This is a recent informational mailing from Defend The Dogs , Indianapolis Chapter.
Hello and Happy Holidays!
As the holiday season draws near, you can be sure that puppy mills/mass breeding facilities will be grinding out thousands of puppies to meet the seasonal demand. The dog industry reports that 50-60% of pet store puppy sales occur during the holiday season. We thought this would be a good time to provide some information related to the USDA and commercial/mass breeding facilities.
Nationally, many organizations, groups, and individuals are organizing peaceful rallies outside pet stores that sell puppies. PetShopPuppies has focused our efforts on the Indianapolis area and we will be holding weekly rallies until Christmas. Our rally schedule can be found at the end of this newsletter. We hope those of you in and around the area will join us in speaking out on behalf of the breeding parents trapped in these factories. We believe that education is the key to stopping puppy mills. Please help us spread the word.
USDA Regulated Breeders--What does it really mean?
When a pet store says their puppies come from USDA regulated breeders, what does that really mean? Let's forgo the semantics. Whether you call them a puppy mill, USDA regulated and inspected breeder, professional breeder, puppy farm, commercial kennel, local breeder, private breeder, etc., these are simply labels used to divert attention from the fact that pet stores obtain their puppies from breeders who mass produce puppies. Truly reputable breeders do not mass produce puppies. They are not licensed by the USDA to wholesale their puppies, you will never find their puppies for sale in a pet store, their location is not a secret, they do not meet you in a parking lot to sell you the puppy, they invite you into their home so they can meet you and you can meet the puppy and its parents and see the conditions in which they live. The prospective buyer should also be aware that many mass breeders also pose as small family breeders on the Internet and in newspaper ads. Please never buy a puppy without first screening a breeder's facility in person. Please look over these suggestions for help in finding a reputable dog breeder.
The meaning of the term "puppy mill" is always in debate. Many mass breeders and pet stores say it has no "legal" definition. Actually, it does. The following is the "legal" definition of a puppy mill, established in a court of law in the case of Avenson v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, 960 (D. Minn.1984). "A "puppy mill" is a dog breeding operation in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits." Additionally, in April 2008, the USDA recognized "puppy mills" as "facilities that breed large numbers of dogs for sale".The label is insignificant. Call them what you wish. What matters are their breeding practices and the conditions under which their breeding dogs are kept. Regardless of their claims, the bottom line is that they are mass breeding facilities. The dogs are a cash crop, hence the regulation of domestic animals by the United States Department of Agriculture.
A Reason for Hope
A statewide ballot initiative, Proposition B--the Puppy Mill Cruelty Prevention Act, has been officially voted into law by the citizens of Missouri! Though it will not put and end to commercial breeding nor end suffering altogether, a sea change has finally begun. This will result in positive implications for the state of Indiana as well as states all over the nation. If this change can happen in the "puppy mill capital" of the U.S. then it can happen anywhere! We must keep fighting and speaking out of behalf of those enslaved in these prisons.
A note regarding Indiana--a law was passed last year which states, "commercial dog breeders shall provide every dog with a reasonable opportunity for exercise at least one (1) time per day." However, at the present time this is not being monitored nor enforced.
Minimum Standards of Care
Until any improvements are actually implemented, let's recall the current standrds of care for dogs in commercial/mass breeding facilities. Here are the basics. If a breeder has more than 3 unaltered females and sells their puppies "wholesale", meaning to someone other than the final owner, they must be licensed by the USDA and are subject to the regulations set forth by The Animal Welfare Act. The Animal Welfare Act is the federal law that regulates the dog breeding industry. The USDA is responsible for setting the "minimum standards of care" by which commercial/mass dog breeders must operate, as well as enforcing the Animal Welfare Act. The commercial/mass dog breeding industry itself had a significant role in determining the "minimum standards of care". Commercial/mass dog breeding facilities that are in full compliance of the Animal Welfare Act usually fall far short of what most of us would consider even remotely humane.
