Thanks so much to Mary O’Connor Shaver at Columbus Top Dogs and Kelli Ohrtman at the Best Friends Animal Society for this article.

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Many have heard of the USDA (it’s stamped on organic food labels, meat labels, and other everyday grocery store items), and many have heard of puppy mills. But the fact that puppy mills are regulated by the USDA is a little-known fact to most people.

The US Department of Agriculture seems like a strange entity to be in charge of regulating the puppy industry, but that’s how it works. To be clearer, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Services (APHIS) is the arm of the USDA in charge of regulating puppy mills under the Animal Welfare Act. There are currently 5,913 dog breeders and brokers with USDA licenses. People often wonder whether there is a list of all the puppy mills in the country. Well, the USDA is the first place to look.

In April, Oprah Winfrey aired an hour-long show about puppy mills, and the same day, the USDA published a FAQ on animal dealers. Note the paragraph below on the left—the first frequently asked question: “who regulates puppy mills?” Answer: the USDA.
**Note that the USDA has since changed the language to read Who regulates commercial dog breeders?

For a list of USDA licensed commercial dog breeders (or puppy mills—call them what you like), click here.

What many people also don’t realize is that under the Freedom of Information Act, we are all entitled to view not just a breeder’s name and address, but their inspection reports are included as well. Curious about a breeder? Order their inspection reports. You can do it online by clicking here.

What’s NOT inspected by the USDA?
-Retail pet stores. The USDA only regulates the supply end—the breeders.
-Puppy sales on the Internet, classified ads, flea markets. NO regulation
-Small-scale breeders who have three or fewer breeding female dogs. NO regulation

70 inspectors for 10,000 facilities
In addition to inspecting and watching over commercial dog kennels, APHIS inspectors are also in charge of inspecting research facilities, zoos and circuses, airport terminals—they are in charge of inspecting the care, handling and housing of everything from dogs to dolphins. This document, published on APHIS’ website, has this to say about the inspectors themselves:

“[Animal Care] inspectors receive special training in the proper care of marine mammals, exotic animals, and animals used in research. Inspectors also receive extensive training in how to conduct inspections at airport terminals, zoos, and commercial animal breeding facilities, among others. APHIS currently has more than 70 AC inspectors in the United States, who are strategically placed where regulated facilities are located.”

The total number of active licensed facilities listed on the APHIS website is 9,883. At first glance, seventy inspectors for nearly 10,000 facilities sounds like a miniscule number of people doing a colossal job but if you do the math, it adds up to about one facility per day per inspector.

What compliance means with the AWA
It’s important to note exactly what inspectors are looking for when they arrive at a USDA licensed kennel. Their job is to make sure breeders are adhering to the minimum standards set forth by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). They can look at a facility with hundreds of dogs in small cages, desperate for human attention, and note no violations.

That’s because the AWA does nothing to ensure dogs are happy, or live a quality life. It’s not written into the regulations, and therefore is not something the USDA enforces. Here are some quick facts about the minimum standards set forth by the USDA:

-Inspections are “Risk-based,” meaning that facilities that meet a certain criteria are inspected “as seldom as once every 2 to 3 years.” ( source)
-Cage size: must be 6 inches larger than the size of the dog, on all sides
-Up to 12 dogs can be housed in one cage
-Dogs never have to be let out of their cages. Breeders only need to have an exercise plan
-There is no limit to the number dogs a breeder can have—many have over 1,000
-There is no age limit for breeding dogs. If a dog is able to produce puppies for ten years, that’s how long they could be in the facility
For the full text of the federal Animal Welfare Regulations, click here.

Bad Kennels Stay in Business
One of the most common complaints about the USDA from animal advocates is that breeders can have repeated and long-standing violations, but continue to sell hundreds of puppies to pet stores. Below are several reports of large, USDA-licensed Minnesota kennels that have multiple USDA violations and dozens of reports of sick puppies sold in stores. Click the links below to see the reports, courtesy of Pet Shop Puppies Inc.

Note that some have even been investigated by local news stations and have been charged with animal cruelty by the state. (**Note, the top of the report includes puppies the breeder has sold, and the bottom includes USDA inspection violations, news exposés and other investigations, if any.)

