Support the Santorum/Durbin and Whitfield/Farr Puppy Mill Bill
August 29, 2001
����������Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) and
Representatives Ed Whitfield (R-KY) and Sam Farr (D-CA) have stepped forward
to help crack down on puppy mills. Their "Puppy Protection Act" will help
USDA enforce the Animal Welfare Act by encouraging swift and strong
enforcement against repeat offenders, creating a "three strikes and you're
out" system for chronic violators. The bill will also address the need for
breeding females to be given time to recover between litters. Finally, the
Puppy Protection Act will require that dogs be adequately socialized with
other dogs and with people, enhancing their well-being and helping to ensure
that they will not exhibit behavioral problems in the future.
����������Puppy mills are breeding facilities that mass-produce purebred
puppies, which are typically sold at eight weeks of age to brokers and
retail operations across the U.S. Puppy mill dogs are the "inventory" for
retail pet stores. These facilities treat dogs like widgets in a factory,
breeding females every heat cycle, warehousing dogs and their puppies in
wire cages in tall stacks or in sheds, and denying dogs any meaningful human
companionship. Controversy over puppy mills is not a new phenomenon, and for
decades the media has highlighted these problems in stories running on
20/20, Dateline NBC , Good Morning America, and The Today Show.
* Mistreatment of dogs is a chronic problem at puppy mills. While USDA
identifies legal violations, including substandard veterinary care, poor
quality of food and shelter, overcrowded cages, and the killing of unwanted
animals, these do not necessarily result in conviction or loss of license.
Additionally, chronic problems, such as over-breeding of females,
inbreeding, and total lack of socialization with humans, create grossly
inhumane conditions at puppy mills but are currently not covered by the law.
* Mill dogs are treated as breeding machines. Some dogs are forced to
live in puppy mills for their entire lives. They are kept there for one
reason: to produce puppies nonstop. Repeatedly bred, often with no break
between cycles, these "brood bitches" are often killed or auctioned off to
unknown fates once their reproductive capacity wanes.
* Consumers are defrauded, believing they are purchasing healthy animals.
New puppies from pet stores often face an array of veterinary problems after
purchase or may harbor genetically borne diseases that are not manifested
for years. Few states have laws offering any recourse to consumers and no
state laws are adequate in protecting consumers from the financial loss and
emotional trauma of discovering diseases or serious behavioral problems
commonly associated with puppy mill dogs. The federal role in arresting
these problems is key�puppy mills are regulated by USDA and puppies are
typically shipped to pet stores across state lines.
* USDA enforcement would benefit from stronger provisions of law. USDA
data reveal that more than 3,000 mills currently operate in the U.S., many
despite repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). USDA has
approximately 80 inspectors to enforce the AWA and oversee all animals in
zoos, circuses, laboratories, airlines, and puppy mills�an average of 50
puppy mill facilities alone per agent per year (on top of their other
responsibilities). In 1984, the General Accounting Office found major
deficiencies in the enforcement of the AWA regulations concerning puppy
mills. Despite improvements in its inspection process, USDA lacks the
resources and authority to do the job the public expects.
* Problems at puppy mills continue to grow. Unfortunately, data show that
puppy mill sales may be growing. Last year, Dateline NBC ran a story on
USDA's lack of enforcement of violations at puppy mills. This program
generated a groundswell of citizen concern that something must be done to
stop this inhumane industry from railroading federal inspectors, defrauding
consumers, and causing suffering and illness in the dogs it mass-produces
for profit.
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