USDA size requirements for dog cages:
*Wire flooring must be at least 8 gauge wire or coated with vinyl.
*Minimum cage floor space equals (length of dog + 6 inches) x (length of dog + 6 inches).
*The top of the cage must be at least 6 inches above the dog's head.
An example using USDA space requirements in determining cage size:
Minimum cage height is equal to Oliver's height plus 6 inches. Minimum floor space is equal to Oliver's length plus 6 inches, squared. This is the "primary enclosure", the cage in which the dog will live its entire life.
USDA exercise requirements for dogs in commercial breeding facilities:*Dogs housed in cages with only the 6 inches of space, as described above, must have an exercise plan in writing. However, regulations fall short of actually requiring the breeder to implement the exercise plan. There is no way for the USDA to know if the exercise plan is being followed. *If a breeder doubles the minimum cage size (12 inches instead of 6 inches of space), the opportunity for exercise is not required.*If 2 or more dogs are housed together, the opportunity for exercise is not required.
*Up to 12 dogs can be housed in the same cage.
Self-feeders and waterers as well as wire bottom cages which allow the passage of urine and feces, virtually eliminate the need for a breeder to ever touch their dogs. Dogs living in USDA sanctioned cages will seldom, if ever, leave them. They will live, sleep, eat, drink, urinate, defecate, mate and give birth in these cages. This existence will continue until they die or are sold, likely to another breeder. This treatment is legal according to USDA guidelines.
Pet Stores
PetShopPuppies has led a six year campaign against various Indiana area pet stores. Our research demonstrates practices that are consistent throughout the commercial dog industry. The following figures obtained through the Freedom of Information Act help to establish that these stores receive their puppies from mass breeding facilities. Please see the information below.
Inventory Counts for Indiana Dog Breeders as Documented in USDA Inspection Reports
During the 2007 fiscal year (Oct 1st, 2007 to Sept 30th, 2008) the USDA conducted inspections on 79 licensed breeding facilities in Indiana. Those inspections revealed the following:
4797 adult breeding dogs, with an average of 61 adults present at each inspection.
2255 puppies, with an average of 28 puppies present at each inspection.
This is not a complete picture since there have been approximately 137 USDA licensed breeders in Indiana in the past 3 years and our data includes only 79 facilities (figures compiled in 2009). However, since inspections are random this would seem to be fair sampling of what could be expected on any given day in an Indiana USDA licensed breeding facility.
The puppies counted by USDA on an inspection can be expected to be gone within 8 weeks but replaced by the same average number of puppies. In other words, once a litter of puppies moves out, another litter takes it place. There are 6.5 eight-week periods in a year. A facility with 28 puppies present during one USDA inspection would indicate, on average, that facility will produce 182 puppies each year.
Further calculation of 2255 puppies multiplied by 6.5 gives an average total of:14,657 puppies produced per year by just those 79 licensed facilities that were inspected in the 2007 fiscal year.
The Bottom Line Call these facilities what you like. The living conditions of the dogs confined in them are what matters. The "minimum standards of care" have been mandated by the USDA and are undebatable. When a pet store says their puppies don't come from puppy mills but instead come from USDA regulated breeders, realize that the distinction here is irrelevant. Either way, the dogs live lives of constant confinement, deprivation and exploitation.
Please help us educate the public about the truth behind pet store puppies. Please join us for peaceful protests during this holiday season and encourage anyone you know who might be considering a new pet to consider adopting from a shelter/rescue organization or find a reputable, compassionate breeder.
Help Us Continue our Work
As we prepare to say goodbye to 2010, we hope you will consider a tax-deductible donation to our Indiana Awareness Campaign. Your generous support has enabled us to continue to educate people about the realities of the commercial dog breeding industry. In our best effort to combat holiday puppy sales in Indiana, we are planning to run print ads this month and we also have a billboard on display. These methods of education do not come cheap but given the number of people we reach, it is a necessary expense. Please help if you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment