The breeding of puppies and the closely related illegal trade of puppies show a negative trend worldwide. A large proportion of the puppies sold as goods in illegal trade come from puppy mills.
Our readers may wonder what we mean by puppy mills, and how the concept of puppy production and illegal puppy trade can be defined. In the article below, we try to shed light on this in an understandable way.
The Humane Society of the United States is an organization (HSUS) that stands up for animal rights worldwide. The group’s campaigns target five current issues. These are:
- factory farming
- animal fighting
- the fur trade
- puppy mills and breeding
- abuse of wild animals
According to the HSUS, puppy mills are breeding facilities where a large number of purebred puppies are produced. Puppies are sold directly to the public over the internet or through newspaper ads, or they are sold directly from the puppy mills; furthermore, brokers sell them and pet stores across countries also market them.
The puppies are taken away from their mothers at 5-6 weeks old and sold to brokers, who “package” them into crates and resell them to pet stores all over the countries.
Only half of the puppies survive the long and exhausting journey, and all this just to be sold in pet stores afterwards. In puppy mills, puppies are often bred indiscriminately. The puppies produced this way come out of the mills with pedigree papers, but the pedigree itself does not indicate quality or authenticity.
Puppy mills generally provide housing for dogs without proper veterinary care, food, water, or socialization, and overcrowding and unhealthy conditions are typical. In puppy mills, dogs do not receive adequate attention in terms of basic grooming or exercise.
To minimize waste, dogs are kept in wire-floored cages that injure their paws and legs. It is not uncommon for the cages to be stacked on top of each other like columns.
Breeding dogs living in puppy mills often spend almost their entire lives either outdoors, exposed to the elements, or locked inside indoor cages. When a breeding dog reaches 4 years of age, it is often the case that it is no longer needed in the puppy mill, so they are killed.
Sometimes, the owners of puppy mills contact intermediaries through whom these dogs can be saved from death. The rescue group receives a call from the intermediary with the breed and a complete list of breeding dogs to be saved.
According to the results of examinations conducted in pet shops and puppy mills in 2005, sick and neglected animals were found in 44% of the visited locations, unhealthy, cramped, or crowded living conditions in 32%, and in 25% of them, the animals were not provided with adequate food and water for basic survival needs.
Puppies born in puppy mills often suffer from health and socialization problems due to poor breeding conditions. The puppies are born and raised in a cramped environment, sharing this limited space with other dogs, which is why these dogs often show not only health problems and diseases but also a complete lack of socialization.
Their further life is also not encouraging, as dogs are transported long distances under poor conditions, causing stress and often death for many of them. Those who survive the long journey tend to develop respiratory diseases and pneumonia as they grow and age, as well as hereditary illnesses such as hip dysplasia. In addition to these, dogs coming from puppy mills also often exhibit behavioral problems.
Puppies from puppy mills are usually sold as purebreds, aiming to extract the highest possible prices for them. However, as a consequence of indiscriminate breeding performed in such mills, it cannot be claimed that a puppy born there is truly purebred. Most puppy mills sell animals through dealers in pet shops. It also happens that some puppies are sold by dealers disguising themselves as reputable breeders.
According to an article published in the Canis Major online magazine published article, puppy mills appeared in the United States after World War II. Midwestern farmers tried to find an alternative solution to the increasing demand for puppies, thus creating the first puppy business. As the business grew, retail and wholesale units sold more and more puppies. Approximately around the same time, the first pet shop chains were established. Although America is the birthplace, nowadays puppy mills can be found abundantly in every country of the world, including Europe and the Third World.
According to HSUS estimates, 10,000 puppy mills operate in the USA, some licensed and others without a license. More than 2,000,000 puppies come from these puppy mills every year.
In Europe, specifically in England, stricter regulations were introduced even before the turn of the century. In 1996, a breeding and sales law was enacted relating to dogs, which mandates annual veterinary health checks for breeders who have five or more litters per year. Breeders who are members of the English Kennel Club are required to register their purebred puppies for sale with the Organization and must also verify the puppies' lineage and health through screening inspections. Thus, buyers can be guaranteed healthy, disease-free puppies with officially documented pedigrees if they purchase from breeders registered with the English Kennel Club.
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