activists have focused a spotlight on Pennsylvania as "the puppy mill capital of
the East." Lancaster County, in particular has the densest concentration of the notoriously
negligent breeders in the country.
On Dec. 13 in Harrisburg, the Governor introduced the new DLAB and other recently
instituted law enforcement personnel. In so doing, Rendell said he is serious about reversing
damage caused to dogs and the state's economic interests.
Puppy mills are breeding facilities that often employ unethical techniques in raising dogs for
sale on the Internet, through pet stores, or direct to the public. The practice has existed in
Pennsylvania since the 1970s, and has burgeoned in recent years. The absence of effective
enforcement has resulted in a long list of documented cruelty and abuse.
One of the problems is a conflict of interest. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
(PDA) is in charge of overseeing dog breeders, and at the same time has a primary mission to
promote farming. It so happens, however, that many "puppy millers" also are farmers.
"It doesn't appear at least that they have had a focus on protecting dogs," said Perelman who
was part of an ad hoc committee established by Rendell in January to study the issue. "The
purpose of the department of agriculture is protecting the farmers."
Perelman is also Chairman of the Board for the Franklin Institute, an energy industry board
member, and no stranger to getting things accomplished.
An owner of three rescued dogs, Perelman described appalling conditions where dogs are
cooped in tiny cages with wire floors that hurt their feet. In the winter, they can be left
unsheltered from freezing winds or in unheated barns. And in the summer heat, they are left to
bake. Dogs are not often exercised, if at all, and treated more like livestock than animals
intended as companions for people. Cages and the animals are often filthy. Dogs deemed as
problem barkers by some operators have been "de-barked" by having a steel rod forced down
their throats.
The new DLAB meetings are to be quarterly and open to the public. This month, over 300
attended, including dog breeders who said more stringent regulations would be a hardship,
and were not necessary. Some kennel owners are from Amish and Mennonite communities,
and are said to have a different regard for what constitutes proper treatment.
When asked what she thinks of breeders who say accounts of abuse are overstated by liberal
animal lovers, Perelman flatly rejected the notion.
"One single fact that proves this is not the case," she said, "is there were 171 individual
complaints to the Pennsylvania attorney general under the 'puppy lemon law,' against one
single breeder. That fact itself proves there are breeders in this state without the interests of
Pennsylvania consumers or Pennsylvania dogs in mind."
The kennel in question is Puppy Love in Peach Bottom, PA. The facility operates under
license as a regulated kennel. "How well are those regulations working and how well is the
enforcement being carried out?" Perelman said, "It's got to be one or the other or both."
Indeed anecdotes from Puppy Love and other kennels are plentiful of sickly puppies that die
in weeks or have genetic defects or disagreeable temperaments. Tales of inbreeding,
including brother to sister are common, and account for a dilution of the quality of otherwise
purebred dogs flooding the market.
According to Bob Baker, an investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (ASPCA), the problem is in the mentality of the breeders. In turn, they are kept in
business by pet stores, and an unwitting public that creates a marketplace for factory bred
dogs.
"They do look at dogs as nothing other than another livestock," said Baker of some puppy mill
operators. "They don't realize that these dogs are not being raised for slaughter."
Baker, who was instrumental in writing the first Pennsylvania Dog Law in 1982, has visited
over 700 puppy mills throughout the U.S. Other states that are known for negligent breeding
include Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
The phenomenon of raising dogs in this manner evolved as backyard breeders in the 1950s
began to raise animals for stores. Pet supply storeowners realized the "doggy in the window,"
as the classic song relates was great marketing.
In the 1970s brokers began to come from the Midwest to Pennsylvania, Baker said. They
taught Amish and Mennonite farmers and others that a cash crop to supplement their incomes
could be pets raised in their barns.
"The ironic thing is the Amish and Mennonites raise their animals in better conditions," he said
of their cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, "They treat dogs worse than livestock which I find
somewhat ironic."
Baker said pet supply stores are also to blame by appealing to impulse buying on an
emotional whim. "When I took complaints about sick dogs, it was interesting to me that when
they left the house in the morning, they had no thought to buying a dog," he said.
The regulation changes proposed by the DLAB this month are in a 60-day public review
period. Perelman said it is not likely all proposals will be accepted, but she hopes for key
changes, including a doubling of required cage size. There will be legislative hurdles before
any changes are made law.
In the mean time, Perelman said, she is encouraged by Rendell's commitment to enforce
existing laws. She is hopeful that after years of previous governors looking the other way,
positive changes are now happening. "No one until Gov. Rendell decided to address it
directly," she said, has anything meaningful been done, "no one at the state level has done
so."
By:Jeff Cobb 12/28/2006
Email to a friendPost a CommentPrinter-friendly
In a campaign to prevent abuse by many Pennsylvania dog breeders, three Main Line
residents are leading the way.
Advertisement
Marsha Perelman, Mary Remer and Ms. Douglas Newbold are part of the newly appointed
Dog Law Advisory Board (DLAB) and were handpicked by Gov. Ed Rendell in October. In
May this year the Governor fired all 14 members of the previous board. His new board of 16
people includes Remer and Newbold, and five additional "at large" members including
Perelman.
Remer is a highly regarded Bull Terrier breeder in Villanova, Newbold, of Malvern, is a
member of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, and Perelman, of Wynnewood served in 1992 as
the acting president for the Philadelphia Zoo.
In recent years activists have focused a spotlight on Pennsylvania as "the puppy mill capital of
the East." Lancaster County, in particular has the densest concentration of the notoriously
negligent breeders in the country.
On Dec. 13 in Harrisburg, the Governor introduced the new DLAB and other recently
instituted law enforcement personnel. In so doing, Rendell said he is serious about reversing
damage caused to dogs and the state's economic interests.
Puppy mills are breeding facilities that often employ unethical techniques in raising dogs for
sale on the Internet, through pet stores, or direct to the public. The practice has existed in
Pennsylvania since the 1970s, and has burgeoned in recent years. The absence of effective
enforcement has resulted in a long list of documented cruelty and abuse.
One of the problems is a conflict of interest. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
(PDA) is in charge of overseeing dog breeders, and at the same time has a primary mission to
promote farming. It so happens, however, that many "puppy millers" also are farmers.
"It doesn't appear at least that they have had a focus on protecting dogs," said Perelman who
was part of an ad hoc committee established by Rendell in January to study the issue. "The
purpose of the department of agriculture is protecting the farmers."
Perelman is also Chairman of the Board for the Franklin Institute, an energy industry board
member, and no stranger to getting things accomplished.
An owner of three rescued dogs, Perelman described appalling conditions where dogs are
cooped in tiny cages with wire floors that hurt their feet. In the winter, they can be left
unsheltered from freezing winds or in unheated barns. And in the summer heat, they are left to
bake. Dogs are not often exercised, if at all, and treated more like livestock than animals
intended as companions for people. Cages and the animals are often filthy. Dogs deemed as
problem barkers by some operators have been "de-barked" by having a steel rod forced down
their throats.
The new DLAB meetings are to be quarterly and open to the public. This month, over 300
attended, including dog breeders who said more stringent regulations would be a hardship,
and were not necessary. Some kennel owners are from Amish and Mennonite communities,
and are said to have a different regard for what constitutes proper treatment.
When asked what she thinks of breeders who say accounts of abuse are overstated by liberal
animal lovers, Perelman flatly rejected the notion.
"One single fact that proves this is not the case," she said, "is there were 171 individual
complaints to the Pennsylvania attorney general under the 'puppy lemon law,' against one
single breeder. That fact itself proves there are breeders in this state without the interests of
Pennsylvania consumers or Pennsylvania dogs in mind."
The kennel in question is Puppy Love in Peach Bottom, PA. The facility operates under
license as a regulated kennel. "How well are those regulations working and how well is the
enforcement being carried out?" Perelman said, "It's got to be one or the other or both."
Indeed anecdotes from Puppy Love and other kennels are plentiful of sickly puppies that die
in weeks or have genetic defects or disagreeable temperaments. Tales of inbreeding,
including brother to sister are common, and account for a dilution of the quality of otherwise
purebred dogs flooding the market.
According to Bob Baker, an investigator for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (ASPCA), the problem is in the mentality of the breeders. In turn, they are kept in
business by pet stores, and an unwitting public that creates a marketplace for factory bred
dogs.
"They do look at dogs as nothing other than another livestock," said Baker of some puppy mill
operators. "They don't realize that these dogs are not being raised for slaughter."
Baker, who was instrumental in writing the first Pennsylvania Dog Law in 1982, has visited
over 700 puppy mills throughout the U.S. Other states that are known for negligent breeding
include Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, and Oklahoma.
The phenomenon of raising dogs in this manner evolved as backyard breeders in the 1950s
began to raise animals for stores. Pet supply storeowners realized the "doggy in the window,"
as the classic song relates was great marketing.
In the 1970s brokers began to come from the Midwest to Pennsylvania, Baker said. They
taught Amish and Mennonite farmers and others that a cash crop to supplement their incomes
could be pets raised in their barns.
"The ironic thing is the Amish and Mennonites raise their animals in better conditions," he said
of their cattle, pigs, sheep and goats, "They treat dogs worse than livestock which I find
somewhat ironic."
Baker said pet supply stores are also to blame by appealing to impulse buying on an
emotional whim. "When I took complaints about sick dogs, it was interesting to me that when
they left the house in the morning, they had no thought to buying a dog," he said.
The regulation changes proposed by the DLAB this month are in a 60-day public review
period. Perelman said it is not likely all proposals will be accepted, but she hopes for key
changes, including a doubling of required cage size. There will be legislative hurdles before
any changes are made law.
In the mean time, Perelman said, she is encouraged by Rendell's commitment to enforce
existing laws. She is hopeful that after years of previous governors looking the other way,
positive changes are now happening. "No one until Gov. Rendell decided to address it
directly," she said, has anything meaningful been done, "no one at the state level has done
so."
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