Microsoft Word - Puppy Mills Report.docx

The Humane Society of the United States

Puppy Mills: Then and Now, © The Humane Society of The United States 2012 Page 1

Puppy Mills Then and Now

A Decade of Progress

“A puppy mill is an inhumane dog breeding operation, which offers dogs for monetary

compensation or remuneration, in which the physical, psychological and/or behavioral needs

of the dogs are not being fulfilled due to inadequate housing, shelter, staffing, nutrition,

socialization, sanitation, exercise, veterinary care, and/or inappropriate breeding.”

History:

According to Canis Major V. publications, puppy mills originated in the post-World War II era.

Midwestern farmers looking for an alternative crop reacted to a growing demand for purebred puppies,

resulting in the development of the first commercial puppy businesses. As the business grew, both

small and large retail outlets began to sell puppies through pet departments. At around the same time,

the first pet store chains were born.

Through indifference or ignorance, many puppies were left

unsocialized or exposed in existing chicken coops or rabbit hutches. In addition, veterinary care for

these puppies was often overlooked. As a result, organizations such as The Humane Society of the

United States began to investigate breeding kennels, leading to the passage of the Animal Welfare Act of

August 24, 1966.

We estimate that there are about 10,000 puppy mills located around the country.

A legal definition for the term "puppy mill" was established in Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, 960

(United States District Court, D. Minnesota, Sixth Division January 17, 1984): "a dog breeding operation

Definition as agreed by multiple animal welfare organizations and pet industry businesses and organizations.

Canis Major Publications (2007). "Just what is a puppy mill?"

United State Department of Agriculture (2003-08-21). "Animal Welfare Act"

Humane Society of the United States (2007-07-17). "FAQs"

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Puppy Mills: Then and Now, © The Humane Society of The United States 2012 Page 2

in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize

profits."

Although pet overpopulation has declined somewhat over the past 20 years, largely due to pet owner

education and spay/ neuter efforts, The HSUS estimates that three to four million dogs and cats are still

euthanized each year for lack of homes in animal shelters across the country. Meanwhile the puppy mill

industry churns out an estimated two to four million puppies per year for the pet trade, flooding the

market with puppies who are often poorly bred and whose parents will spend their entire lives in small

wire cages. In contrast to responsible breeders who only produce small numbers of puppies that are

carefully raised in their homes, puppy mill puppies are often sick due to the overcrowded and unsanitary

conditions in which they are born.

The HSUS Puppy Mills Campaign:

The Puppy Mills Campaign for The Humane Society of the United States is the largest, most aggressive,

and most successful campaign fighting against the inhumane commercial dog breeding industry. With

five full-time animal welfare experts, supported by more than 11 million constituents throughout the

country, the campaign has made significant and meaningful strides towards eliminating this problem.

Widespread Success

I. Consumer Education and Outreach

As the largest member-based animal welfare organization, The HSUS has an extensive reach into all

social media driven markets. This strength enables us to get the word out quickly and initiate advocacy

and engagement within a very short time frame. The HSUS maintains one of the top three most watched

non-profit YouTube channels. In 2012, our staff-produced videos on YouTube were viewed by 9.34

million people. One video alone, the story of Billy, a dog rescued from a North Carolina puppy mill last

fall, was seen by 500,000 people in just seven days.

The HSUS has 1.4 million supporters who regularly receive our emails that encourage action on a wide-

range of animal welfare issues. As a result, nearly two million actions were taken on behalf of animals

last year. Our main HSUS Facebook page maintains 1.6 million fans and hundreds of thousands of others

through an additional 100 pages and groups. Though relatively new, more than 54,000 people now

subscribe to our SMS alerts and 180,000 people follow our work on Twitter. Our website,

humanesociety.org, receives 1.3 million unique page views per month.

This capacity is critical to the success of the campaign’s Puppy Mill Action Week, which runs advertising

in numerous markets and engages thousands of individuals to learn more and do something about

puppy mills. The campaign also recruits pet stores to sign a pledge not to sell puppies and encourages

these stores to work with local shelters and rescue groups to encourage pet adoption. The Puppy

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Puppy Mills: Then and Now, © The Humane Society of The United States 2012 Page 3

Friendly Pet Store initiative has signed up more than 2,000 stores within the past few years in nearly

every state in the country.

