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No More Homeless Pets Forum
June 7, 2004 Puppy Mills and Pet Stores |
How do we stop the sale of pets? What about backyard breeders? Is pet transport the answer or part of the problem? Francis Battista of Best Friends Animal Society and Lee Wheeler of Hearts United for Animals will answer your questions.
Introduction from Francis Battista:
There is no mystery as to why there is a demand for puppies and kittens. They are cute, cuddly and promise a lifetime of loyalty and friendship. It is more surprising, though, that 80% of the people who acquire a new pet buy one rather than adopt one from a shelter or rescue group. That fact blows the "not enough homes" rationale for why so many animals are killed in shelters because if those numbers were reversed, if 80% were adopted and only 20% were purchased, then there wouldn't be a homeless pet problem at all.The question is this: How do we go about working with the variables of the equation -- such as making it more costly to breed and sell pets or making adoption more appealing -- to reverse those percentages? What role might legislation have?
Introduction from Lee Wheeler:
Hundreds of thousands of dogs suffer in commercial kennels across this country. Although there are some federal, state and local laws that are supposed to provide a minimum of protection for them, the laws are rarely enforced.The dogs often live in conditions that lack heat or air conditioning to protect them from the elements, are small and do not provide for adequate exercise or are dangerous. They are bred when they are only six months old and then every heat cycle thereafter.
Hearts United for Animals has rescued thousands of dogs from commercial kennels and found every dog to have medical and or emotional problems. These problems range from rotten teeth, matting, open sores or wounds, to huge hernias, malnutrition, and infections. In all cases we have been able to restore these dogs to health and give them good lives.
These dogs are no different than the dogs that live as our family members. They should not be locked in small prisons sweltering in the summer, freezing in the winter, being bred over and over until their bodies give out and they die.
Questions
Getting customers and stockholders of pet stores involved
Ending the sale of live animals in pet stores through legislation
Information on what to do if you purchased a sick puppy from a pet store
Getting people to adopt when you don't have the breeds available that they want
What one person can do to stop puppy mills
Stopping breeders from cashing in on a lack of puppies in the Northeast US
Defining puppy mills and the goal of ending pet sales
Fighting pet stores by requiring spay/neuter of all animals
How do you fight a pet store coming into your community?
Reporting people who are selling a nimals through the paper and making a profit
What to do if you think a facility is a puppy mill
Rescuing a dog from a mill or pet store
Getting customers and stockholders of pet stores involved
Question from a member:
It seems to me that if we want to get pet stores to stop selling live animals one of the most effective ways would be to get customers of these stores and stockholders to write letters, make phone calls, fill out surveys, and let the stores know that they don't want to see live animals sold. Send in copies of receipts, so they can see that you are a customer. Pet stores are for profit businesses and do listen to their customers if there is enough demand.While it is good for animal lovers and groups to call/write pet stores, it seems like they aren't going to be as likely to listen, unless we are their customers. Is there anyone tackling it from this approach? It would be great to see one group focus on coordinating these efforts because I think it could be very effective.
Response from Francis:
The Avian Welfare Coalition maintains a "Pet Store Watch" at http://www.avianwelfare.org/action/petstorewatch/index.htm.Another tactic is to become a stockholder of the national chains and use the stockholder's meeting forum. Raise animal welfare and consumer protection issues as well as the liability issues associated with selling animals that may carry zoonotic diseases.
Response from Lee:
We absolutely agree with this suggestion and strongly support it. If you go to our website at www.prisonersofgreed.org we have a sample letter for people to send to pet stores. You are absolutely correct about it being important to come from customers. The customers have to say that they were customers but they are not any longer. While you are there, we suggest also printing the letter to send to the "letters to the editor" to the newspaper in your area.It's very important to note that the pet stores sell puppies as a draw to bring people into their stores. Often they don't make money on the puppy, particularly if the puppy is not sold quickly. So if the pet store hears from customers that they are not going to buy anything at their store because they are selling puppies, that is going to make a huge difference. We also recommend that people visiting our website go to the download section and print some of the posters there. Take them to the strip malls where the pet stores are selling puppies and put them on the windshields of the cars in the parking lot to let people in the community know about puppy mills. Remember before you do this to check whether there is a sign in the parking lot that says, "No soliciting." If there is, you should not leaflet the cars, and if there is not, then you can. Many of the strip malls where the pet stores are located also have a grocery store. Often there are bulletin boards in those stores, so tack up some posters there.
Ending the sale of live animals in pet stores through legislation
Question from Diane:
It would seem that the only way to end the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores is through legislative action on a statewide basis. Are there any groups, (particularly in PA) working to this end? Are you aware of any legislators who would support this type of legislation? Any suggestions on how to get started?Response from Francis:
Unfortunately, I am not aware of any groups working to end the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores. There are three possible strategies as I see it: one is animal protection, the second is consumer protection, and the third is public burden.I don't think that animal protection legislation would be an effective approach to slowing or eliminating the sale of animals in pet stores. However, it could be very effective in improving the conditions of the animals in the stores and the cost of doing business. There was a very effective PETA campaign against PETCO in the San Francisco area recently that did. Conditions will be improved and PETCO will have to spend more money on staff and training. That cost will, of course, be passed along to the consumer, but it remains to be seen if the court case will lead to any legislation restricting the sale of animals. I think that sooner or later options 2 & 3 will emerge as the most effective way to force legislation controlling or eliminating the sale of animals, including dogs and cats from pet stores.
Consumer protection: Since dogs, cats, birds, sugar gliders and rabbits don't vote, legislators will be less responsive to their interests until their human advocates constitute a significantly larger portion of the voter base than they currently do. That said, legislators are responsive to constituents who have suffered some of the nightmares associated with buying genetically damaged, unhealthy pets from pet stores, such as sky high vet bills, emotional trauma to children, unsatisfactory responses from pet stores, etc.
Many of the abuses of puppy mills relate to over breeding, inbreeding and horrendous living conditions. All of these contribute to behavior, health and genetic problems that land on the consumer, and all are part of life in puppy mills. Consumer protection legislation aimed at insuring the "as advertised" health and behavior of a dog, for example, would necessarily require changes in breeding practices much in the way organic food regulations obligate anyone who wants to sell food labeled "organic" in the state of California to pass rigorous testing and provide proof of compliance. Imagine if puppy mills were obligated to conform to breeding standards that addressed, inbreeding and puppy raising standards. The cost of delivering such a puppy to market would effectively destroy mass marketing. If we can guarantee the production standards of a carrot for the purposes of consumer protection, we should be able to guarantee the production standards of a member of the family.
Public burden: Like the effects of the tobacco industry on state and local health care costs, the animal breeding industry is responsible, in significant part, for the public burden of having to operate animal shelters for decades. Why shouldn't they be forced to pick up the public cost of the dumping animals on the market? Especially animals who are more likely to have health and behavioral problems due to the very nature of the industry. There are few very big and wealthy animal distributors. I would like to see a couple of states' attorneys general file some type of suit against these companies to reclaim the cost of dealing with the problem they create.
Another angle on the public burden issue that could be utilized on a local level is this: If a community has a licensing differential for neutered/un-neutered animals, then why not require pet store to license their animals and pay the un-neutered differential price.
Response from Lee:
That's very interesting idea. The concern is that legislation of that type can be unconstitutional. It's very difficult to limit the rights of citizens to sell specific products. Many people have tried to limit the sale of things like pornography and have not been successful. Efforts need to be concentrated in areas where there can be the greatest effect in the shortest time. If legislation prohibiting the sale of pets in pet stores was passed, it would certainly be challenged by the pet industry and then years of time and money would be spent fighting the court case.Whether that would be a good use of time and money would be determined by the likelihood of success at the court level. I have considered the legal issues associated with this type of legislation many times. I think the only possibility of it being successful would be through the use of a greater public good argument. The euthanasia of millions of dogs would not work, nor would the taxpayer dollars being used in shelters. But what might work is a public health argument.
To this end we have been collecting statements from people who have purchased pet store puppies who were ill. There is also a report prepared by the State of California and another by the Center for Disease Control that show that large numbers of dogs in pet stores are incubating disease. We do not think that the information that exists at this time is adequate to defeat the constitutional argument, but it is possible that with more information collected it would be.
In summary, this is a very interesting idea that should be considered further. However, given the problems, time and money, other efforts need to continue.
Information on what to do if you purchased a sick puppy from a pet store
Comment from Leigh Grady, Executive Director, Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling in MA:
Hello there... as much as I hate the pet stores in our area I hated even more that NO ONE could tell me what to do about them or how to stop them. I spend many months writing a document as an implement for people who purchased pups... our shelter gets many calls for help and I'm proud to say that 19 families followed our document (follow the link). All 19 sued in court, kept their dogs, won their case, reclaimed their money and BANKRUPTED the store that closed!Please click on the link to see the document, and please feel free to crosspost and forward it. It took many months to research, but we have already had success. I would love to be able to get it networked to MORE groups so they can change the formatting to fit their own state. This document can easily be adapted to fit other situations and states. Please feel free to pass it on.
If you have any questions my contact info is:
Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling, 17 Laurelwood Road, Sterling MA 01564
(978) 422-8585 - Shelter, or (978) 563-1039 - Fax
As tempting as it may be to "save" the pathetic puppies at the pet store, your dollars are what keep these losers in business. The puppy you buy today will just be replaced by another tomorrow. Instead, ask pet store managers to sell only supplies, not living animals. Let them know that you won't be buying anything from them - even supplies - until they do. Ask them to team up with the local animal shelters to display animals up for adoption.
First and foremost, please understand that NO REPUTABLE BREEDER would ever sell their puppies to a pet store. Reputable breeders are breeding for a better quality dog, a show dog, breeding to eliminate hereditary and genetic defects. Reputable breeders do not make money by selling puppies.
Comment from Tami Myers, President, The Angry Parrot Inc:
The document put together by Leigh was amazing, well thought out and will certainly help all of us to put an end to puppy mills. Excellent work Leigh.I have incorporated a new Animal Rights organization as well as parrot sanctuary called The Angry Parrot. The goal of TAP is to stop ALL live animal retail sales. Our slogan is "The Pet Trade BITES and we are BITING back!" See our web site: www.theangryparrot.org, or contact us at (508) 699-6891.
Puppies, kittens, birds, reptiles and small mammals ALL come from breeding mills. Sadly, the laws protecting puppies are paper thin, and with the birds they are almost transparent. It is not only legal to ship and sell unweaned baby birds, it is standard practice except in CA where a law is going into effect to stop this cruel and often deadly practice. With over 200 sanctuaries full of unwanted parrots, they are now being euthanized due to lack of proper homes. It is time to put a stop to all live animal retail sales.
Comment from Shari Wexler, Vice President, Media Relations, New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse:
New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse (NJCAPSA) was formed in October of 2003 to specifically address the issue of sick animals purchased from NJ pet shops. NJCAPSA is registered in NJ as a non-profit organization and has submitted its application for federal 501(c)3 status.NJCAPSA assists consumers who have purchased sick animals from NJ pet shops. NJ is fortunate to have the Pet Purchase Protection Act, which allows NJCAPSA to inform consumers about their rights and offer guidance on how to exercise them.
NJCAPSA maintains a database of consumer complaints filed with state and local consumer affairs departments as well as state and local health departments. NJCAPSA offers fact sheets about pet shops and puppy mills to shelters and rescue groups as well as the general public.
I agree with Francis Battista about the animal protection aspect possibly not being the most effective approach in ending the sale of animals in pet stores. NJCAPSA has chosen to focus on the consumer angle since it is the most tangible way to attract media and legislative attention. We hope to hold the pet stores selling sick animals accountable for their actions and force them to pay retribution to the consumers they've defrauded. Eventually, they might feel it not profitable to remain in business, between paying fines and reimbursing consumers. Fortunately, we have garnered the support of a few animal-friendly legislators with whom we are working at this time. The public burden aspect is an interesting one and one that we have not yet addressed.
For more information, please visit our web site at www.njcapsa.org. Our email address is info@njcapsa.org and our telephone number is (908) 325-0333.
Getting people to adopt when you don't have the breeds available that they want
Question from Cassandra:
The community that I live in is very big on small breed dogs like Bichon Frise, Chihuahua's, and all the "purebred" poodle mixes that you could possibly come up with. Obviously we don't have an abundance of these breeds at our shelter. The majority of people in this community are either going to backyard breeders looking for quick buck, or pet stores in other communities that sell these breeds. How do we change people's minds to get them to adopt, if we don't have the breeds available that they want?Response from Lee:
I think that is a question that confronts every shelter across the country in some form. I know that in the Midwest we are always flooded with large mixed breed male dogs. It's a challenge to get people to consider one of them.If none of the normal techniques work and you can't convince them to adopt one of the great dogs at your shelter, I would have a list of purebred rescues ready and give them that information so that they have an alternative other than a pet store or a back yard breeder. Also, I would create a list of shelters on the Internet that will do long distance adoptions.
At our shelters in Nebraska we always have small dogs while many shelters on the coasts do not. We have done long distance adoptions for almost nine years now. There are many other shelters that also do long distance adoptions. So while you may not get the dog in your shelter adopted, you would help another dog and prevent the purchase of a pet store puppy that most probably came from a puppy mill.
Finally I would keep a stack of information brochures about puppy mills at the shelter. We have brochures at HUA, so do PETA, HSUS and IDA. I would give one to anyone you think might be going to leave and head to a pet store.
Response from Francis:
This is the favorite theme of Mike Arms, the adoption guru who catapulted North Shore Animal League to prominence in the 1990's with the national "Adoptathon". He then went to the Helen Woodward Center and developed the very successful "Home For The Holidays" winter adoption campaign.Mike is very adamant that we need to compete head to head in the market with commercial breeders and retailers. They, as you point out, are the competition but in too many cases we don't approach adoptions with the same marketing values that breeders and sellers do.
Advertising and promotional campaigns are one way, but there are others that have enjoyed success as well. I don't know where you live. TV adoptions are very successful in cities that have TV stations. Pet spots are very popular with the public and make good sense for any morning TV show.
Celebrities are also useful for promoting mutts and larger dogs. And, celebrity is a very relative term. In a given community, the college football coach might be a bigger and more influential celebrity than a Hollywood star, likewise local radio personalities. Mutts are cool is the basic message.
Another way to promote adoptions is with offsite adoptions in a mall or a park or even the local major pet supply outlet. Going into a city shelter is often a big barrier to overcome in the public mind. Most people just want to be able to select a dog that they like without feeling guilty about the ones they "didn't save".
I heard once about a community that created a "dog club" of people who had adopted from the shelter and they did all kinds of fun things with their dogs on the weekends... hikes, picnics, Frisbee competitions, etc. The qualification for admission to the club was at least one adopted dog in the family.
In the final analysis you have to make your dogs more desirable than the little pure breeds. It helps to look at the techniques of professional marketing people. Articles by Mike Arms can be found on the Best Friends website at http://www.bestfriends.org/nmhp/resources.html#adoptions.
What one person can do to stop puppy mills
Question from Tina:
What can one person do to try to stop puppy mills? Our local SPCA just rescued 300 from a puppy Mill in Wills Point. This winter they rescued about 130 from another in Tyler. Every weekend someone is selling puppies on the side of the road or in bank parking lots.Response from Lee:
We strongly believe that every single person can make a huge difference in the fight against the mills. We think the most effective tool available right now is education. If every one of us who cares about the dogs educated ten people, and they in turn took the information home and to the office, the information would spread across the country. Once people know the truth about the puppies in the pet stores, they will stop buying them and the mills will close.At HUA we have full color brochures about puppy mills. They are full of graphic photos and have an enormous impact. People take the brochures and put them all over the country. They put them in doctors' offices, vets' offices, grocery stores, post offices, car repair businesses, libraries and so on. They even put them in the back of the seats in trains and airplanes. We receive email from people every day who have seen the brochures and been motivated by them. Those people have been convinced not to buy a puppy in a pet store. Also, people put the brochures in their purses or briefcases and pull them out to educate people they run into in line at the post office or the grocery store - anywhere they can strike up a conversation. Many other animal welfare organizations have brochures to educate the public too - PETA, HSUS, and IDA. Information about their brochures can be found on their websites.
Also, we advocate sending letters to the editor of the newspaper. We have a sample letter on our website at www.prisonersofgreed.org.
And shortly we will be releasing an educational CD full of information about the mills. It can be used by people across the country to educate groups of people like social groups and clubs, schools, churches and so on. One of the most important groups to reach is the kids. Remember it was the kids who lead the campaign to make tuna dolphin safe. If the kids knew the truth about puppy mills, they would refuse to let the parents buy a dog in a pet store. Taking the message to the kids is very important.
Response from Francis:
There is no formula, or it would have been done, but I can tell you that the "Save The Whales" campaign that became a rallying point for environmentalists and conservationists was started by a child in California with a card table and a petition form. Her dedication and her simple message caught the public imagination and literally helped to change the world. Dolphin Safe Tuna (which is currently threatened by trade agreements) was largely the result of one courageous individual's secret video taping aboard a tuna trawler.You have cited a situation that constitutes a serious public burden. Why not try an approach not from the animal welfare point of view, but from the cost to the public of unregulated puppy mills.
Stopping breeders from cashing in on a lack of puppies in the Northeast U.S.
Question from a member:
I've read recently about Woof and Company that is planning to start selling purebred puppies for thousands of dollars in the North East. They see a market there because the North East has done so well with spay/neuter that there aren't a lot of puppies in shelters anymore. They are often imported. As we hopefully work more and more towards no more homeless pets, we will face this dilemma more and more. How do we make sure that for-profit greedy business people won't see this as an opportunity to make money and undo all the good work we are doing?Response from Lee:
The advent of Woof and Co (now Rufus) on the scene is clearly a worry. We understand that there is a coalition organization that has formed in Massachusetts to fight them there. I know I have already given this answer, but we think that the best way to fight the pet stores is with education. Several different ways to educate include the brochures I mentioned in response to an earlier question, leafleting cars with flyers (you can download many different flyers from the downloads section of our website at www.prisonersofgreed.org), educational presentations, letters to the editor, billboards, ads in newspapers, radio and TV. Legislative changes are important too, but they are not the only answer because the current laws are not being enforced.HUA is one of the shelters that transports puppies into areas of the country where there are few puppies in shelters. We have been doing this for over 9 years now. When we started we could only handle the puppies in the county where we are located in Nebraska, now we have managed to reduce the population to such an extent that we take in puppies from a four state area. So we think programs that relocate animals from areas where there are large numbers to areas where there are few help reduce the puppies that are purchased from pet stores.
Response from Francis:
This is really two questions:1. How do we get the public to want adult dogs more than they want puppies?
2. How do we stop the mass production and mass marketing of puppies?
While we can do a lot better than we are doing to promote adoptions... something like only 20% of new dogs going into homes are adopted! From a market share point of view, we are not doing very well to say the least. In one very real respect we, the humane community, are inviting The Woofs and Companies of the world to exploit our weakness. I have mentioned some things we can do in an earlier post.
Likewise, I repeat my points from a previous post; I believe that consumer protection legislation and public burden class action could hit puppy mills and distributors. I don't think ultimately, animal protection will have as much traction with legislators and courts.
Defining puppy mills and the goal of ending pet sales
Question from Becky:
When we say we want to end the sales of pets are we talking just mills and pet stores or is it everyone (including show breeders or small scale breeders) except for shelters and rescues? And what is the accepted definition of a mill? I don't see how eliminating everyone but shelters will reduce the numbers abandoned by pet owners or am I missing something?Response from Francis:
It depends on whom you talk to. Most rescuers would say that there is no such thing as a responsible breeder given the current tragedy of homeless pets. The logic of "eliminating everyone but shelters" is this: At present, 80% of the supply of new pets comes from sources other than shelters. By eliminating that supply stream, you would greatly reduce the number of animals being killed. A very high percentage of animals in shelters are pure bred... I have heard numbers ranging from 25% to 33% depending on the region of the country. Vanity and spur of the moment pet acquisitions are more likely to be associated with pet store purchases.Also, it's a know fact that "mill" animals have a high level of health and behavior problems associated with in-breeding and poor housing and weaning practices. Such problems contribute to owner surrenders at shelters.
Having said all that, I don't think that it is possible to eliminate the public desire for specific breeds, and not really necessary. I do think, however, that if someone wants a specific breed, he/she should pay for the real cost of breeding a healthy, well adjusted pet from a place where he/she can meet the pets parents and the human responsible. Eliminating all but that type of breeder/buyer relationship would eliminate spur of the moment purchases. In most cases it would include more screening than currently exists at pet stores, and it would raise the price and lower the volume of sales. Many breeders don't "rescue" sales gone wrong, but many do and are also involved in breed rescue.
Mills... dog, cat, bird or whatever, are commercial production facilities. They make money by cutting corners on the size of kennel/cage space, over breeding females. They shorten the time to market and ship animals by truck from remote rural breeding locations long distances to city and suburban pet outlets. They also cut corners on important socialization of a young animal by its parent and with that parent's human friends.
All this constitutes animal abuse and burdens the "product" of such facilities and the families that buy them with behavioral and health problems. The problem with what I am suggesting, of course, is establishing and enforcing guidelines for breeders that the animal welfare and the humane community would endorse and that the breed fancy community would buy into as well.
Response from Lee:
I cannot speak on behalf of the many organizations that work against puppy mills, but I can say that the position of Hearts United for Animals is that there are many quality breeders who do a wonderful job of breeding, caring for and placing puppies. We do not work to shut them down. We do not think that the only source of dogs is a shelter or a rescue. I do not know if other organizations agree with that position. Of course given the millions of dogs killed in this country every year, we would prefer that people adopt or rescue dogs.There is no definition of the word puppy mill. It is not in the dictionary. We define it as any breeder whose focus is on maximizing profit by reducing cost. Any quality breeder will tell you that there is no money to be made in breeding dogs if it is done correctly. We consider several factors in determining whether a facility is a mill in our opinion. These factors would be: the number of breeds of dogs, the number of dogs, the age at which the female dogs are first bred, the number of times a female dog is allowed to be bred, where the puppies are sold, the facility where the dogs are kept, the genetic tests that are preformed on the parents and whether the puppies are sold under contract that requires them to come back if there is ever a problem.
Fighting pet stores by requiring spay/neuter of all animals
Question from a member:
A group in Athens, OH is fighting a new Petland coming in and decided to try to get legislation passed through City council requiring every animal "sold" in the county had to be spayed or neutered before going to a new home. While it still doesn't help the animal being purchased from a pet store in the first place, at least it makes sure that they are not adding to the problem. What do you think about trying this angle? Or maybe also trying to get the area the sellers wants to come into rezoned or get city council to not let the sellers come in?Response from Francis:
Obviously, if they can stop the store from coming in, that would be best. See an earlier message for some thoughts on this.I think spay/neuter requirements are a great idea and a good idea in any event. Pet licensing at point of sale is another thing to look at as a way of generating revenue for animal services.
A spay/neuter ordinance such as you describe might draw opposition from some unlikely quarters, so make sure your draft regulations hit the target you are aiming at and don't rile up unnecessary conflict.
Response from Lee:
Those are both excellent ideas. An ordinance requiring that all animals be spayed or neutered has failed in many locations because of opposition from the pet store lobbies, but it's still a good idea. One worry that I have about it is that often the puppies in pet stores are so sick that subjecting them to surgery may endanger their lives. And I'm also concerned about their being old enough to be altered. We do early spay neuter, but we wait a little longer for the small breed dogs. I'm not personally involved with our clinic so would have to ask to be sure, but I think we wait until 12 weeks for the small dogs. That would mean that the dogs would stay at the pet store until they were old enough to be altered, which would not be good for them. Of course, the hope would be that the simple existence of the law would discourage the sale of the puppies to begin with and the concerns I have listed would never need to be faced.Re-zoning a piece of land is difficult. There are constitutional issues that are not totally resolved by the case law. The concern is that rezoning essentially constitutes a "taking" which entitles the owner to compensation for the value of the land. Communities don't want to get into those arguments. I think that the issue requires an analysis on a case-by-case basis and is dependent on the specific facts. But it is certainly something that should be reviewed.
Also, local ordinances should be tried, such as prohibition on selling live animals in pet stores, limitation on the number of animals that can be sold in a month, space and care requirements that make it less profitable for them to sell animals, requirements to have an on-site vet that make it less profitable to sell animals, mandatory long term warranties and extensive record keeping requirements. The idea is that any local ordinance that makes it more complicated and more expensive to sell animals would be a disincentive to the owners to sell animals in their store. The pet store lobbies will fight these local ordinances, but if they happened all over the country they would quickly find their resources strained.
How do you fight a pet store coming into your community?
Question from Charlene:
My question concerns pet stores, and is really two-fold. Our town announced recently that we are getting a "Petland". They have already said that they will be selling puppies and kittens. Just great!Lots of people that I've talked to are NOT happy about this particular store coming in!! If they insist on bring a pet store to our area, we would have rather seen a company like "PETsMART", who works with most shelters.
I will not be patronizing this store in any way, shape or form!! That being said, my question is 1) What do we do now, since it's already being built, and 2) how, if possible can we go about ensuring better quality stores like PETsMART being built in the future? How do we go about letting these potential builders know that if they build it, we will NOT come, especially when it goes against what we're trying to accomplish by supporting and adopting from the local shelter?
Response from Francis:
Petland has obviously done their homework and determined that there is a market for them in your community. Here are some suggestions for going forward:1. Petland is not a big jobs creator. They are generally a low wage and part time employer and, once the construction is complete, it could probably be demonstrated that Petland will cost the community as much in animal services to deal with the stray and abandoned animals resulting from their presence as they are putting into the community in wages and taxes.
2. Start writing letters to newspapers and to Petland now.
3. Do research on animal and consumer related complaints concerning Petland. I believe there is a lot out there.
4. Check with www.avianwelfare.org and request info on reports re: Petland. Likewise PETA.
5. Identify local politicians who are concerned about the local shelter and get them on board. Ask their advice on how to proceed from the political point of view.
6. Contact the Animal Legal Defense Fund and find out if there are any local or state laws that might be invoked in your favor.
Perhaps others reading this forum might be able to offer help or suggestions.
Response from Lee:
One way to make a big difference on behalf of the animals is by getting involved politically. This means researching whom the candidates are in your area and their positions, volunteering for the campaigns of people who support the issues you are concerned with and donating to them.It's a sad statement about the state of politics in this country, but people who donate money are the ones to whom the politicians are listening. And at a local level it really doesn't take that large of a donation to get a candidate to listen. If you consolidate donations from a group of people who are concerned about animals and press your case together, you can definitely have a large impact.
This is very important at the local level because stores like Petland require zoning permits and building permits. If you have contacts in the Planning Commission and the Zoning Boards because you have been involved in the election of their members and have contributed to their campaigns, you can have an effect on whether or not they get those permits. Communities have been successful recently at keeping stores like K-mart out of their areas.
And remember to Vote. It's not only a privilege; it's a responsibility. Help put animal friendly people in office.
And then to take it a step further, people who care about animals need to get elected to office. Now the US Congress would be nice, but Tip O'Neill (House Majority Leader in the 80s) used to say, "All politics is local". His point was that although there is a lot of attention paid to politics on the federal level, the real work gets done at the local level. And frankly, it's not that hard to get elected to local office. Often there is only one person running for the local office. So if animal people were to run for office at a local level, they could have a dramatic impact on what gets zoned and permitted, and also on things like spay/neuter laws. And finally, they could help pass local laws preventing the sale of puppies in pet stores.
Although these laws are certainly subject to Constitutional challenge, if they are done on a local level it's not as expensive and can force the pet lobby into fighting many of them in many different jurisdictions. Often when people think of legislation they think state and federal laws and forget that there local ordinances that define all sorts of actions at a local level. I meant to include that in my answer to an earlier question but forgot, so I'm adding it here.
When the store is already being built, then it's important to get the names of the owners and write to them. Assess the mall to consider the other stores that are present. Consider whether it's appropriate to boycott all of the stores by send them all letters saying that you will not shop at any of them unless they pressure the landlord to prohibit Petland from selling puppies at that location.
Consider putting up a billboard in close proximity to the store, of course, leaflet the cars and put editorials in the newspaper. Consider decorating a car with information about mills and parking it in the parking lot.
Reporting people who are selling animals through the paper and making a profit
Question from Beth:
Someone told me a story of a woman in Texas who succeeded in getting an irresponsible backyard breeder's business stopped by doing the following. She followed the classified ads for puppies for sale on a regular basis. She would call and find out about the litters - number available and the price per puppy - by pretending she was interested in buying one. After keeping records for a year, and calculating the profits, she reported the person to the IRS for running an illegal business.I thought this idea was fabulous! Have you ever heard of this or anyone else doing it? Do you think it would work?
Response from Francis:
I hadn't heard of that one, but why not... except that it is not a very efficient method unless you are, as in the case you refer to, dealing with a local backyard breeder.Pet store puppies usually come from "legal", if unethical operations. Back yard breeders are a major source of pit bulls and pit crosses for the purpose of dog fighting in many cities. Any way to shut down back yard operations is worth a try. Even in cities where breeding laws apply, enforcement is a major problem due to short staffing. Frequently, Animal Services enforcement people avoid gang related dog problems due to intimidation.
Lee Wheeler's response:
This is an excellent idea. A quicker and easier way to do it though is to get the health certificates from the state department of agriculture and add up how many dogs they have shipped out of state. You can get access to the records through a Freedom of Information Act request.What to do if you think a facility is a puppy mill?
