Jenny Peaslee
Writing 1150
 Living Conditions:
 FACT: “This is frequently the case because these animals are inbred and raised in
terrible conditions, and that results in medical problems, behavioral problems …
often that leads to those animals winding up in our animal shelters,” he said.
(Global Animal)
 FACT: Cori Menkin, senior director of legislative initiatives for the American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, has seen “horrific” conditions
there, with up to 1,000 breeding bitches under one roof. The worst of these
“puppy mills” are filthy with urine and piled-up faces. The animals have such
matted coats that they cannot defecate properly. Some bitches freeze to death;
others spend their whole lives on wire-floored cages, unable to walk on solid
ground. (The Economist)
 FACT: In the documentary, Kathleen Summers, manager of The HSUS's Puppy
Mill campaign, explains, "At puppy mills, dogs basically spend their entire lives
in small wire cages. They never get out for exercise. They don't have treats or
toys. They don't have, often, clean food or water, and they're basically there to do
nothing but make babies." (Humane Society)
 CLAIM: Producer Kelly Colbert has herself been a "foster mother" for puppy mill
dogs, so "Madonna of the Mills" is a very personal project for her. She says the
documentary is important viewing for everyone, "especially those still tempted to
buy a puppy from a pet store despite the virtual inevitability that the pup was born
of suffering, and the fact that buying a puppy mill puppy will condemn the
breeding dogs to a lifetime of misery." (Humane Society)
 Common Problems:
 FACT: “They’re just bred incessantly in horrendous conditions,” he says bluntly,
“and as soon as they don’t come into heat regularly, they take them out and shoot
them.” (Genzlinger, Neil)
 FACT: Many of the breeding kennels had malnourished adult breeding dogs and
severely ill puppies. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 FACT: Shain, director of the society's Stop Puppy Mills campaign, launched the
inquiry after receiving complaints about ailing puppies purchased online and at
pet stores and tips that high-volume breeding and selling operations had taken
root in Virginia. Among findings: (Peters, Sharon L.)
 A breeder with a criminal record for animal cruelty was selling hundreds of
puppies on the Internet. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 Some pet-store puppies were 6 weeks old. The Animal Welfare Act sets the
cutoff at 8 weeks. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 FACT: Ms Preston admits that there are only 12 inspectors and that, between
them, they have to check on more than 2,800 facilities each year—including
breeding sheds, dog pounds and pet shops. And with puppies selling for $50-200
each, the fines levied are so low that they are simply seen by unscrupulous
breeders as part of the cost of doing business. (The Economist)
 FACT: Under federal law, breeders with more than three breeding females must
be licensed — and subject to inspections — if they sell animals to pet stores.
Many Virginia pet-store suppliers are ignoring that and operating without
licenses, Shain says; many other breeders are bypassing it by selling directly to
consumers. The society will send its findings today to federal and local
authorities. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 History:
 FACT: SACRAMENTO — Citing "squalid conditions" at Midwestern puppy
breeding farms, animal rights groups on Tuesday successfully lobbied the Senate
Judiciary Committee to approve a bill that would prohibit bringing into the state
puppies under 12 weeks old without their mothers. (Wilson, Noel K.)
 FACT: The committee, after hearing an hour of emotional testimony from
supporters and opponents of the bill, voted 7-1 to, in effect, impose a statewide
boycott on so-called "puppy mills" that mass breed dogs in small wire cages,
frequently unprotected from the elements. (Wilson, Noel K.)
 FACT: Since last December, officials have revoked or refused 11 kennel licenses,
and they are in the process of revoking three more. Before the 2008 law was
passed, officials had already stepped up efforts to regulate the kennels, revoking
41 licenses in 2007 and in early 2008, compared with only 3 in 2006. (Hurdle,
Jon)
 Regions/Cultures of Prevalence:
 FACT: Iowa ranks third in the number of puppy mills, and second in the number
of puppies sold with more than 74,000 purchased per year. (KCCI)
 FACT: In Iowa, there are some 100,000 puppies right now being bred to be sold.
About half the breeders are licensed by the state, while the other half are licensed
by the USDA. Federal inspectors are currently allowed inside USDA-licensed
businesses but Iowa law does not allow state inspectors inside the federally
licensed facilities. (KCCI)
 FACT: SAN DIEGO — Smugglers are flooding the Southern California pet
market with disease-ridden puppies from Mexico, prompting law enforcement
crackdowns, raising public health concerns and breaking the hearts of owners who
watch their dogs die, often within hours of buying them. Animal control officials
estimate that hundreds, perhaps thousands, of puppies have died since an
underground market, stretching from puppy mills in Mexico to street corners in
San Diego and Los Angeles, was uncovered last year. (Marosi, Richard))
 FACT: LaHay said in 2007 -- the USDA cited 59 percent of its Iowa breeders
with violating the animal welfare act. (KCCI)
 FACT: “Puppy Mills,” an episode of “Animal Cops: Philadelphia” having its
premiere Monday on Animal Planet, spends much of its time detailing a raid last
year at Limestone Kennel in Lancaster County, Pa., where the Pennsylvania
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals found almost 90 dogs living in
conditions that more than justify the “viewer discretion” warning at the beginning
of the program. (Genzlinger, Neil)
 FACT: Bucolic Virginia is quietly poised to become one of the nation's preeminent puppy mill states, according to a months-long investigation to be released
today. Investigators for The Humane Society of the United States found more
than 900 dog breeders "churning out puppies" from massive barns, trailers, sheds
and backyard cages in "deplorable" conditions, according to the white paper
chronicling the findings. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 FACT: ODD as it seems, the state of Missouri is home to 1,462 licensed
commercial dog breeders. Between them, they breed about 1m puppies a year.
About 40% of all the dogs that end up in pet shops across America are born in
Missouri’s smaller country towns. (The Economist)
 Laws/Movements Against Puppy Mills:
 FACT: Rep. Jim Lykam tried and failed for 2 years to get puppy mill legislation
passed. "We're looking at going after the bad actors and unlicensed ones," Lykam
said. The bill would raise yearly fees for breeders to $175. (KCCI)
 FACT: "Madonna of the Mills" focuses on the activities of Laura, a New York
woman who has devoted the last several years to rescuing breeding dogs who are
no longer of value to the many Amish and Mennonite puppy millers in Lancaster
County, Penn. She has managed to save more than 2,000 dogs who otherwise
would have most likely been discarded or killed when their breeding days were
over. (Humane Society)
 CLAIM: The society believes as many as 4 million puppy-mill puppies are born
annually, and states must step in to fill federal-law gaps and oversee large
commercial breeders. (Peters, Sharon L.)
 FACT: The motion to draft a law banning the mills was approved, including a few
compassionate bonus features. The Los Angeles city council seeks not only to put
an end to puppy mills, but create more opportunities for families to adopt shelter
animals. The puppy mills, institutionalized breeding facilities that promote
inbreeding and animal cruelty, take advantage of both people and animals.
(Global Animal)
 FACT: The motion, which was introduced by City Councilman Paul Koretz and
was approved unanimously, also asks the department to arrange frequent adoption
drives for shelter animals at licensed pet stores. (Global Animal)
 FACT: Los Angeles – The City Council today instructed the Department of
Animal Services to draft a law banning the commercial breeding of dogs, cats,
rabbits and chickens in Los Angeles and the sale of factory-bred animals in pet
stores. (Global Animal)
 FACT: Animal-rights supporters claim that the laws governing these breeding
sheds are vague, unenforceable and insufficient to maintain even the most
rudimentary care. This is why they gathered more than 190,000 signatures in
support of the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act—an exercise in direct
democracy that was passed on November 2nd to improve conditions in the state’s
breeding facilities. (The Economist)
 FACT: The groups created the ballot initiative after repeatedly failing to get bills
passed by the Missouri General Assembly, explains Barbara Schmitz, director of
the Missouri branch of the Humane Society. She estimates that licensed premises
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may account for only half the number of puppy mills in the state. There are
probably as many unlicensed ones, adding up to almost 3,000 in all, operating
under laws that have not been updated in 18 years. (The Economist)
FACT: In 2009 the Missouri Department of Agriculture, which oversees breeders,
created a programme called Operation Bark Alert. Under this, individuals can
report unlicensed breeders to the state. According to Misti Preston, a spokesman
for the department, the initiative has helped rescue more than 3,600 dogs and put
180 unlicensed commercial breeders out of business. (The Economist)
FACT: It allows no more than 50 breeding bitches in any one facility. Breeders
with more than ten will have to provide sufficient food and clean water, veterinary
care, regular exercise and adequate rest between breeding cycles. The amendment
also regulates the size of kennels, so that the animals have room to stretch. Any
violation of this law will count as a class C misdemeanor, carrying a maximum
penalty of up to 15 days in jail and a fine of up to $300, still rather low. (The
Economist)
FACT: The action represented the largest closing so far under a 2008 law
intended to crack down on what critics say are cruel conditions in hundreds of
commercial kennels that have given Pennsylvania a reputation as the “puppy
mill” capital of the East. (Hurdle, Jon)
FACT: The law increases minimum cage sizes, requires veterinary care and
exercise periods, and bans wire flooring, all changes that take effect in October.
Provisions that allowed the closing of the Emmaus kennel are already in effect.
(Hurdle, Jon)
 Animals Saved from the Puppy Mills (BUSTS):
 FACT: The Department of Animal Services took in about 55,000 animals last
year and expects that number to rise this year. It euthanizes about 25 percent of
dogs and 50 percent of cats that wind up in shelters. (Global Animal)
 FACT: Animal control raided a local breeder with 225 dogs, living in
questionable conditions, at a suspected puppy mill near Clewiston. Officials say
there was no a/c for the animals and some have skin and eye infections. Peter
Schaller reports. (CBS12)
 FACT: In July, a kennel in Tioga County was shut down because dogs were kept
in unsanitary conditions. Eighteen dogs were taken to animal-rescue centers, and
the owner was cited for 57 violations of the law. (Hurdle, Jon)
 FACT: After reports from a former employee about inhumane conditions at the
kennel, the owner, Derbe Eckhart, lost his state license. The kennel continued to
operate, however, and in June, state officials shut it down and moved 218 dogs to
temporary shelters. (Hurdle, Jon)
 FACT: At the Almost Heaven kennel, a commercial dog breeder in Emmaus, Pa.,
more than 200 dogs lived in wire-floored cages and suffered from matted fur, ear
infections and mange because of dirty conditions and a lack of veterinary care,
according to state officials. (Hurdle, Jon)