II. Investigations

Pet store investigations conducted by The HSUS have led to significant

increases in consumer awareness of the connection between pet stores

and puppy mills and have put the pet industry on the defensive. In

2007, an HSUS exposé revealed that the upscale Los Angeles pet store,

Pets of Bel Air, which reportedly sold puppies to celebrities such as

Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, was obtaining its puppies from puppy

mills.

The investigation led directly to a consumer lawsuit and the

store shut down the following year.

On November 20, 2008, The HSUS revealed the results of an eight

month investigation of Petland stores. The investigation revealed that

Petland stores across the country marketed puppy mill puppies to

unsuspecting consumers. At the time of the investigation, there were

140 Petland stores in the U.S. and 60 in other countries. Collectively,

these stores sold tens of thousands of puppies each year. The HSUS

investigators reviewed USDA and/or state kennel inspection reports on

over 100 of Petland’s breeders, and found that more than 60 percent of

the reports listed serious violations of basic animal care regulations. In

the wake of this investigation—which was followed by nationwide demonstrations at Petland stores

and an “Animal Planet Investigates” episode on Petland in 2010 (featuring new HSUS undercover

footage)—Petland’s business has substantially declined internationally and dozens of Petland stores

went out of business.

Our 2011 investigation into New York City pet stores, released during the holiday buying season,

connected some of the worst puppy mills in the Midwest to the upscale stores in Manhattan and

showed that consumers were often deceived by pet store sales people who claimed that the store did

not use puppy mills as suppliers. Our pre-investigation research showed that some of these stores

bought puppies from mills listed on The HSUS “Missouri Dirty Dozen” report. Our investigation was

covered extensively by television and print news media in New York State.

In 2012, we conducted an investigation into puppies sold at Chicagoland stores—again, visiting in-

person a dozen stores to find out what consumers are told about the origin of the puppies being sold.

Our pre-investigation research analyzing certificates of veterinary inspection showed that pet stores in

“Defunct pet store Pets of Bel Air fined $4.8 million in lawsuit alleging it sold puppies obtained from puppy mills.”

Los Angeles Times. August 11,2009, can be found at: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/08/pets-of-

bel-air-puppy-mill-

judgement.htmlhttp://www.bluemaumau.org/11665/worst_25_franchises_highest_failure_rates_2012

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the Chicago area obtained puppies from breeders on The HSUS Missouri Dirty Dozen list and other

licensed and unlicensed mills in the Midwest, including Wanda Kretzman’s in Minnesota—a facility with

over 1,000 dogs and numerous violations of the minimum standards of the Animal Welfare Act. This

investigation was also released during the holiday buying season, resulting in local media attention and

several calls from whistleblowers who had worked in one of the stores we investigated. The HSUS

investigators also checked to see whether the Chicago stores are in compliance with the relatively new

"pet shop disclosure law." Investigators found most of the Chicago stores in violation of the law, which

requires the prominent display of breeder identity and location for each puppy displayed for sale.

III. Litigation and Enforcement

The HSUS’s legal team has been very active in the puppy mill arena. The HSUS attorneys have won a

series of precedent-setting court rulings upholding laws regulating commercial breeders in Florida,

Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and just this past week, Texas. These cases have confirmed the states’

constitutional authority to regulate dog breeding, enabling legislative reforms in other states.

The HSUS’s legal team has also filed a number of lawsuits on behalf of consumers defrauded by the

puppy mill industry, including cases in Arizona, Florida, and Missouri. In South Florida, for example, The

HSUS, along with consumers, filed a first-of-its-kind class action lawsuit against Wizard of Claws for

selling sick dogs from puppy mills.

When a judge denied a motion to dismiss the case, Wizard of Claws

immediately filed for bankruptcy, resulting in the store’s closure and the sale of its assets. The HSUS

stepped in to ensure that all the puppies who remained in the store were sent to local nonprofit shelters

for adoption.