Wanda McDuffee

Angie & Gerry Wensmann

Kathy Bauck

What all this means, and what you can do:

1.) Support new legislation that will amend the Animal Welfare Act. The Puppy Uniform Protection Act (PUPS) is on the docket for the 2008-2009 session. Click here for more information (**For one example of a notorious kennel that currently does not need a USDA license under the AWA, visit this case on the CAPS website.)

2.) Watch and share the Best Friends Podcast about the USDA and puppy mills: Click here to view. You can also subscribe to the podcast for regular video updates.

3.) USDA-licensed kennels supply pet stores. If you disagree with the way the USDA regulates these kennels, never, ever buy a puppy from a pet store. Share this article and the podcast with others who might not know about the pet store/puppy mill connection.

4.) Test your knowledge of the USDA’s regulation of puppy mills with this online quiz from www.PetShopPuppies.org.

5.) If you know people who don’t understand or believe where pet store puppies come from, print this article and have them take it to a pet store and ask whether the puppies in the store come from USDA-licensed kennels. (The answer—legally—is yes.)

6.) For nine things you can do to help stop puppy mills, visit the Resources section of the Best Friends campaign website.

**In honor of the NBC’s Petside.com Pet Net Adoption Event, I am posting about the importance of pet adoption and why you should always go to a shelter for a new fur baby instead of a pet store, the Internet, or a breeder. This event is meant to raise awareness of shelter pets and adoption and why they’re the best option.**
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Raise your hand if you bought your dog from a breeder, pet store, newspaper ad or the Internet.

If you raised your hand, then you have personally contributed to the pet overpopulation problem in this country, perhaps without even knowing it.

The pet overpopulation problem is perpetuated by backyard breeders, pet shops and Internet breeders because there are millions of homeless animals living in shelters, foster care, and rescues across the country; and every time you buy a dog from a breeder or pet store, one of the rescue pets loses the chance to go to a “forever home.”

Dogs in pet stores and advertised in newspapers and online especially come from puppy mills, mass dog-breeding operations where life is nothing more than a steel cage not even big enough for the dog to turn around in usually.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, several hundred thousand puppies are shipped all over the country every year to be sold in pet shops, but many are sold via newspaper classifieds or the Internet. They’re often accompanied by false claims such as, “We’d never sell puppies from a puppy mill” or promises that the puppies are “home raised,” farm raised,” or “raised with kids/grandkids.” “The ploys of the puppy mill are designed to dupe a well-intentioned family into buying a puppy and keeping the engine of cruelty working overtime,” it says on the HSUS website.

To avoid carrying on this horrible practice, you should always, “adopt, don’t shop.”

Many people think animal rescues are places where the pets are banged up, imperfect, unwanted. And many of them are. But in reality, rescue pets end up being the best kind to have because their little souls have seen so much in life that they would do anything to make you happy and to be loved in return.

Running an animal rescue is hard work. Most rescues are funded by donations only and are run on a volunteer basis. If not for the big hearts and open wallets of people who run these facilities and volunteer their time and money, hundreds of thousands more pets would die each year.

Amy Weitzel, Founder of Multiple Breed Rescue in Elyria, Ohio is also the Ohio State Representative of Jack Russell Rescue. She runs two shelters from her home and family farm.

“If you are willing to find the RIGHT dog and not just the first dog you see then the puppy mills and backyard breeders would not exist,” Amy said. That’s the whole reason she got involved. She bought a cute little Jack Russell Terrier (JRT) from a pet store a few years back. She was uneducated about the process, and was horrified after she researched where the puppy really came from.

“Do you know not ONE pet store clerk asked if I had experience with JRT’s? Not one pet store clerk asked if I had any other dogs. Did you know female JRT’s do not get along with other female dogs 90% of the time?” Amy recounted. “Not one person said a thing. I was some young kid with a credit card. Heck they didn’t even ask me how old I was. I look young and to this day get carded to buy alcohol. I highly doubt I looked 18-years-old at the time.”

Pet stores and backyard breeders do not really care about the dogs themselves, they care about making money off of them. And as Amy so eloquently put it, we are in a society of “I want it now,” hence the reason pet stores are so successful.

Therein lies one of the challenges of running a dog rescue.

“Adopting a pet takes a little effort. You have to find a pet that interests you, complete an application, meet the dog, etc.,” Amy said. “All of this takes time. Usually a week or two. People don’t want to wait that long. Unfortunately our society treats dogs like they treat a new CD that was just released. GOT TO HAVE IT NOW. Go to the store, buy it and when they get bored with it throw it away and get a new one.”

Thus Amy began her crusade to save animals from untimely deaths. It’s not an easy job. She doesn’t get paid. She doesn’t get reimbursed in any way. Most of the time she ends up in the red. Many times she spends tons of money to recuperate the dogs, have them spayed/neutered, get them their shots, only to have someone scoff at her $100-$200 adoption fee.

Mindy the Rescue

“Normal adoption fee is between $100 for a dog I get in that is already fixed and $200 for a dog that I had to get everything done and pay a pull fee for,” Amy said. A pull fee is a fee that pounds charge Amy to save a dog that is on death row. Yes, they actually charge her to save a dog’s life. “If it is in an older dog and even though I have a lot of money into the dog I will adopt it out for $100. I might have put $300 into the dog but it is 10-years-old. I am just lucky to find it a home.”

That’s the whole purpose of Amy’s Multiple Breed Rescue - to help all the “mutts” and all the “hard to adopt” dogs from the shelters. 

“When I say ‘hard to adopt dogs’ I am speaking of the dogs that might require more medical attention due to skin allergies, broken bones, eye infections, etc.” she said. “There are rescues out there that, although I think they do a great job, stick to the easy to place dogs, leaving the dogs that really need help at the shelters to die. I personally like to take the leftovers, the dogs no one looks at twice, they usually turn out to be the best dogs!”

The Jack Pack

Amy placed about 180 dogs in loving, forever homes in 2007. She saved 180 lives. She takes in anywhere from two to 20 dogs a month, depending on how much space she has in her home and in foster homes. (The majority of the dogs stay at her home)

Amy has adoption events at places like PetSmart every month and has a whole slew of volunteers and caring foster parents who help her. She thinks the biggest hurdle is getting the word out about adopting. It’s hard to educate people about adoption because they don’t listen or don’t care.

“Animal rescue isn’t a moneymaking business so it isn’t like we have money to spend on advertising. Most of the media don’t care about pet adoption because again it isn’t a moneymaker,” Amy said. “I dream about having billboards and large news paper ads with statistics and facts about the pet overpopulation problem and about the adoption option vs. the pet store or backyard breeder advertising in the newspaper or on the telephone poll.”

Don’t we all?

All of this brings me to the main point of this post: pet adoption is really the only viable option there is. Even if you want a purebred dog, go to that breed’s local rescue chapter, for example Amy’s Ohio State Jack Russell Rescue, and save one’s life.

Every time you buy a dog from a pet store, another dog dies in a shelter somewhere.

To follow Amy’s everyday life, visit her compelling dog rescue blog, A Dog Rescuers Life.

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Please visit Petside’s Pet Net Adoption Event page to find more blogs posting about adoption today and for additional information.

Great news (from the ASPCA website)…

“Trying to shed its reputation as “The Puppy Mill Capital of the East,” the Pennsylvania Legislature on Wednesday night passed HB 2525, a bill that will improve the lives of tens of thousands of dogs living in Pennsylvania’s puppy mills.

Introduced in May, HB 2525 doubles the cage space required for dogs in Pennsylvania’s commercial breeding facilities, prohibits wire flooring and the stacking of cages, mandates exercise and twice-yearly veterinary exams for all dogs, and requires that animals be humanely euthanized by licensed veterinarians.

The ASPCA has been working with the Governor’s Office and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for over three years to increase enforcement and standards of care for dogs in the state’s commercial kennels. We lobbied for passage of HB 2525 by activating the Pennsylvania members of the ASPCA Advocacy Brigade and by spending much of the past several months in Harrisburg, the state capital, promoting the bill to legislators. Governor Ed Rendell signed HB 2525 into law the day after it was passed.”

The ASPCA website goes on to say this: “Although we are not pleased with some of the amendments that were added to the final bill…This legislation will have an enormously positive impact on the lives of tens of thousands of dogs in Pennsylvania’s puppy mills.”

The Humane Society of the United States also worked hard in getting this bill passed in PA. According to them, “Raids of puppy mills during the last few months – including one last week that is reputedly the largest in state history − have shown how critical this legislation is for the well-being of dogs in less-reputable kennels. Pennsylvania is considered one of the worst puppy mill states in the nation.”

This is a HUGE step towards accepting the reality of and existence of puppy mills, which so many local and state governments avoid touching. If PA can do it, so can Ohio, Missouri and other puppy mill-heavy states.

What do you think about this legislation? Do you think other states will follow suit? Do you think it’s enough to combat the problem of puppy mills?

This story is all over the place this morning but this one in particular is from TheMorningCall.com.

The smell alone was ominous enough as investigators rolled into the Almost Heaven Kennel Wednesday afternoon to search for sick and neglected animals: a gag-inducing stench of feces and decay detectable from the street outside the Upper Milford Township property.

Inside the kennel, which passed state inspection in August, the scene was horrific: a freezer containing 65 animal corpses; dogs sharing undersize crates and covered with their own feces; dead guinea pigs starting to decompose; a pot-bellied pig sharing quarters with scores of birds; more than 100 cats and a menagerie of other creatures in various stages of neglect.

Some had respiratory problems, others had eye infections, others had open sores on their skin. Many had no food or water. One official estimated there were 800 animals in all, including monkeys, miniature horses, turkeys, geese, guinea hens and swans.

A day-old puppy died as it was being treated, while others showed signs of dehydration and extremely low blood sugar. Some lactating dogs had no puppies with them, suggesting the pups had been removed prematurely.

“It’s horrible,” said Elaine Skypala, chief program officer for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, emerging from the property at 4202 Chestnut St. shortly after agents served three search warrants in an operation that arose from citizen complaints and an undercover investigation.

She said the PSPCA seized 56 sick animals.

Owner Derbe “Skip” Eckhart, who has a history of animal cruelty charges going back to 1988, faces an unspecified number of animal cruelty counts, Skypala said. Each count carries a possible fine of $2,500.”

To read the rest of the article, click here to go to TheMorningCall.com.

Glad we are making progress on the puppy mill issue in Pennsylvania at least but it breaks my heart that so many animals had to suffer at the hands of one cruel, heartless man. Here’s to hoping they throw the book at him and he never has an animal in his possession ever again…

And a big thank you to the PSPCA for going in there.

Thanks to the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for this information (from a press release) and to Mary O’Connor Shaver with Columbus Top Dogs.

Federal lawmakers have introduced a bill that will crack down on abusive puppy mills. The legislation seeks to close loopholes in the Animal Welfare Act that allow Internet breeders to sell puppies without Federal oversight.

“The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund commend federal lawmakers for introducing bills that will crack down on abusive “puppy mills” in the United States — where breeding dogs are often stacked in wire cages for years to produce litter after litter. The legislation will close a loophole in the Animal Welfare Act that currently allows large, commercial breeders who sell puppies online and directly to the public to escape licensing and regulation.

The legislation — known as the “Puppy Uniform Protection Statute” (PUPS), or “Baby’s Bill” in honor of rescued puppy mill survivor Baby who is the subject of Jana Kohl’s new book A Rare Breed of Love — was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday as H.R. 6949 by Reps. Sam Farr (D-Calif.), Jim Gerlach (R-Pa.), Lois Capps (D-Calif.) and Terry Everett (R-Ala.). A companion bill was also introduced in the Senate by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.).

The bills also require that dogs used for breeding be removed from their cages for exercise every day. Female breeding dogs in puppy mills are typically forced to live their entire lives in small cages with no opportunity for exercise, no socialization, and little human interaction.

“Dogs are not livestock, and they shouldn’t be treated like a cash crop,” said Michael Markarian, executive vice president of The Humane Society of the United States and president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “We are grateful to federal lawmakers for introducing this legislation to curb the worst abuses in the puppy mill industry. It’s a much-needed upgrade to our nation’s laws that protect man’s best friend from cruelty and harm.”

Facilities that breed dogs for commercial resale through pet stores are required to be licensed and inspected under the federal Animal Welfare Act. But thanks to a gaping exception in the law, puppy mills that sell directly to the public are exempt from any federal oversight whatsoever. Unregulated Internet sellers and other direct sales facilities sell thousands of puppies a year to unsuspecting consumers. Due to improper care, their puppies are often sick, leaving outraged consumers with frail, sometimes dying puppies and high vet bills. Meanwhile, the breeding dogs at these facilities often spend their entire lives in constant confinement and deprivation.

“Sadly, finding your puppy online may well increase the chance that you’ll be buying from a puppy mill,” said Sen. Durbin. “Our bill simply requires that breeders obtain a license from the USDA if they raise more than 50 dogs in a 12-month period and sell directly to the public and sets forth reasonable standards of care for commercial breeders. Responsible dog breeders are not the target of this legislation, but hopefully it will put the puppy mills out of business.”

“My work supporting puppy mill regulation goes back to my time in the California Assembly where I championed California’s puppy mill law,” Rep. Farr said. “I think it’s very important that Congress take the time to address issues like animal welfare. These are the kinds of issues that really demonstrate who we are as a society.”

“I’m proud to join with Congressman Farr and representatives of The Humane Society of the United States today as we continue our efforts to ensure that commercial dog breeders are appropriately regulated,” added Rep. Gerlach. “Our bill, the PUPS Act, will close a loophole in current law that allows large breeding operations avoid any and all oversight. I am confident that this bill will not hinder the operation of reputable and responsible breeders. Instead, it is aimed at protecting dogs and making individuals who are motivated by profit over the fair and humane treatment of dogs accountable for their actions.”

The legislation will close the loophole in the AWA that allows thousands of commercial breeders to go unregulated. It will require the following changes to the AWA:

- All dog breeders who sell more than 50 puppies per year directly to the public will be federally licensed and inspected; and
- Dogs at commercial breeding facilities must be given the opportunity to exercise for 60 minutes a day.
- The bill will not affect small breeders and hobby breeders who sell fewer than 50 dogs per year directly to the public, but is crafted to cover only the largest commercial breeding facilities.

Public concern about the inhumane conditions typical in puppy mills is at an all-time high, due to coverage on national television and several large-scale cruelty investigations and rescues from puppy mills this summer that The HSUS and local shelters spearheaded. Earlier this year, the Farm Bill passed by Congress included a new provision to ban the importation of puppies under six months old from puppy mills in China, Russia, Mexico and other foreign countries. ”

Speaking of puppy mills, activists throughout the country came together this past Saturday for National Puppy Mill Awareness Day. Read the USA Today article here and the Best Friends article here.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day is tomorrow, September 20th! Spread the word!

Animal welfare advocates, volunteers, animal-lovers and pet charities alike are supporting organizers from the states of Ohio and Pennsylvania who are partaking in this very important national event: Puppy Mill Awareness Day.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day makes it easy and fun to help raise awareness with downloadable flyers, lawn signs, sample letters to newspaper editors, t-shirts, buttons and more! On PMAD, you can meet up with event organizers and volunteers to hand out flyers and information to people who need to know the truth about puppy mills and the pet trade. You’ll give out information about pet adoption options (so people don’t go to the pet store!) and basic information about puppy mills. (All the materials are positive and educational.)

The PMAD website also recommends the following activities leading up to Puppy Mill Awareness Day:

- Join a meetup group in your area (or start one). Meet and join others who want to educate the community about puppy mills by handing out flyers, tabling at PetSmart, PetCo and other animal-friendly businesses that don’t sell puppies. If you live in Ohio and want to join the campaign, click here. Visit the PMAD website for a list of currently participating cities.

- Send a Letter to the Editor at your local newspaper about Puppy Mill Awareness Day. You can download a guide and sample letter, as I said above, on the PMAD website.

- Hang a flyer at work, the grocery store, the dog park, veterinarian’s office, groomer etc. There are flyers available for download on the PMAD website.

- Organize a pet store protest in your area. Click here to learn how.

For all kinds of other information and more details, visit the Puppy Mill Awareness Day website.

On September 20th, animal welfare advocates, volunteers, animal-lovers and pet charities alike are supporting organizers from the state of Ohio who are partaking in a very important national event: Puppy Mill Awareness Day.

Puppy Mill Awareness Day makes it easy and fun to help raise awareness with downloadable flyers, lawn signs, sample letters to newspaper editors, t-shirts, buttons and more! On PMAD, you can meet up with event organizers and volunteers to hand out flyers and information to people who need to know the truth about puppy mills and the pet trade. You’ll give out information about pet adoption options (so people don’t go to the pet store!) and basic information about puppy mills. (All the materials are positive and educational.)

The PMAD website also recommends the following activities leading up to Puppy Mill Awareness Day:

- Join a meetup group in your area (or start one). Meet and join others who want to educate the community about puppy mills by handing out flyers, tabling at PetSmart, PetCo and other animal-friendly businesses that don’t sell puppies. If you live in Ohio and want to join the campaign, click here. Visit the PMAD website for a list of currently participating cities.

- Send a Letter to the Editor at your local newspaper about Puppy Mill Awareness Day. You can download a guide and sample letter, as I said above, on the PMAD website.

- Hang a flyer at work, the grocery store, the dog park, veterinarian’s office, groomer etc. There are flyers available for download on the PMAD website.

- Organize a pet store protest in your area. Click here to learn how.

For all kinds of other information and more details, visit the Puppy Mill Awareness Day website.

This is directly from an emailed press release from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals:

“The ASPCA® today applauded the indictment in the case of Tennessee’s largest-ever puppy mill raid of more than 700 dogs earlier this summer. A grand jury formally indicted Patricia Adkisson yesterday on 24 felony counts of aggravated animal cruelty, nine misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty, and more than a dozen other misdemeanors. Arraignment has been scheduled for September.

“We are honored to have assisted in the investigation of this case and are extremely satisfied with the indictment,” said ASPCA President and CEO Ed Sayres. “While it does not erase the horrible neglect and inhumane treatment these animals suffered through, we know our work continues to shine the spotlight on animal cruelty in this country as well as the importance of fighting against it.”

The ASPCA assisted in the June raid by lending a special forensic cruelty investigation team that includes two forensic veterinarians, as well as the ASPCA’s Mobile Animal Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) Unit. The ASPCA team was deployed at the request of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which led the raid, to assist in the collection of evidence for the prosecution of the criminal case. The team included the ASPCA’s Dr. Melinda Merck, the nation’s premier forensic veterinarian and “animal CSI,” and the ASPCA’s Disaster Response Team.

The 747 animals discovered in the raid were housed in various enclosures among the property’s 92 acres of hilly and rocky terrain known as Pine Bluff Kennels in Lyles, Tennessee. More than a dozen animals were found dead. According to Dr. Merck, the majority of the animals were dogs, including more than 200 puppies, suffering from a general lack of husbandry, such as little to no food or water, lack of proper ventilation in enclosed areas, and feces encrusted pens. Conditions such as matting, sores, broken limbs, hernias, abscesses, and a host of other medical conditions were also prevalent. Other animals discovered on the property included horses, burros, miniature horses, chickens, goats, parrots and purebred cats.

Animals in critical condition were examined immediately on the ASPCA’s Mobile Animal CSI Unit, which operates under the leadership of Dr. Merck and brings both state-of-the-art forensics tools and unmatched expertise to crime scenes. The specially designed vehicle is also outfitted with medical equipment tailored for animal patients.

At the time of the raid, animals seized from the facility were placed into the official custody of the HSUS and transported to a nearby emergency shelter, eventually in the hopes of being placed in shelters and adopted into loving homes. Many of the other animals, including livestock, were in temporary foster care.

For more information about puppy mills and the ASPCA’s fight against animal cruelty, visit www.aspca.org.”

Thank God for organizations like the ASPCA and the HSUS working together on this. Hundreds of animals were saved from this living Hell on Earth thanks to the efforts of those groups. Puppy mills like this are a HUGE problem in this nation right now, particularly in places like Ohio, Pennsylvania and Missouri. Until lawmakers get serious about prosecuting them and taking measures to prevent them, the problem will persist.

I hope this Patricia Adkisson (poor excuse for a human being) gets prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

To sign a petition to boycott Amish puppy millers (a large portion of puppy mills are Amish-run), read this post.

PLEASE CROSS POST!

This is perhaps one of the most important petitions we can all sign. It calls for a boycott of all Amish products until they stop their inhumane and disturbing practices of running puppy mills.

Thanks so much to Dogster’s For the Love of Dog Blog for this information.

Here’s more information from the Boycott Amish products until puppy mills are discontinued petition.

“To: Amish & Mennonite puppy mills
I will boycott all Amish products until puppy mills are stopped. This is greed in its worst form and this is how consumers make their demands known. I simply will not buy Amish products while this practice continues.”

And before you start saying that boycotting Amish products will affect people who aren’t participating in puppy mills, think again. Amish communities are very closed to and extremely disinterested in what they call the “English.” That’s all of us, btw. Unless their leadership declares puppy mills are off limits, the Amish puppy millers