A puppy mill, sometimes known as a puppy farm, is a commercial dog breeding

Dog breeding

Dog breeding is the practice of mating selected specimens with the intent to maintain or produce specific qualities and characteristics.Dogs reproduce without human interference, so their offsprings' characteristics are determined by natural selection. Domestic dogs may be intentionally bred by...

 facility that is operated with an emphasis upon profits above animal welfare and is often in substandard conditions regarding the well-being of dogs in their care. Similar types of operations exist for other animals commonly kept as pets or used as feed for other animals.
The term can be applied to operations involving other animals commercially bred for profit, e.g. "kitty mills." There are an estimated 4,000 puppy mills in the U.S. that produce more than half a million puppies a year. Commercial kennels may be licensed by the United States Department of Agriculture which may inspect the kennels routinely.

For-profit breeding on a smaller scale is sometimes referred to as backyard breeding.

Differences in breeding conditions

The American and Westminster kennel clubs state that responsible breeders raise their animals with the intent to produce healthy dogs, and to ensure that all animals are provided responsible homes and socialization

Socialization

Socialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists to refer to the process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies...

.

In puppy mills, females are sometimes bred every time they are in heat to increase profits, resulting in gradually decreasing sizes of litters. As puppies, mill dogs are also often wean

Weaning

Weaning is the process of gradually introducing a mammal infant, either human or animal, to what will be its adult diet and withdrawing the supply of its mother's milk.The process takes place only in mammals, as only mammals produce milk...

ed from their mothers well before the eight to ten weeks recommended. Bark Rescue in Belleview, IL also explains, “Puppies are taken from their mother when they are 5 to 6 weeks old and sold to brokers who pack them in crates for resale to pet stores all over the country.” Only half of the puppies survive during this exhausting travel only to make it to the pet shop until they are sold. Dogs in puppy mills are often bred indiscriminately. While the puppies produced may come with pedigrees, the pedigree itself is neither an indication of quality nor authenticity. Most pet stores selling these dogs are aware of breeding conditions and where their dogs are coming from. The American Kennel Club is by law not held responsible nor do they guarantee the health of the dogs they sell. Most of the time the dogs are in poor health.

Treatment at puppy mills

Puppy mills usually house dogs in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, without adequate veterinary care, food, water and socialization. Puppy mill dogs do not receive treats, toys, exercise or basic grooming. To minimize waste cleanup, dogs are often kept in cages with wire flooring that injures their paws and legs. It is not unusual for cages to be stacked up in columns. Breeder dogs at mills might spend their entire lives outdoors, exposed to the elements, or kept inside indoor cages all their lives. Often after the breeder dog has hit the age of 4 years old, it is no longer needed and killed. Sometimes the puppy mill owners will have a contact person who collaborates with rescues. The rescue will receive a phone call with the number of breeder dogs and types. The rescue then can save the breeder dogs from death. Once adopted, it can take up to or over a year for the dog to relax and allow human touch.
In 2005 an investigation was conducted on pet shops and puppy mills in California, 44% of the locations visited had were sick and neglected animals, 32% of the animals were confined in unhealthy, cramped, or crowded conditions and 25% of the animals didn’t even have adequate food or water.

Common problems

Due to the frequently poor breeding conditions in puppy mills, puppies bred there often suffer from health and/or social problems. Puppies raised in a cramped environment shared by many other dogs become poorly socialized to other dogs and to humans. Dogs are then transported over long distances in poor conditions, sometimes resulting in animal stress and death. As the surviving mill dogs grow older, they are more prone to developing respiratory ailments and pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

, as well as hereditary defects such as hip dysplasia. In addition, mill dogs are more prone to have problems with their temperament. Puppies from mills are usually sold as purebred dogs in an attempt to attract the higher prices associated with purebreds. However, due to the indiscriminate breeding practices of puppy mills, the dog may not actually be a purebred puppy. The vast majority of puppy mill animals are sold to pet stores by "dealers". Some puppies are sold by dealers masquerading as authentic breeders.

It has been found that pet stores purchase the majority of their puppies from puppy mills. The Pet Industry Joint Advisory Council (PIJAC) explained that roughly 3,500 to 3,700 of the 11,500 to 12,000 pet stores in the United States purchased their animals from puppy mills. They also predict pet stores to sell up to 300,000 to 500,000 puppies a year.

History

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

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 era. Midwestern farmers looking for an alternative crop reacted to a growing demand for puppies, resulting in the development of the first commercial puppy business. 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 because of an inability to pay. As a result, organizations such as the Humane Society of the United States

Humane Society of the United States

The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....

 began to investigate breeding kennels, leading to the passage of the Animal Welfare Act of August 24, 1966.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, thousands of puppy mills are located around the country. A high concentration of both puppy mills and breeders has been reported to be in the states of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Nebraska and Missouri

Missouri

Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

. Lancaster County, PA, has the highest concentration of puppy mills of any county in the nation and has earned the dubious nickname of “Puppy Mill Capital of the East.”

