What if I Stumble Upon a Puppy Mill?
If you suspect a local breeder runs a puppy mill, you will need to proceed with extreme caution. As we’ve already mentioned, laws are extremely lax in many places, and if the breeder isn’t breaking any, you will only be causing yourself trouble by contacting the authorities. However, if you are sure the dogs are being mistreated and need an intervention, you could try contacting the local humane society or the police.
You can call the HSUS Puppy Mill Task Force Tipline at 1-877-MILLTIP if you have information about mistreated animals, and you can also fill out a form with the Humane Society to try to get the animals some help.
States with Preemption Laws – Arizona and Ohio
Despite vigorous opposition from animal advocates, both Arizona and Ohio passed laws undercutting the power of cities and counties to prohibit the retail sale of puppies. Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 331, dubbed the “Petland Bill,” into law on December 19, 2016. As the name suggests, Petland was the driving force behind SB 331. At the time of its passage, several Ohio communities, Toledo and Grove City, had adopted laws that required pet stores to offer only puppies from animal shelters or rescue organizations. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David Pepper lamented the decision, stating, “This bill was a last-minute sneak attack on Ohio voters, citizens, and communities that are taking action to improve their economic fortunes, protect their quality of life, and crack down on horrific abuses against animals.”
And in Arizona, Governor Doug Ducey signed a similar preemption bill in May 2016. Defending his decision, Governor Ducey wrote that the law “ensures puppies being sold in pet shops are coming from responsible breeders” in a public letter. Despite Governor Ducey’s claims, the Arizona law did little to protect consumers or puppies from unscrupulous pet stores. Less than a year later, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) information blackout further weakened the already weak law.
Do Puppy Mills Still Exist?
Yes, puppy mills still exist—about 10,000 in the United States, generating about 2 million puppies per year. The Humane Society of the United States has published a report on a sampling of 100 known puppy mills annually since 2013. Researchers at Bailing Out Benji have identified a national pattern of states where USDA licensed pet breeders are concentrated, called the Puppy Mill Belt. The Puppy Mill Belt stretches north from Texas through much of the midwestern U.S., ending in a panhandle made of Indiana, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Why Puppy Mills Are Legal (And what you can do about it)
When people are looking for animal companionship, purchasing a pet online from a breeder or a pet store can be an accessible (but pricey) place to find a furry friend. They may not realize that municipal animal shelters have much more affordable options for adopting a pet. The process of adopting pets who have been rescued, or purchasing them from a reputable breeder can be invasive and depend on the subjective opinions of the pet vendor or adopting agency, often favoring middle-class, richer, white households. People may also be looking to get a specific breed of dog, perhaps because they are allergic to pet dander. However, because the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards for licensing dog breeders are minimal and poorly enforced, consumers can easily be misled and support breeders who focus on making money at the expense of the welfare of the animals they are caging.
The problem with puppy mills is that they provide a reliable source of income for dog farmers in an industry that is highly unregulated and that can also be highly profitable. With an initial investment of a couple of hundred dollars “for a few breeding pairs, you could be selling puppies for a thousand dollars or more a piece,” yielding “tens of thousands of dollars within a couple of years,” said Sarah Speed of The Humane Society of Pennsylvania in the documentary “Dog by Dog.”
The cruelty of puppy mills also overlaps with the wider problems of animal agriculture. In 2015, the “Dog by Dog” filmmakers found that many puppy mills were USDA-subsidized agricultural producers, for commodities such as dairy, as well as USDA-licensed dog breeding facilities. That puppy mill owners prioritize profit over animal health is typical of practices in the animal agriculture industry.