What is a Puppy Mill? Puppy mills are an urgent, widespread problem There are an estimated 15,000 puppy mills in the US alone In these mass-production factories, dogs are forced to produce litter after litter of puppies, supplying nearly 100 percent of the dogs sold in pet stores and directly to consumers online and through newspaper ads.
Bringing a dog into one's life and home can be a wonderful thing When many decide to search for the perfect canine companion, they go “window shopping” at the pet store or, increasingly, online—where cute puppies might frolic behind the glass or stare soulfully through the computer screen.
The fight to save dogs and puppies in puppy mills just suffered a major setback, after information relating to the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) previously made available online disappeared from a government site on Friday Inspections reports from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
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They call them "puppy-mill rescu" But they might more accurately be called simply "puppy-mill purchas" As The Washington Post exposed, so-called "rescue" groups attend puppy-mill auctions and—flush with money from donations—pay breeders hundreds or even thousands of dollars for a single dog.
Kim Kavin, author of "The Dog Merchants: Inside the Big Business of Breeders, Pet Stores, and Rescuers,” explains how more than a decade ago animal rescuers began buying discarded dogs for as little as $5 or $10 each from the commercial breeders they disparage as "puppy mills".