In 2011, The HSUS took the nation's largest online seller of puppies to court. Purebred Breeders is an

online dealer which owns approximately 800 different puppy-selling websites. Each of the websites is

designed to look like a local, high-end breeder collective, but The HSUS’s investigation demonstrated

that many of the puppies sold by Purebred Breeders were really from substandard puppy mills, and

many were sick. The three-month-long investigation was featured on NBC's Today Show

and

highlighted the connection between misleading Internet websites and puppy mills.

This investigation led

to a consumer lawsuit with more than 60 plaintiffs located across the country. The case is still pending

in Florida.

The HSUS’s legal team also won a court order requiring the United States Department of Agriculture to

disclose Animal Welfare Act compliance data concerning dozens of the nation's largest puppy mill

operators, and also filed more than a dozen lawsuits and legal actions that helped secure the passage of

Prop B in Missouri in 2010. Other legal actions are planned in the near future.

“Big Lawsuit for Little Victims” Wayne Pacelle’s Blog. June 20, 2007, can be found at:

http://hsus.typepad.com/wayne/2007/06/off_to_sue_the_.html

“Did online puppy site sell sick pets?” Today. December 7, 2011. Can be found at:

http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/45580711#45580711

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IV. Research

Since 2006, The HSUS Puppy Mills Campaign has taken the lead in conducting nationwide puppy mills

research, including: tracking some of the worst puppy mill offenders in the country through inspection

reports; tracking the numbers of licensed breeders at the federal and state levels to see whether their

numbers are increasing or decreasing over time; monitoring the shipments of puppies from puppy mills

to pet stores to determine where pet stores are sourcing their puppies; documenting and tracking

puppy buyer complaints by issue, region and supplier; and researching pet industry supporters that

regularly lobby against breeding reforms. The purpose of this research is both to track the effectiveness

of our work and to determine where and how we can best target our future efforts.

V. Rescue and Direct Response

Over the past decade, The HSUS’s rescues and raids on puppy mills have saved the lives of tens of

thousands of dogs. In 2007, one of our raids, perhaps the largest in U.S. history, saved almost 1,000

dogs from Horton’s Pups, owned by Lanzie “Junior” Horton, in Hillsville, VA. The catalyst for the raid

was The HSUS’ five-month investigation of Virginia's underground puppy mill industry, which included

footage of this facility.

Horton was charged and convicted of multiple counts of animal cruelty, and

within a year, with our assistance, the state of Virginia passed the first law limiting the number of dogs

that could be kept at a single commercial breeding facility to 50 adults. Several more states (Louisiana,

Oregon and Washington) passed similar laws over the next few years.

Following the raid at Horton’s Pups, The HSUS went on to expand its puppy mills staff and Animal

Rescue Team, and in 2009 it announced a toll-free puppy mills tipline. In 2012, thanks to a donor’s

generosity, we were able to launch a rewards program, in conjunction with the tipline, which offers

$5,000 for information that leads to a successful case. The HSUS has rescued more than 9,000 dogs

from more than 50 different puppy mills across the U.S. and Canada since 2006. A chart of these

rescues is included with the proposal.

VI. Public Policy Reform

Federal Legislative and Regulatory Reforms:

The HSUS has been a leader in promoting legislative and regulatory changes that would address all

large-scale dog breeding facilities. At the federal level, the campaign’s focus has been on: requiring

licensing of all retailers, improving inspections of breeders, and prohibiting the importation of puppies.

The combination of more aggressive messaging about puppy mills, effective pet adoption marketing,

and more stringent enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act (the federal law overseeing puppy mill

“Notorious Va. Puppy Miller Sentenced Under New Puppy Mill Law.” (July 13, 2009). Can be found at:

http://www.humanesociety.org/news/press_releases/2009/07/notorious_virginia_puppy_miller_sentenced_unde

r_new_law_071309.html

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operators), has contributed to a cut in the number of USDA-licensed commercial dog breeders by

almost half, from 3,486 in 2009, to 2,904 in 2010, and 2,205 in 2011.

