Arguments Against Puppy Mills, Essay Example

Most people would never imagine that the cute little puppy sitting in the pet store window once came from a puppy mill.  Although it is true that this is not true for all pets from all pet stores, an alarming amount of puppies bought and sold in America come from irresponsible breeders who operate inhumane puppy mills to breed dogs for profit.  A puppy mills is a “large-scale commercial dog operation where profit is given priority over the well-being of the dogs (ASPCA.org, n.d.).”  Responsible breeders raise each puppy with conscious consideration, giving them proper food, love, shelter and medical attention when needed, something that puppy mills do not.  There are many laws that punish those who try to raise animals in inhumane conditions, however, due to lack of funding, many operations continue unabashed.  Puppy mills, that are essentially illegal under the true nature of the law, should not be allowed to continue to function because they provide immoral and unethical treatment of dogs primarily by basing their operations solely on profit seeking behaviors.

Puppy mills operate on a cost efficient basis.  Their goal is maximum profits for minimum work.  They do not spend extra money on the puppies they are raising by keeping them clean, healthy and happy.  Cages are small and cramped.  Many puppy mills operate in filth, paying little attention to sanitation codes and standards.  Puppies in puppy mills are often kept in filthy living conditions.  For example, in a recent puppy mill bust “Two men faced charges after 38 puppies were found to be confined to a feces filled van without food, water or space to exercise.  The men were transporting the animals from Oklahoma to Florida when a passerby noticed the dog’s distressed barking and the foul stench emanating from the van, which was parked at a Daytona Beach motel (PETA.org, n.d.).” This type of neglect is common in puppy mills.  In another puppy mill bust in Washington state, officials found over 400 caged dogs.  Sgt. Paul Arroyos, who found the animals, was quoted as saying (Forman, 2009) “Some of the most disgusting in the 19 years of doing this job.  They were living in their own feces, a lot of them.  They weren’t being cared for properly, it was just deplorable.”  This kind of treatment of animals is not acceptable to most people, who would never feel right paying money to people who treat animals so inhumanely.

In addition to filthy cages, the cages themselves are often small and cramped.  The cages in puppy mills are often poorly constructed or made from cheap and uncomfortable material.  “Puppy mill kennels can consist of anything from small cages made of wood and wire mesh to tractor-trailor cabs or simple tethers attached to trees (PETA.org, n.d.).”  Responsible breeders allow dogs the freedom to roam about, either in specially built pens or, in the case of family breeders, in their own home.  Puppies are living creatures that need space to move in order for proper muscle development and general happiness. Puppy mills have been discovered to have all sorts of horrible living conditions for puppies. One Arkansas facility had “cages hanging from the ceiling of an unheated cinder-block building…(PETA.org, n.d.).”  In order for dogs to be raised humanely, they need to be not only given a large and clean space in which to live, they also need to have room to play and run around.  When animals are raised in a puppy mill environment, they are often caged from birth, as was the case in the puppy mill bust in Washington.  The puppies are denied space in which to play and exercise.  They are often not even given a toy or any type of stimulus.  Since puppies and dogs are extremely social creatures, this type of neglect can have a harmful psychological effect on the animal.  Puppies can take on nervous habits leading to poor social development.  In addition to leading to a host of health problems later  in life, being raised in cramped conditions can lead to mental issues that make puppy mill puppies very bad pets.  However, for puppy mill breeders, it is not important whether the pups end up making good pets and have a happy and healthy life.  They have other priorities, namely, money.

