A
place where several
breeds of dogs are raise and the breeder always has puppies for sale;
A dirty, trashy place where one or several
breeds of dogs are kept in deplorable conditions and puppies are always
available;
A place where a single breed of dog is raised
in acceptable conditions and the puppies are always available;
A place where lots of dogs are raised, where
breedings is done solely for financial gain rather than protection of
breed integrity, and where puppies are sold to brokers or to pet stores;
All of the above.
The answer depends on who you ask. A hobby
breeder dedicated to promoting and protecting a particular breed or two
might consider all of the above* breeders* to be puppy mills.Animal
shelter and rescue workers who deal daily with abandoned dogs might
agree.Operators of clean commercial kennels, licensed by the Departement
of Agriculture, will strongly disagree, for the very mention of *puppy
mill* damages their business and that of the pet stores they deal
John Q Dog Owner probably thinks of puppy mills
as those places exposed on *20/20* or *geraldo* They have seen the
cameras pan back and forth over trash,piles of feces, dogs withrunny
noses and oozing sores, dogs crammed into shopping carts and tiny coops,
rats sharing dirty food bowls and drydishes. They've seen the puppy mill
owner captured on tape, dirty, barely articulate, and ignorant of dogs
care, temperament, genetic health, or propor nutrition.He's belligerent,
too, demanding to be left alone to earn his livelihood.
But
is the television crew simply seeking the sensational and applying these
appalling conditions to the entire dog producing industry ? Just what ia
a puppy mill ?
After
Wold WarII, when farmers were despereately seeking alternative methods
of making money when traditional cropfailed, the Department of
Agriculture encouraged the raising of puppies as a crop. Retail pet
outletd grew in numbers as the supply of puppies increased, and puppy
production was on its way.
However,
the puppy farmers had little knowledge of canine husbandry and often
began their ventures with a little money and already-rundown conditions.
They housed their dogs in chicken coops and rabbit hutches, provided
little socialization, and often eschewed veterinary care because they
couldn't afford to pay.Animal welfare organizations such as the Humane
Society of the town before it became politicized by the animal rights
movement investigated conditions at puppy Mills.
Puppy
mill conditions were a major impetus in the passage of the national
animal welfare Act.However, as often happens, the appellation has been
bastardized to mean any breeder who breeds lots of dogs, no matter what
the conditions of the kennel or the health of the puppies.The AWA is
administered by the Agriculture. The act lists several categories of the
businesses that handle dogs:
Pet
breeders are those who breed for the wholesale trade, whether for
selling animals to other breeders or selling to brokers or
directly to pet stores or laboratories, and they must also be licensed
by USDA to conduct business; and laboratory animal dealers, breeder, and
bunchers must also be licensed, as must auction operators and promoters
of contests in which animals are given as prizes
Hobby
breeders who sell directly to pet stores are
exempt from licensing if they gross less than $ 500 per year and if they
own no more than three breeding females.
It's
easy to say that Piet pietersen or Jan Jansen runs a puppy mill or that
pet store puppies come from puppy mills, but the label is tossed about
so frequently and with so little regard for accuracy that each
prospective dog owner should ascertain for himself whether or not the
wishes to buy a dog from Pietersen or Jansen, a pet store, or a hobby
breeder. Here are our Dog Owner's guide definitions to help you decide:
Hobby
breeder:A breed fancier who
usually has only one breed but may have two: follows a breeding plan in
efforts to preserve and protect the breed ; produces from none to five
litters per year; breeds only when litters will enhance the breed and
the breeding program ; raises the puppies with plenty of environmental
and human contact; has a contract that protects breederdog,and buyer;
runs a small, clean kennel; screens breeding stock to eliminate
hereditary defects from the breed; works with a breed club or kennel
club to promote and protect the breed; and cares that each and every
puppy is placed in the best home possible.
Commercial
breeder: One who usually has
several breeds of dogs with profit as primary motive for existence. The
dogs may be healthy or not and the kennel may be clean or not.The dogs
are probably not screened for genetic diseases,and the breeding stock is
probably not selected for resemblance to the breed standard or for good
temperament. Most commercial breeders sell their puppies to pet stores
or to brokers who sell to pet stores
Broker:
One who buys puppies from
commercial kennels and sells to retail outlets.Brokers ship puppies by
the crate-load on airlines or by truckload throughout the
country.Brokers must be licensed by USDA and must abide by the shipping
regulations in the Animal Welfare
Buncher:
One who collects dogs of
unknown origin for sale to laboratories or other bunchers or brokers.Bunchers
are considered lower on the evolutionary scale than puppy mill
operators, for there is much suspicion that they buy stolen pets,
collect pets advertised as "free to a good home",and adopt
unwanted pets from animal shelters for research at veterinary colleges
or industrial research laboratories.
Backyard
breeder; A dog owner whose pet
either gets bred by accident or who breeds on purpose for a variety of
reasons. This breeder is usually ignorant of the breed standard,
genetics, behavior, and good health practices. A backyard breeder can
very easily become commercial breeder or a puppy mill.
Puppy
mill: A
breeder who produces puppies hand over fist with no breeding program,
little attention to puppy placement, and poor health and socialization
practices. A puppy mill may or may not be dirty but it is usually
overcrowded and the dog may be neglected or abused because the breeder
can't properly handle as many dogs as he has. Puppy mill operators often
denigrate hobby breeders and their dogs in attempts to make sale.
Unfortunately,some
people who are well-ensconced in your local dog scene could be
categorized as operating puppy mills. Propective buyers should be
careful to question anyone they are considering as a source for a puppy.
If
you think you've found a puppy mill and wish to
report it there are several actions you can take.
Recue
worker exe witness description of the conditions at one puppy mill are
described in puppymill nightmare. So send us a Mail
Just what is a puppy mill ? 
Well a puppy mill is:
