TAKE ACTION in MD Now: Stop Puppy Mills/ Rob's letter to MD Legislators

A sickly dog in a filthy, typical puppy mill

On March 29, there was a hearing on a bill to combat puppy mills.HB 1662 proposes banning the sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in retail pet stores in Maryland. This is an historic event—no similar legislation has ever made it this far in Maryland.  So, I wrote to all of the MD Senators to urge them to support it: 

Please support HB 1662. As someone who has worked in Dachshund and Weimaraner rescue for 10 years, I've rescued dogs from the vile conditions of puppy mills. Puppy mills need to be stopped and HB 1662 proposes banning the sale of commercially bred dogs and cats in retail pet stores in Maryland. People who want a breed can go to reputable breeders. Please stop this third party sale of pets. They have the same emotions, feelings and intelligence of young human children and no living thing should endure suffering. 

Thank you.  - Rob 

TAKE ACTION NOW IN MARYLAND MARCH 31: HB 1662 is now in the Senate Finance Committee. Please contact them to voice your support for this bill. We are also requesting that you contact your Senators because once it moves out of the Finance Committee it can move quickly to the floor of the Senate for a vote.

WHAT IS A PUPPY MILL? A puppy mill is an inhumane, commercial dog-breeding facility in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.

What is The HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE U.S.  doing about puppy mills?

The HSUS takes a stand against puppy mills on all possible levels, including supporting legislative changes, conducting investigations and litigation, and promoting public awareness and education. The HSUS also works with local authorities when called upon to help shut down the most abusive puppy mills.

typical puppy mill cage conditions

What about anti-cruelty laws? Don't those affect puppy mills?

Although all 50 states have anti-cruelty laws intended to prevent neglect and mistreatment of dogs, most large-scale breeding facilities continue to operate in ways that mock these laws.  In many cases, dogs in puppy mills are kept in physically and emotionally damaging conditions under which an individual pet dog would never be allowed to suffer. Anti-cruelty laws are seldom applied to puppy mills as long as the animals have the rudimentary basics of shelter, food, and water. Puppy mill dogs are often treated as agricultural "crops" and not as pets. (THIS IS RIDICULOUS) 

For more information about Puppy Mills from the U.S. Humane Society:
http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/puppy_mills/qa/puppy_mill_FAQs.html?credit=web_id80597225#definition

GREAT NEWS CA Democrats Pass bill to Ban Sale of Non-Rescue dogs, cats!

California Just voted to eradicate puppy mills

If you CARE about animals and hate puppy mills, you'll side with the Democratic Party.

California has now made it illegal for puppy mills to make money selling puppy mill dogs to pet stores. What a fantastic idea! 

California Bans Pet Shop Sales Of Non-Rescue Cats, Dogs And Rabbits

Oct. 16, 2017 

California officially banned the non-rescue sale of cats, dogs and rabbits. Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 485 into law Friday, Oct. 1, The Orange County Register reported. 

It takes effect in January 2019, and pet store owners who violate it will face a $500 fine. The Democratic governor’s signature was celebrated by animal welfare groups, including Social Compassion in Legislation, the bill’s sponsor.

Deplorable conditions of puppy mills

 “We are overjoyed with the Governor’s signature and broad support from the entire animal-loving community for this groundbreaking legislation,” the group’s founder and CEO, Judie Mancuso, said in a statement. “In banning the sale of mill-bred animals, California took a bold step forward. The deplorable conditions that animals suffer in these high-volume breeding facilities are not a secret and now they have a champion in California.”

Matt Bershadker, president and CEO of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, praised the law for breaking “the puppy mill supply chain that pushes puppies into California pet stores and has allowed unscrupulous breeders to profit from abusive practices.”

Hate Puppy Mills? The Trump Admin Just Waived Regulations on Them

When you mess with dogs and remove USDA protections from them, that's TOO MUCH.  It just happened this week.  Trump supporters who have dogs and dog rescuers and pet parents need to know what JUST HAPPENED this week.  That means PUPPY MILLS can operate under the radar again. As pet parents and dog rescuers we are furious. 


“The USDA action cloaks even the worst puppy mills in secrecy and allows abusers of Tennessee walking horses, zoo animals and lab animals to hide even the worst track records in animal welfare,”
Here's the article from the Legitimate news source: The Washington Post

USDA abruptly purges animal welfare information from its website

The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Friday abruptly removed inspection reports and other information from its website about the treatment of animals at thousands of research laboratories, zoos, dog breeding operations and other facilities.

The records that had been available were frequently used by animal welfare advocates to monitor government regulation of animal treatment at circuses, scientific labs and zoos. Journalists have used the documents to expose violations at universities.

Seven states currently require pet stores to source puppies from breeders with clean USDA inspection reports, according to the Humane Society of the United States — a requirement that could now be impossible to meet.

Brutal conditions in Puppy Mills

“The USDA action cloaks even the worst puppy mills in secrecy and allows abusers of Tennessee walking horses, zoo animals and lab animals to hide even the worst track records in animal welfare,” said John Goodwin, senior director of the Humane Society’s Stop Puppy Mills Campaign, which uses the federal records, as well as state inspection reports, to publish its annual “Horrible Hundred” dog breeding operations that have been cited for welfare violations.

In a statement, Kathy Guillermo, the senior vice president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, called it “a shameful attempt to keep the public from knowing when and which laws and regulations have been violated. Many federally registered and licensed facilities have long histories of violations that have caused terrible suffering.”
It is unclear whether the decision to remove the animal-related records was driven by newly hired Trump administration officials. When asked questions about the change, a USDA-APHIS representative referred back to the department’s statement. The Associated Press reported that a department spokeswoman declined to say whether the removal was temporary or permanent.

Advocates for businesses that rely on animals, including agriculture and exotic pet breeders, have long resented government oversight that they say is overly aggressive and influenced by animal protection groups. Last month, Mindy Patterson, the president of the Cavalry Group — which describes its aim as “protecting and defending animal enterprise”– wrote a column accusing the USDA of having “succumbed to the pressure of animal rights extremists.” She said public USDA records had allowed groups like the Humane Society and PETA to vilify businesses by publishing their addresses and photographs of their locations and animals.

The column was published on the website Joe For America, which is maintained by Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher, an Ohio man better known as “Joe the plumber” since a 2008 encounter with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama that made Wurzelbacher a symbol of frustrated American taxpayers.


SOURCE: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/02/03/the-usda-abruptly-removes-animal-welfare-information-from-its-website/?utm_term=.75d3c6184adb