Puppy mills are run by large companies for the purpose of making money, not because they particularly love animals.  This makes a huge difference in their attitude towards the animals.  In order to cut costs and make more profit, the animals are denied adequate bedding, medicine when needed and food.  Animals that become infertile are often killed, since they no longer bring a profit. The United States has passed the Animal Welfare Act in 1966 to protect animals from abuse and neglect. “The USDA is supposed to monitor and inspect kennels to ensure that they are not violating the housing standards of the Animal Welfare Act, but kennel inspections are a low priority.  In the U.S., there are more than 1,000 research facilities, more than 2,800 exhibitors, and 4,500 dealers that are supposed to be inspected each year (PETS.org, n.d.) and (ASPCA.org, n.d.).”  In 2008, the Farm Bill was passed which “Prohibits the importation of puppies under six months of age for the purpose of resale (ASPCA.org, n.d.).” However, in order for puppy mills to be stopped, they must first be caught.  The authorities rely on individuals to report puppy mills so that they can be shut down.

There are many ways in which individual consumers can make an impact in the fight against puppy mills.  A success story comes from the Newsweek article (Smalley, 2009) which describes the actions of one such man, Bill Smith, who runs a dog shelter in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.  He noticed that a farm that had been recently busted for running a puppy mill was advertising that it sold “organic milk.”  He found out that milk sold by this farmer was being purchased and sold at Whole Foods.  Smith petitioned Whole Foods to stop buying milk from farmers who treated their animals inhumanely.  After an investigation, it was determined the farmer was indeed still running a puppy mill.  Whole Foods responded by issuing a letter to its vendors, requesting that they “not supply any products to our stores that have been sourced from farmers…who breed or raise dogs inhumanely (Smalley, 2009).”   The action worked, as the farmer in question immediately cleaned up his act and stopped running puppy mills so that he could continue to be a milk supplier to Horizon, the brand of milk that is sold at Whole Foods.   Puppy mills raise a very moral issue amongst consumers, and most people would not want to buy products that support puppy mills just like they would not knowingly buy a puppy from a puppy mill.   Puppy mill owners count on anonymity in order to be successful.  When puppy mill owners are finally exposed, most people are disgusted

Puppies from puppy mills generally do not make good pets.  “Constant confinement and a lack of adequate veterinary care and socialization often result in animals who are unhealthy and difficult to socialize. As a result, many are abandoned within weeks or months of their adoption by frustrated buyers – further exacerbating the tragic companion animal overpopulation crisis (PETA.org, n.d.).”  In order to avoid supporting puppy mills, it is up to the consumer to find out where their puppy came from before purchase.  There are many responsible breeders out there.  They offer customers the chance to come to the kennel and meet the puppy’s parents.  This is a great way to understand the personality of the pup you are buying, as well as for customers to assure themselves that they are not supporting a puppy mill.   Though puppy mills are illegal, those who wish to profit off of the suffering of animals will continue to do so until there is no longer a profit to be made.  Stricter inspections and controls of pet shops by government agencies will need to be enacted in order for puppy mills to be shut down for good.

References

ASPCA.org (n.d.) Laws that protect dogs in puppy mills. Web. Retrieved 31 May, 2010 from  http://www.aspca.org/figh-animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/laws-that-protect-dogs.html

ASPCA.org (n.d.) What is a puppy mill? Web. Retrieved 31 May, 2010  from  http://www.aspca.org/fight-animal-cruelty/puppy-mills/what-is-a-puppy-mill.html

Forman, Jim (22 January, 2009)  Hundreds of animals seized in puppy mill bust. KETKnbc.com Web. Retrieved 17 June, 2010 from http://www.ketknbc.com/news/hundreds-animals-seized-puppy-mill-bust

HumaneSociety.org (n.d.) Puppy mills: The human society of the United States. Web. Retrieved 31 May, 2010  from http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/

PETS.org (n.d.) Puppy mills: Dogs abused for the pet trade. Web. Retrieved 31 May, 2010 from http://www.peta.org/mc/factsheet_display.asp?ID=45

 Smalley, Suzanne (11 July, 2009). Animal instinct: An investigation into designer dogs leads to greater scritiny of the “puppy mill” industry.  Newsweek.  Web. Retrieved 17 June, 2010 from http://www.newsweek.com/2009/07/10/animal-instinct.html