Pet Lovers

[Gabidog]

ASPCA requests public comment directed to the USDA by Monday regarding their practice of renewing breeder licenses.  Puppy mills should not get a license....they should be outlawed.  

[Big Joanie]

ABSOLUTELY ....

[Big Joanie]

ITS A NASTY BUSINESS .....

[CrazyDaisy]

USDA issues kennel license.  That license allows you to sell puppies.  The procession of a kennel license does not make you a puppy mill nor does it designate a quality breeder.  It does not determine the conditions of the animals nor are inspections of the facility done.  Not sure what they are looking to accomplish.  The only thing that will eliminate pupoy mills is when people stop buying from them.  Till then there will be people finding ways to make money off these animals suffering

[CrazyDaisy]

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@Big Joanie wrote:

ITS A NASTY BUSINESS .....

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As long as people continue to support this industry by purchasing puppies from pet stores it will continue and grow.

[NickNack]

I agree with @CrazyDaisy.  The ASPCA is against all breeders, although you have to dig very deep to figure that out.  People will have to quit buying puppies from pet stores to have any effect at all on puppy mills.  That is the main place puppy mills sell their puppies.  Unfortunately there are still people who think that reputable breeders sell their puppies to pet stores.  Pet stores will tell you their puppies are from breeders and even give you the paperwork.  If you actually went to the address you would see it was a puppy mill.

[Gabidog]

Regulation of conditions is part of the public comment and if you feel pet stores should only sell rescue dogs then comment on that as well.  there will always be breeders and to eliminate puppy mill breeders and their terrible conditions you need to voice your thoughts at the USDA.  One regulation might be to allow a female dog or cat to have limited pregnancies.  Comfortable living conditions needs to be spelled out in legislation.  Limiting a breeder to one or two breeds might also help eliminate puppy mills.  Monday...voice your opinion.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@junera wrote:

Regulation of conditions is part of the public comment and if you feel pet stores should only sell rescue dogs then comment on that as well.  there will always be breeders and to eliminate puppy mill breeders and their terrible conditions you need to voice your thoughts at the USDA.  One regulation might be to allow a female dog or cat to have limited pregnancies.  Comfortable living conditions needs to be spelled out in legislation.  Limiting a breeder to one or two breeds might also help eliminate puppy mills.  Monday...voice your opinion.

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USDA would not have the ability to make those regulations, it is well outside of thier authority.  Then there would be the enforcement, how?  What is your defination of a puppy mill vs a breeder.  Limit to how many litters?  I know several quality breeders who have dogs with multiple litters overvthr course of their life.what is your definiation of comfortable living conditions?  It is easy to make random statements, however the problem is people who buy these puppies.  Without them the industry will crumble

STOP BUYING PUPPIES FROM PET STORES.  Start with that and educate people as to how to find quality pet not from puppy mills. 

[gardenman]

The big issue is defining "puppy mills." We have a local farmer who raises pups. He's not trying to breed show dogs, just pedigreed dogs that he sells primarily to a local pet store. His dogs are kept in an old horse barn on his farm and pretty much doted on. Each mother dog gets an old horse stall to herself. You can tell when he's got new pups as there will be a trail of puppies following him pretty much everywhere he goes.It's not at all unusual to see a mixed collection of ten to twenty assorted pups trailing along behind him as he wanders about his fields. One will drop off from time to time to sniff something that catches his/her nose, but then bounce along to catch back up. The parent dogs are well cared for as are the pups. As he likes to say, "The stock can't take care of you if you don't take care of the stock."

You almost never see him on the road without one of the various parent dogs alongside of him in the pickup. The dogs and pups get vet checkups, their shots, and are well cared for. Since he's not trying to raise show animals, I guess most people would call him a puppy mill, but I'm not sure what he's doing that's so horrible. The dogs and pups seem quite happy. The pet store is happy. The buyers are happy.

We've all seen the videos of the horrible puppy mills where the animals are crowded into cramped cages and barely kept alive, but is that the norm or the exception? How do you stop those kind of people without harming the people who aren't behaving in such a manner? The blanket condemnations are, as usual, too broad. Not all animal breeders are inhumane idiots looking to make the quickest buck possible. Not all pet shops are owned by uncaring jerks who will sell anything with fur for a profit. The rhetoric on this issue loses sight of reality sometimes. There are horrible breeders out there who should be stopped. There are horrible petshops. But there are also good breeders out there and good petshops. Destroying all of them to take out the bad ones is not the best answer.

[Gabidog]

Yes it is easy to make random statements like people are the problem!  I doubt pet stores will disappear magically and certainly people wanting puppies will continue.  I received an email from the ASPCA regarding contacting the USDA about public comment on breeders and how to reduce inhumane conditions. Trying  to find ways do reduce problems with suggestions is better than trying to kill pet stores which will probably not happen.  And yes education on caring for any animal is key.