Question from Jenny:
What can be done if you think someone is operating a puppy mill? How do you know what to look for and what questions to ask in terms of what types of license/permit they need to have? We think we have one near us. I'd like to check it out posing as an interested buyer, but I'm not sure where to begin. Even if I do find something, can the local humane society help with cruelty charges, or is it only the USDA that does inspections? It seems like they have so few inspectors that they won't be able to come out for a really long time.Response from Lee:
The answer to that question depends to a great extent on what state you are in. Many states have state kennel laws that operate in addition to the federal laws. Also state laws typically control the extent of power of the cruelty officers. In many states like Pennsylvania and Nebraska, the USDA and the state Agriculture officers have the right to go in and inspect, but the cruelty officers have to have probable cause before they can go onto the property. So if you pose as an interested buyer and go in and look at the conditions, you can document what you saw and give it to the cruelty officer, and then they can use that as probably cause.Remember that the information must be provided to them expeditiously, because it gets "stale" quickly and can no longer be used. Also, many people go into kennels and think that it's awful that all the dogs are confined in cages (and it certainly is awful), but you have to remember that it's not against the law. They won't be able to do anything about that. You have to document cruelty for the cruelty officer to have a right to go in. It's a good idea to document violations of the state and federal kennels laws also, and send those offices a letter outlining the violations and requesting an inspection. If you have an animal friendly senator or congressperson, it's always good to copy them on the letter.
You should take along camera and take as many photos as you can. I don't know of any state where it's against the law to take photos. Both Missouri and Kansas have tried to make it illegal, but the last time I checked those bills were not passed. But in many states it is illegal to tape record someone unless they know of it in advance. So I would not take along a small tape recorder without checking the law in your state first.
Response from Francis:
It is quite possible for a breeding operation to be a puppy mill and pass a USDA inspection with flying colors! That is because your idea of what is inhumane and the USDA's threshold of offense are quite different. Many USDA inspections focus on technical building compliance rather than animal care/breeding concerns. So unless there is something really, really bad, it is unlikely that the USDA can or will do anything.Any breeder that sells through a middleman or distributor must be licensed as a dealer by the USDA. Search for their name on the USDA website: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ac/publications.html#lists.
Look up USDA Facility Lists Dealers: ("A" Breeders) ("B" Dealers) to search to see if that breeder/broker holds a USDA license. (This information is quoted from an excellent forum comment by Leigh Grady, Executive Director, Animal Shelter Inc. of Sterling, MA and the full text is posted as question #3 in this series.)
If your local breeder sells directly to the public, they do not need a USDA license. However, they probably need a city or county business license.
Visit the location as an interested buyer. Ask to see the puppies for sale, and also ask to see the parents and the breeding facilities. If you are refused a tour of the animal facilities, it is not an automatic that they are hiding something. There are valid health reason to restrict public access to an area where unvaccinated puppies are living, however, it is cause for suspicion. Smell, noise, and the visual health, grooming and attitude of the dogs, especially the bitches will speak volumes.
If you are reasonably confident that something is wrong, contact your local humane inspector and ask if there is any history with the facility or any record of complaint. Also ask what they would have to find at the facility to take action and if they will conduct an unannounced inspection.
All of this may go nowhere, but they are necessary steps. If you are still concerned, then I suggest you contact an organization with a background in undercover investigations such as Last Chance For Animals (www.lcanimals.org) or PETA.
Rescuing a dog from a mill or pet store
Question from a member:
I would like to get your opinion on something about which I'm torn. I was watching Animal Planet and saw where some people in the Midwest go to animal auctions to try buying as many puppies and dogs as they can to rescue them. It was tearing my heart out and I thought how wonderful these people were for doing this difficult work, because even if they only get a few it is making a difference to those animals lives. But on the other hand, if we support these auctions, then we are just feeding into the profits. It's like when we see a sad puppy in the mall pet store and rescue him, but then just open a spot for another dog to come in and take his place. What is your opinion on rescuers purchasing animals from auctions and pet stores?Response from Francis:
We have all been there and "rescued" an animal from a bad pet store or breeder by buying the critter! I have come to believe that this is counterproductive. In some cases it amounts to almost intentional self-deception.I recently spoke to someone who "rescued" a pure bred dog in this manner from someone who had bought it at auction and paid close to $1000. Well, this is just the puppy mill circuit by another route and it is probably likely that the breeder is making more money at auction than through the "B" dealer distributor.
So, my answer is, "No", I don't believe this type of rescue helps the cause.
