Puppy Mills

Puppy Mills

Who can say no to puppy kisses? ItЎЇs hard to find a person who does not melt when confronted with a darling puppy full of energy. It is also hard to find a person who knows about puppy mills. A puppy mill is a huge commercial kennel that breeds large populations of puppies and ships them to pet stores around the country. Due to the growing demand for dogs, and the publicЎЇs growing fascination with designer dogs such as the puggle, a cross breed between a pug and a beagle, many dog breeders have adopted this method of breeding. These mills are made up of thousands of dogs, caged in kennels, being forced to mate repetitively. This maximizes productivity but creates an unhealthy environment for the dogs. As the president of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals states, ÐŽoThese dogs are commercially exploited to generate the highest amount of profit at the lowest possible costÐŽ± (St. Louis Post Dispatch, 2001). These dogs are treated unethically and these puppy mills should be illegal.

The supporters of the puppy mills say that it is unfair to assume that all breeders treat their dogs unethically. Each breeder has different standards for how the facility should be maintained but no matter what their standard might be, they are all criticized for not meeting the impossible criterion set by the public. It is true that these dogs may not get as much of attention that they would in a home, but many of these registered breeders have set up the proper facilities to ÐŽohostÐŽ± these dogs. As the lobbyist for the Pennsylvania Professional Pet Breeders Association points out, ÐŽoIf we built the biggest kennel in the world, with carpet on the floor and a fireplace for the dogs, animal-rights people would say, ÐŽ®CanЎЇt you make it bigger?ЎЇЎ± Since these large breeders all require a permit, they are under the scrutiny of the government and should be allowed to remain in business.

Despite the fact that there may very well be a few qualified puppy mills, the majority of these