Will You Stop the Suffering? (Puppy Mills) Part 1

“The opposite of love is not hate, it is indifference.”- Elie Wiesel, A holocaust survivor, world-renowned author, and political activist. (1928 - )

Will You Stop the Suffering? Part 1

Consumers have tremendous purchasing powers and the ability to influence market trends. 2012, has been designated as the year for change. Campaigns to encourage them to support global awareness issues; such as the world AIDS crisis, global warming, breast cancer awareness, autism or making better personal choices by purchasing earth friendly building or cleaning products are gaining momentum and support. With all the day-to-day important issues confronting us, one heart-breaking aspect of ignorant consumerism is struggling to be noticed – the plight of puppy mill dogs.

A puppy mill can be loosely defined as a facility that produces puppies for a mass market, with little regard or concern for proper breeding practices or the puppy’s final destination.  Puppy mill operations often include conditions of over-crowding, poor sanitation, lack of medical services, neglect and animal abuse.

Robert Baker, formerly an inspector for the Humane Society of America, found deplorable conditions of puppy mills throughout the United States. He discovered during an investigation that more than half of the facilities he inspected failed miserably to meet approved housing, or appropriate feeding and sanitation standards. His findings would be little altered in 2012.  Many of the violations were appalling. Fecal material piled two feet high in dog runs, puppies’ feet trapped in wire mesh cage floors, the use of dog carcasses as feed for dogs, and extreme overcrowding.”- Anna C. Briggs, President, The National Humane Education Society, “Because we love them: A handbook for Animal Lovers”, 1994

Ordinances and laws designed to provide puppy mills with humane guidelines are often loosely regulated.  Lack of inspectors to enforce industry compliance means many puppy mill operators and the pet stores they sell to can go unregulated or inspected for weeks, months, longer, or not at all. Adding to the complexity of the situation, laws governing what puppy mill operators and pet stores are required to do vary from state to state and county to county. It is illegal, for example, to bring a camera or video equipment into an alleged puppy mill in Kansas!