There's long overdue action on the issue of puppy mills, and the issue got some much-needed attention yesterday from the federal government. Sens. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and David Vitter (R-La.) took a big step in their effort to crack down on these abusive mass-breeding facilities by introducing the PUPS Act (Puppy Uniform Protection Statute, S. 3424) -- legislation that would close a massive loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that currently allows large, commercial breeders who sell puppies online and directly to the public to escape licensing, regulation, and inspection. A companion bill in the House of Representatives is expected to be introduced by Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Bill Young (R-Fla.) within the next day or two.
The legislation came right on the heels of the release of a damning report by the USDA's Office of the Inspector General (OIG), the law enforcement arm of the agency, that criticized the USDA's long history of lax oversight of commercial dog breeders (identified as dealers in the report) under the Animal Welfare Act. The report (PDF) reviewed inspections and enforcement actions taken against dog dealers from 2006-2008 and found that USDA inspectors failed to cite or properly document inhumane treatment and brought little to no enforcement actions against violators. OIG observed horrible conditions at dog facilities inspected by the USDA, including dogs needing medical treatment, dogs covered in ticks, starving dogs who had resorted to eating dogs who had already died, and dogs who had swarms of cockroaches and insects crawling through their food bowls. The USDA responded to the violations by taking little or no enforcement action, according to the report, and even failed to confiscate suffering or dying animals.
From the report: "At the re-inspection of 4,250 violators, inspectors found that 2,416 repeatedly violated AWA [the Animal Welfare Act], including some that ignored minimum care standards. Therefore, relying heavily on education for serious or repeat violators -- without an appropriate level of enforcement -- weakened the agency's ability to protect the animals."
Of course, The Humane Society of the United States has been saying for years that the USDA has historically allowed puppy mills to violate the law without fear of any kind of aggressive enforcement actions. Last week, I was pleased to hear the Obama administration publicly announce that the USDA would take a tougher stance on Animal Welfare Act enforcement, by conducting more inspections and imposing higher fines. We're glad to hear it, and we're grateful to Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack for stepping up the enforcement actions.
The report also highlighted how some large dog dealers are escaping USDA oversight because they sell dogs over the Internet or directly to the public, and the OIG recommended legislative change to require that all applicable breeders selling through the Internet be regulated under the Animal Welfare Act. The USDA's own interpretation of the term "retail pet store" provided these puppy millers an exemption -- something battled out in court and ultimately left to the agency's discretion. Many of the puppy mill raids The HSUS has assisted on over the last several years have been at such facilities, so we've seen firsthand how much this legislation is needed. The USDA has now agreed to this recommendation and we hope Congress will soon take action by passing the PUPS Act.
In response to pressure from their constituents and in the interest of addressing animal cruelty, legislators in many states have also stepped up to pass laws and regulations to protect dogs at these facilities. Just this year, Oklahoma and Iowa, the second- and third-largest puppy mill states, respectively, behind Missouri, passed legislation to crack down on puppy mills. And our efforts are moving forward in Missouri to put the issue on the ballot there this November. Not all states have laws regulating commercial dog breeders though, so it's essential that the USDA aggressively enforce the law.
Of course, at the heart of the puppy mill issue is consumer education, something The HSUS has worked on for decades. "We only use USDA-licensed breeders" is one of the common but hollow assurances pet store staff give when pushing puppy mill puppies on the sales floor. What The HSUS has long noted is that a puppy mill inspected by the USDA is still a puppy mill. Dogs kept for breeding still suffer for years on end in tiny cages and have almost zero hope of having a loving home of their own. This point was underscored just last week on "Animal Planet Investigates: Petland," a one-hour special about The HSUS's investigation into the nation's largest retail supporter of puppy mills.
Yesterday's report and legislative introduction should serve as a warning to all those who protect this dubious industry -- from "kennel clubs" to pet stores to lobbying front groups who claim to care about purebred dog breeding, but in fact only care about how much money they can make peddling loads of puppies. Your days of abusing dogs for profit while snubbing the laws of this country and many states are coming to an end.
This post originally appeared on Pacelle's blog, A Humane Nation.
Sadly, while the general intent of better USDA control and enforcement of large scale breeders is incredibly important, closing the loop whole as currently suggested would turn EVERY breeder into a "USDA" facility. Some large scale mills are selling directly to consumers, yet reputable breeders often have websites. Further, most every American uses the internet and telephone as a way to converse. Ironically, this law, would create an environment where every breeder in the US would have to be a USDA facility and every breeder would potentially violate this new law, as we communicate with potential puppy buyers using both above formats. This law does not distinguish between reputable sources and puppy mills. Truly HSUS wants to outlaw breeding period!
I hardly think that someone who breeds dogs as a hobby should be inspected by the USDA or have to open up their home for inspections.
Hillary, HSUS
She would brag and brag and brag and annoy the hell out of the rest of us about HER babies and would demand days off from work to celebrate the animals' birthdays and adoption days.
We tolerated her, because we felt she was better off having dogs than children.
We also would ask her about the breeders she dealt with. Was she sure that her dogs were not in-bred, could she be certain that the paperwork told the whole story? Oh, yes, she said.
One day, she did not come into work. We called her house and discovered that her latest half-grown puppy, Gretel, had cornered her in the garage and tore off her left arm.
When she was released from the hospital with several hundred stitches and only partial use of her arm, she had her husband drive her to Gretel's grave --- he had taken a shotgun and blown out Gretel's brains and then kicked the corpse --- and spit on it. She then switched to cocker spaniels: Muffy, Fluffy, Puffy, Stuffy ...
Keep up the thoughts. Thinking is good.