At the urging of The HSUS and other stakeholders, in 2010 the Office of Inspector General (“OIG”) for

the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a scathing 69-page report

criticizing the

agency’s lack of reasonable enforcement, which generated widespread government, media, and public

attention—all of which called on the USDA to make significant improvements in its enforcement

program.

In 2008, after pressure from The HSUS about sick, underage puppies imported for the pet trade, the U.S.

Congress passed legislation as part of the Farm Bill to prevent the importation of puppies under the age

of six months for resale. In 2011, after additional pressure from The HSUS, the USDA proposed a rule to

implement this legislation and help prevent the suffering of thousands of puppies from foreign puppy

mills who are subjected to harsh overseas transport at a young age, often before they are even fully

vaccinated or weaned. We expect the USDA to make final the puppy imports rule in 2013.

Additionally, in 2011 we worked with members of Congress to introduce the Puppy Uniform Protection

and Safety (PUPS) Act, which would require any breeder who sells or offers to sell more than 50 dogs a

year directly to the public to be licensed and inspected by the USDA. It would address the loophole in

the Animal Welfare Act regulations that allows many “direct sellers”—including puppy mills that sell

over the Internet—to escape federal oversight, while still protecting the interests of small, reputable

breeders who only produce a few litters of puppies a year. PUPS would also require that each dog at

USDA-licensed facilities be let out of their cage for at least an hour a day for exercise. That Act attracted

213 cosponsors in the House and 32 in the Senate. On February 27, 2013, that same bill was

reintroduced in the House and Senate.

In 2012, the USDA issued a proposed rule, at our urging, to close a

loophole in the Animal Welfare Act regulations and require large-

scale commercial breeders selling puppies or kittens online to be

federally licensed and inspected, which would implement the same

policy reform as the PUPS Act and require basic standards of care to

be provided to the animals.

This rule requires that high volume

breeders selling dogs over the Internet by mail or phone must be licensed and inspected by the USDA,

just like those who sell to pet stores already. The HSUS worked to form a coalition of advocacy groups

that together hand-delivered almost 350,000 signatures and comments to the agency in favor of the

Statement from USDA spokesman, Dave Sacks (February 2012).

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Animal Care Program Inspections of Problematic Dealers, (May 14,

2010), can be found at: http://www.usda.gov/oig/webdocs/33002-4-SF.pdf.

Animal Welfare; Retail Pet Stores and Licensing Exemptions, (May 16, 2012), can be found at:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0003-0001

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rule. The volume of comments is hard evidence of the reach, activism and influence of The HSUS’s

supporters. We expect the final rule to be issued in 2013.

State Law Reforms:

Because puppy mills that sell dogs directly to the public, including through Internet sales, are not

currently regulated by federal law—and because existing state laws vary in strength and effectiveness—

The HSUS’s Puppy Mills Campaign has worked with state lawmakers across the country to crack down

on these mills at the state level. Over the years, the campaign has targeted Iowa, Missouri, Pennsylvania

and other top puppy-producing states for reform.

In 2008, The HSUS and its partners achieved a great legislative victory by passing a puppy mill law in

Pennsylvania. The law, which took effect in 2009, included many groundbreaking provisions, including a

ban on cage stacking and wire flooring at many large-scale commercial breeding facilities, strong

requirements for veterinary care, temperature control and air quality, and stronger penalties for

violations. While enforcement problems continue to be an issue, Pennsylvania’s stronger law did enable

authorities to shut down some of its most problematic dealers, including Almost Heaven Kennel in

Allentown, from which The HSUS helped rescue more than 200 dogs and cats in 2009.