Hobby breeders

The term "puppy mill" has been widely used by animal rights groups in protests against breeders who have substandard breeding conditions. Such breeders, sometimes labeled hobby breeders, are often cited by animal rights groups as puppy mills. Hobby breeders claim that emotional rhetoric, sensationalism, and pictures of dirty kennels are used to justify additional legislation or additional restrictive licensing that travels well beyond the initial goal of removing dogs from truly deplorable conditions.

Some hobby breeders argue that many attempts to legislate puppy mills would put them out of business. Many hobby breeders argue the laws, which often require extra paperwork and inspections, would be more of a nuisance than help in shutting down puppy mills. Such breeders often cite existing lemon laws for puppies as sufficient protection for both dogs and prospective buyers.

Media coverage

On May 29, 2008, MSNBC

MSNBC

MSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...

 aired a report about puppy mills, in which talk show host Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

 revealed an industry fraught with problems and apparent cruelty. The broadcast showed puppy mills with small cages, with chicken wire

Chicken wire

Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence poultry livestock. It is made of thin, flexible galvanized wire, with hexagonal gaps...

 floors, stacked in rows from floor to ceiling, and stated that many dogs spend their entire lives within these tiny cages. Many of these dogs are sold on the internet

Internet

The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...

 or by pet retailers

Pet store

A pet store or pet shop is a retail business which sells different kinds of animals. Pet stores also sell pet food, supplies, and accessories....

 to buyers who are unaware of the dogs' backgrounds. The report claimed that customers who object to this treatment of puppies unknowingly allow the industry to thrive. It also pointed out that many of the puppy mill bred dogs suffer long-term health problems.

United States of America

In the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, some elements of the dog breeding industry are regulated by the Animal Welfare Act of August 24, 1966.

In recent years, state legislatures have passed new laws aimed at eliminating the worst abuses at puppy mills. New laws include limits on the number of breeding females, requirements that facilities be licensed and inspected, and requirements that dogs be given proper veterinary care. Louisiana, Pennsylvania and Virginia passed puppy mill laws in 2008, and 10 states passed laws in 2009 to crack down on abusive puppy mills. In 2010, Missouri voters passed Proposition B, the "Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act", which establishes minimum standards of humane care and limits breeders to 50 intact dogs.

However, voters experienced push-back from the industry in the state of Missouri. Dog breeders and other farmers, worried about costly animal welfare measures spreading to their farms, pressured the state to repeal the law. In April 2011 Proposition B was repealed.

A compromise, dubbed the Missouri Solution, was signed by Missouri Governor Jay Nixon.

It retained some of the provisions of Proposition B, and made available some state funding for inspections. Humane Society of Missouri President Kathy Warnick reacted favorably, seeing a step in the right direction for animal welfare.

Detractors, which include the President and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, point to the "shameful" overturn of the voter's will to weaken Propsition B.

“Lawmakers should never have substituted their judgment for the people of Missouri and gutted core provisions of Prop B,” said Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States. “The so-called compromise was not about protecting animals, it was about placating agri-business.”.

Below is a set of lists describing some of the key differences between Proposition B and the so-called Missouri Solution.

Proposition B (approved by Missouri voters in November, 2010)
Wire flooring for cages eliminated by November 2011;
Maximum allowable breeding females per business = 50;
Cage height = taller than any dog standing erect;
Maximum number of times a female may be bred within 18 months time = 2;
Larger enclosures by November 2011.

the “Missouri Solution” (compromise law signed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon, April 2011, after repealing Proposition B)
No wire flooring for new enclosures in 2016, existing wire flooring permitted to remain indefinitely;
No limit on number of breeding females;
No restriction on cage height;
No restrictions on how often females are impregnated;
Larger enclosures in 2016.

Australia

Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore has responded to the problem of puppy mills in Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 by proposing the Animals Regulation of Sale Bill. It would ban the sale of dogs through pet shops, the internet or newspapers. The aim is to crack down on impulse purchases and shut down unregistered backyard breeders. These breeders should no longer easily profit from the sale of the dogs and the number of unwanted and abandoned animals could drop.

Opposition to the bill comes from the Australian Veterinary Association and the Pet Industry Association. They say that the bill makes no difference to shelter admissions or euthanasia rates.

Some claim that the bill will only serve to push unregistered breeders further underground.

In New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 alone, more than 60,000 animals are put down each year. Australia-wide the number is over a quarter of a million.

United Kingdom

In 1996, Britain passed the Breeding and Sale of Dogs Act which requires annual veterinary inspections for anyone breeding five or more litters in one year. Breeding females are restricted to one litter per year and six per lifetime.

Breeders who choose to be members of the UK Kennel Club

Kennel club

A kennel club is an organization for canine affairs that concerns itself with the breeding, showing and promotion of more than one breed of dog...

are required to register purebred puppies for sale with that organization and must certify the conditions under which the puppies were raised. Breeders who sell puppies by misrepresenting these standards may be liable to prosecution under the Sale of Goods Act 1979.