Puppy Mills Ethical

Imagine a puppy that’s hungry, scared, thirsty, and overcrowded. This may be what it was like where your puppy came from. Think about going to the pet store, seeing the cute little puppies in the glass, looking back at you in excitement. Some jump with joy; some sleep their little hearts away, tired from meeting so many new people, and others fight over the toy with the puppy next to them. You would never think for a second that where they had been born and spent roughly the first 12 weeks of their lives was in a dreadful environment. These places are Puppy Mills. They are large-scale dog breeding facilities that are usually unsanitary and very overcrowded. They don’t make sure the dogs have adequate food, water, socialization; nor do they ensure

In addition to pet owners being irresponsible with breeding practices, some owners believe that they can breed the animals for a profit. They do not take into consideration the moral or

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.

One example is that the cages are made of wire that cuts at the paws, legs, and stomachs of the dogs. Critics may argue that not very much of the wire is sharp enough to cut the dogs, however even if it is not sharp, the cages are stacked in columns and the hounds legs fall through the gaps in the wire. Also, the dogs are very likely to be kept in tiny cage with many other dogs. A few rescues, such as the National Puppy Mill Rescue report that when they go to rescue dogs, some of the cages have rusted closed. That shows that the dogs are stuck standing, almost on top of each other 24/7. In addition many dogs are starved. Laws do not put limits on the number of dogs that puppy mills can have at a time, so most of the time the dogs are neglected and don’t have food or water. “The greatest nation and it’s moral progress can be judged on the way it’s animals are treated.” -Gandhi. If we live by what Gandhi says, that the United States would be a awful and corrupt place to live, because of its puppy

Dog breeding is dangerous because to make a perfect dog they too often inbreed and cause birth defects and other health issues in dogs. Terry Allen, an “In These Times” senior editor who has written the magazine’s monthly investigative health and science column since 2006, argues in “We’re Breeding Dogs to Death” that “neither price, pedigree nor being loved like a member of the family can shield a dog from the pain, breathing difficulties, cancer, panoply of debilitating genetic disorders, mental illness, crippling physiognomy and shortened life span that disproportionately plague purebreds.” The article “Selective Breeding or Artificial Selection” explains that in dogs, the “frequency of being homozygous for rare recessive disorders increases when inbreeding occurs, potentially causing severe

So we should treat all dogs like they are our best friends. We shouldn’t allow the abuse of dogs in puppy mills in our country. Dogs in puppy mills are physically and mentally abused on a daily basis in puppy mills. Confining humans into small rooms in which the sit in their urine and feces is abuse and illegal. It can land someone in prison for years. Confining dogs in small cages in which they sit in their own feces is abuse and is illegal in some states. Unfortunately, it can only land the breeder with a fine and the breeder can continue to abuse the dogs. There aren’t any stories about women being forced to have babies back to back until they can’t produce anymore and then they are either killed or left for dead. There aren’t any stories on this because it’s slavery and is illegal. Swap out the women in this story and put in female dogs. It’s now no longer considered slavery and is legal. The United states allows puppy mills to still stand tall in our country. It is shameful that these inhumane puppy mills get away with so much abuse. The USDA has implemented laws against puppy mills but don’t enforce the laws with stronger consequences. So puppy mills just pay fines on abusing their dogs. The fact that the laws don’t help shows that we need a bigger solution. The United States needs to ban puppy mills for the abuse they inflicted on dogs. All dogs deserve to have freedom to run around, socialize, and play. Dogs are not our slaves. They are

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

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

Many breeders refer to these separate cages as “honeymoon suites” to put a positive spin for the public (“Bailing Out Benji”). Obviously, many puppies are littered this way, but many do not know what happens to the mothers after they cannot reproduce. Mentioned earlier, they are killed or left to die. Following all the facts, it is clear that the killing of these breeder dogs is a major problem (Ibid.).

Cook county recently released a new ordinance prohibiting pet stores from selling dogs, dogs that were born in puppy mills. There has been speculation in the Chicago-land area of store-bought pets were acquiring diseases early in their life. In a report from Mrs. Bagby’s 8th graders, 89% of students know someone who has had a dog or cat from a mill. A numerous about This ordinance came after affect from countless complaints that pets are obtaining diseases and dying within weeks of adoption. Julie Wellisch, whose dog was raised in a puppy mill, stated that “My dog has seen diseases within weeks of coming out of the puppy mills. Coincidence? Studies show otherwise. Evidence shows that dogs from puppy mills are more susceptible to disease than

In the article “why you should adopt a shelter animal” the author, Emilie Plesset states that “the financial cost for adopting a shelter animal is almost always less than purchasing an animal from a breeder”. The costs for health benefits such as having the dog spayed or neutered , having the dog microchipped and all necessary vaccinations are all included on the cost of a shelter dog. This is all important to consider when looking to find the perfect pet to add to a family. A purebred dog from a breeder could encounter some health issues as it begins to grow. Many breeders breed the dogs so they will have certain features. When this happens it makes the breed more prone to some diseases that could fluctuate the dogs lifespan. In the article “ Problems common to purebred dogs” it states that, “The main problem with purebreds stems from the simple fact that to create a purebred puppy you need two dogs from the exact same gene pool. This gene pool is already limited, but many breeders will use dogs from the same family gene pool to create more dogs (inbreeding).” This is proving that with purebred dogs there could be some health issues caused by

An important decision for all new pet owners is wether to adopt or buy from a breeder. Many people choose to buy dogs and cats from a breeder because they want a specific breed and they want a young puppy or kitten. However, many young animal lovers are trying to sway the publics opinion on rescuing animals. In an effort to prevent homeless animals, New Jersey has taken made plans to regulate inhumane puppy mills, hopefully setting

Subtopic: These puppy mills are dreadful because the animals live in poor conditions with improper medical care.

The article, “Animal Welfare in Modern Dog Breeding” by Astrid Indrebø focuses on show dogs and dog show’s role in selective breeding. It highlights how selective breeding has been used to create specific characteristics in each breed. Indrebø (2008) explains that, “A judge may easily contribute to making a breed a nuisance by promoting "over-typing", which may consequently lead to health damage” (p. 1). The judges will select the dogs with over exaggerated characteristics to the breed standard and it will lead to that dog being bred over and over. As the winning dog passes down their genes they are passing their health issues as well. Unlike the other two articles, Indrebø looks at dog shows as the beginning of the cycle for health issues in dogs, while the other two address the Kennel Clubs directly. The first article reviewed was more general and this article goes into the sources of selective breeding and how the judges in some cases are putting the future generation of dogs in danger, focusing on the ethics of not only selective breeding, but dog shows as well. The Animal Welfare in Modern Dog Breeding article, like the second article, gives options to improving standards for the wellbeing of the dogs. The options include screening programs, national disease register, and basic rules. Just because the rules in kennel clubs are becoming stricter does not mean the health of the dog

The dog ends up costing a lot financially and emotionally. The problem lays in the fact that not many dog owners do not know the potential health obstacles that their newly purchased purebred may have to face. Sometimes, breeders don’t know the extent of the negative side effects of their specific trait breeding because they are not the ones having to raise the sick, temperamental dog; but more times than not they do not care about the problems that will ensue, because they have become normal over the years, and are now expected. The administrators that make the regulations for Kennel Clubs and the breeders that follow the standards are the main contributors to the increase of health issues and decrease of animal welfare in dogs, this is because they rather devote their time refining one specific quality that is deemed desirable, rather than the overall health of the animal.