Animal Abuse : Puppy Mills

There are many reasons why puppy mills are considered very cruel facilities. One being that the dogs in the facility are kept in very confined cages with multiple other dogs, meaning they live in their own excrement. Adult dogs are bred until they cannot breed anymore and then they are put to death or discarded. Many of the dogs suffer from malnutrition or starvation because of the lack of and unsanitariness of the food. This leads to the dogs getting sick; the dogs receive little or no veterinary care. Also, puppies are taken from their mothers at a very young age meaning most of them suffer from behavioral problems.

http://www.economist.com/node/17468228 This link tells about the extremely vague laws towards puppy mills, the eye witness says that

Considering your company already faced a class action lawsuit for peddling unhealthy puppy mill dogs all the way back in 2009 and you still haven’t taken action to solve the problem really surprised me. Thankfully starting in 2010, dogs that came from puppy mills were no longer aloud to be sold at Petland. Even though the puppy mill problem was solved, that does not mean there weren’t any other problems that needed to be addressed.

Because puppy mills focus on profit, dogs are often bred with little regard for genetic quality. Puppy mill puppies are prone to congenital and hereditary conditions including heart disease and blood and respiratory disorders. In addition, puppy mill puppies often arrive in pet stores and in their new homes with diseases or infirmities ranging from parasites to pneumonia. Because puppies are removed from their littermates and mothers at a young age, they also often suffer from fear, anxiety and other behavioral problems.

It does not matter if the mill has six dogs or sixty. The people that operate puppy mills just want to make money. The ASPCA has reported that it is common practice for those operating a puppy mill keep their animals in overcrowded unsanitary conditions. Often the animals they house do not get regular vet care, because they are in the business to make money. People that run puppy mills seldom ever treat their dogs with kindness. Have you ever wondered what happens to those dogs that were used for breeding in puppy mills once they get too old? They are not usually house-broke or have learned the basic dog commands. Will they find a forever home, if taken to the animal shelter or will they be destroyed, because they are old, and no one wants to put forth effort to train an old

Even more disturbing, most of these puppies do not receive the correct attention or affection from the very things they love the most; us. They don’t get to run around and exercise the way dogs were meant to. Their well-being is not important to the facilities. Increasing the profit is the sole focus and goal. Because of this, puppies are repeatedly born sick and their life expectancy is decreased. As terrible as this is, these are the very real and disturbing circumstances for puppies living in puppy mills; if you’d even want to call it that. They should be shut down completely, and banned by the government throughout the nation.

One of the most disturbing problems out of many, in puppy farming, is the nightmarish conditions in which the dogs are kept. These innocent animals are kept in constant confinement, packed together in ridiculously small cages. As well as living in cramped conditions, they are also neglected by their “caring” breeders, and have almost no human contact until they leave the farm. A lack of human contact can lead to many problems, such as aggressive behaviour, and extreme antisocial behaviour. In a recent news article, the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA) shut down a puppy farm in Carlow, Ireland. Inspectors described the scene as “appalling and horrific”. The ISPCA also reported that “dead animals were strewn around the premises,” and the animals that were not dead were in urgent need of attention. This harrowing report sickens me and highlights the exact reason why puppy farming

In America there are well over 1,000 research facilities, over 2,800 exhibitors, and about 4,500 dealers that are supposed to be inspected each year to make sure the living conditions are ok and the animals are being treated humanly (NP). There are three APHIS sector offices with approximately only 70 veterinary inspectors who are supposed to inspect these facilities. This meaning that there are only 70 inspectors to cover over 8,300 facilities (NP). If America wants to start seeing a change in the way these dogs at puppy mills are being treated, there needs to be a fight for more investigators, a boycott to stop buying puppies from pet stores, and more exposure of local puppy mills.

A: Pet mills put money and profit, before the health of the animals they are breeding. Animals from these mills are usually living in disgusting conditions, and not getting the medical care that they need (Sheeter, n.d.). Because of this, the animals can get very prone to sickness, and have behavioural problems. They are left in small crates, squished together, have terrible diets, and dirty water (Sheeter, n.d.). A lot of dogs have been neglected or abused and have had little attention, interaction with humans or other animals, or obedience trainings. They were not treated with any sort or respect or appreciation or care, and they deserve that. The mums of the puppies are caged and constantly bred until they no longer can, they do not get

The puppy mills, like every other corporation is willing to do anything to bring in more profit. To make that possible they go to the extent and ignore the welfare of the dogs being held in their facilities. In order to bring in more profit a vast amount of dogs is required to be sold to exceed their incomes. Which then leads them to overbreed their female dogs to the extreme in order to meet their criteria. We, as the consumers, put a high demand on puppies therefore puts a large amount of pressure on the puppy mills to fulfil our wants.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) describes puppy mills situation to be overcrowded, unsanitary, without adequate food, water, and veterinary health care. Female dogs are even bred at every opportunity without a rest to maximize profit (“Puppy Mills”). Dogs are kept locked up in wired cages, stacked on top one another and sometimes their excrements are not properly monitored. Thus, this leads to unknown genetic disorders and poor genetic quality which makes it difficult for the dogs to live for a long time. In the end, it will cause a lot of stress and problems for the family down the road due to the dogs’ health. Many people who are unaware of these living conditions often tend to overlook their puppies neglect and suffering. When purchasing a new pet from a pet store, many people do not wonder where their pet may have come from, instead, they are more engulf in their excitement to bring home a new family

Imagine being locked in a cage for the rest of your life hardly bigger than the size of your body, imagine you were unable to go outside and see the daylight, denied attention, and given barely enough food and water to live on. As alarming as this may seem, these conditions are simply the reality of what dogs in puppy mills are like in.

Puppy mills house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions without proper care, food, water, or socialization.

The other side of the story comes from the pet store owners who sell puppies. “They say preventing pet shops from selling dogs won’t stop the operation of puppy mills, which could just sell to consumers directly, either online or in person. Taking out the middleman, they say, just removes another layer of protective oversight for the consumer. (Hoffer) . Outlandish as it sounds some “pet lovers often cite that, for them, buying a dog at a pet store is easier than dealing with breeders, who are sometimes labeled as “overprotective,” asking potential owners to fill out papers, sign contracts, and outlining what the new owners can and cannot do with their dogs.” (Lotz). For a pet lover to not appreciate that someone else can want to make sure that their puppy is going to someone who will take care it seems hard to believe and, honestly I would question that person’s true commitment. I know that some rescues want to make sure that you have a fenced in yard (or a security fencing of some sort), that your children are old enough to handle a dog, and you do sign a contract agreeing that if you ever do decide to get rid of the dog you will return it to the rescue. All of these stipulations seem fair and in the best interest of both the family and the dog.

Puppy mills mass produce dogs without regard for their safety, health, mental health and any regards for their life. To maximize potential profits female dogs are bred nonstop with little or none recovery time. Dogs in puppy mills are usually kept in cages with wired flooring causing injury to the dog 's paws and legs. (Puppy Mills) The puppies that come from puppy mills are prone to physical birth defects and genetic diseases from birth. (Puppy Mills) Some are Heart disease and different types of respiratory disorders. When the puppies arrive at the pet stores and their new homes are usually rampant with diseases and parasites. (Puppy Mills) From a result of puppies being forcefully removed from their littermates and mothers at an extremely young age of around eight weeks, they suffer from emotional and behavioral issues