In 2009, The HSUS initiated a campaign in Missouri. Missourians for the

Protection of Dogs (MPD) qualified Proposition B, and voters approved that

measure in November 2010. Improvements include a requirement for

annual, hands-on veterinary care, closing a loophole in preexisting law to

help protect dogs from temperature extremes, increased space

requirements, and a ban on the use of wire flooring. State lawmakers

weakened some provisions of Prop B, but it remains one of the strongest

anti-puppy mill laws in the country. Additionally, the Governor worked with the legislature to secure an

appropriation of an additional one million dollars for enforcement of Prop B as modified. Based on the

best intelligence we have, more than 800 puppy mills have dropped or lost their licenses in the state

since Prop B was approved by voters—that’s more than 25 percent of the total number of puppy mills.

In just a few years, we have successfully strengthened or passed laws in nine of the top ten puppy mill

states. Largely due to the efforts of The HSUS, 34 states now have laws that regulate commercial dog

breeders, and every year the Puppy Mills Campaign consistently passes at least five state laws that

regulate or improve regulation of commercial dog breeders.

The HSUS’s Impact on the Puppy Mill Industry

Major sellers and breeders have closed their doors as a result of our investigations, consumer education

and outreach campaigns, and policy reforms. A 2011 article in Pet Business magazine recognized that it

is now considered taboo to purchase a puppy from a pet store: “[S]elling puppies draws fire. Even

customers, afraid of being on the blunt end of criticism, often don’t want to admit to others that they

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got their family pet from a store.”

Other industry publications have acknowledged a measurable

decrease in the sales of dogs in stores across the country. For example in the October 2011 edition of

Pet Age Magazine, Editor in Chief Karen Long MacLeod writes, “Two years ago, we warned you that pet

sales—and puppy sales in particular—were under unprecedented attack. Today, we are sorry to say

that the situation is even worse.”

Many pet stores throughout the country and in Canada are

phasing out the sale of puppies in their stores and switching

to different business models, which frequently include

adoptions of homeless animals. For example, in 2011 Petland

Canada stopped selling puppies in all of their 37 stores.

Petland Canada’s CEO, Robert Brissette cited “a drop in sales at

pet stores” as the reason for the decision.

In 2008, before

The HSUS started its series of investigations of its suppliers,

Petland USA, the largest puppy-selling pet store chain in the

country, had 140 stores that sold puppies. Today, only 85 Petland stores are still in business, and only

70 of those sell puppies. Additionally, Petland ranked as one of the 25 worst franchise brands, where

franchise owners struggled more than others to pay back their SBA loans.

Petland came in seventh.

Lambriar, Inc. of Mahaska, Kansas, thought to be the second largest puppy broker, or reseller, in the

country, closed down in July 2012. As a puppy broker, Lambriar was not directly involved in the

breeding of puppies, but was responsible for purchasing dogs from breeders and then transporting and

re-selling them to commercial pet stores across the country. A representative for Lambriar stated,

“[w]hen you couple the bad economy with increasing rules and regulations and increased pressure from

animal rights activists, well, it just got too hard.”

In response, Pet Pardon News managing editor

wrote, “If any evidence was needed that consumer awareness of puppy mills and puppy brokers is

having a direct impact on the commercial pet industry, news today that Lambriar Inc., one of the largest

puppy brokers in the United States is closing its doors, should signal that efforts against the animal trade

are working.”

As a direct result of the campaign’s efforts to increase awareness of the link between pet stores and

puppy mills, an increasing number of localities, assisted by The HSUS, are passing ordinances to ban the

Boncy, Jennifer. “Confessions of a Pet Retailer.” Pet Business. June 2011: 51.

“Petland Set to Stop Selling Puppies and Kittens.” CTV. September 9, 2011, can be found at:

http://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/petland-set-to-stop-selling-puppies-and-kittens-1.694737

“Worst 25 Franchises to Buy with the Highest Failure Rates, 2012.” Blue MauMau. June 15, 2012, can be found

at: http://www.bluemaumau.org/11665/worst_25_franchises_highest_failure_rates_2012

Williams, Jeromie. “Industry Giant Puppy Broker To Close Doors,” Pet Pardon News. August 1, 2012. Can be

found at: http://news.petpardons.com/industry-giant-puppy-broker-to-close-doors/

Id.

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sale of puppies in pet stores. Dozens of cities and counties across the country have passed these retail

sales bans, further limiting the availability of pet stores to sell puppies.

In early 2012, Macerich, a Santa Monica-based firm that owns 71 upscale malls nationwide, advised

lessees that it will not renew leases to stores that sell pets. Westcor, a Macerich subsidiary holding 18

malls in the Southwest, also stopped renewing leases to pet stores, but will offer the spaces to shelters

and rescues for adoptions. "Our focus is now directed to working with local pet-rescue organizations in

our communities and pet-accessory retailers to serve the needs of our shoppers," said Melissa Rupp,

assistant marketing manager at Macerich-owned SanTan Village in Gilbert.

In October 2012, The HSUS assisted two Wyoming pet stores in transitioning from the sale of puppies to

an adoptions-only model, joining more than 2,000 pet stores across the country that have signed The

HSUS’s Puppy Friendly Pet Stores pledge, agreeing to make it their official policy not to sell puppies.

In response to concerns from The HSUS about puppy millers selling animals on their site, eBay Classifieds

posted The HSUS’s guidelines for responsible pet acquisition on their website and links to them on their

mobile app. Warnings to pet buyers and a link to The HSUS guidelines is now embedded in every “pet

for sale” ad. Additionally, EBay Classifieds works with The HSUS behind-the-scenes to help block some

of the most problematic puppy sellers from doing business on their site.

The social media giant Facebook took their concern for puppy mill ads on their website one step further

by banning ads for puppies on its Marketplace section. In just one month, more than 10,000 ads were

removed from the site following the announcement.

After years of pressure from The HSUS, the licenses of some of the worst puppy mill operations in the

country were revoked, including “Puppies on Wheels” in 2010 and “Beaver Creek Kennels” in Oberlin,

Kansas in 2011. Puppies on Wheels had been highlighted in The HSUS’s Petland investigations. The

exposé showed that the owner had been convicted of animal cruelty in Minnesota and continuously

violated the Animal Welfare Act for issues such as filthy conditions, untreated sick dogs, and keeping

animals in below-freezing temperatures. The owner and her associates were also permanently

disqualified from obtaining a USDA license under the Animal Welfare Act. Beaver Creek Kennels was

shut down by Kansas State Inspectors following an outbreak of distemper that led to the euthanasia of

1,200 dogs on Fortin’s property. The owner also owned a pet store in Colorado. After pressure from

HSUS supporters, the purchase of a billboard near his store, and a local news investigation, his store

finally closed in November 2011.

Russo, Stephanie. “Malls to the (pet) rescue.” USA Today. July 23, 2012. Can be found at:

http://www.usatoday.com/USCP/PNI/Front%20Page/2012-07-23-PNI0804biz-pet-rescuesPNIBrd_ST_U.htm

“Puppy Mill Ads Banned From Facebook Marketplace.” ABC News. March 23, 2012. Can be found at:

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/puppy-mill-ads-banned-facebook-marketplace/story?id=15982473

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Also in 2011, The USDA revoked the

licenses of Diane Stephenson of S & S

Family Puppies and Marsha Cox of Mar-

Don Kennels, two of the puppy mills The

HSUS had profiled in its Missouri Dirty

Dozen reports. According to USDA

inspection reports, Marsha Cox refused

to cooperate with an inspection,

erroneously telling a USDA inspector,

“you had something to do with the

Missouri ‘dirty dozen.’” Previous

inspections of her facility had found a

seriously underweight dog with an

untreated wound, dogs in cages so awash in feces that they had no clean place to stand, and dogs

shivering in below-freezing temperatures without adequate weather protection.

Conclusion:

The battle to stop cruel puppy mills is by no means over, but the work of The HSUS has already

improved the lives of hundreds of thousands of dogs raised for the commercial pet trade. Society will

always have a need for pets, and we strongly embrace the bond we share with companion animals. As

we move unswervingly toward the day when pets are no longer euthanized in animal shelters, we work

toward the creation of a new system for the breeding of family pets – one in which dogs are raised with

the dignity, kindness and care befitting of man’s best friend.