The dogs are finally getting their day. In recent weeks, there have been two major actions that will step up federal enforcement to crack down on the worst puppy mill abuses in the country.
First, the U.S. Department of Agriculture moved to permanently revoke the licenses of two of the worst known puppy mill operators in the country, Marsha Cox of Mar-Don Kennels in Missouri, and Kathy Jo Bauck of Puppies on Wheels in Minnesota. Both operators had amassed page after page of Animal Welfare Act violations for issues such as filthy conditions, dogs in below-freezing temperatures without adequate protection from the bitter cold, and sickly or underweight dogs who had not been treated by a veterinarian. Bauck had been told to stop performing botched surgeries on dogs without a veterinary license in 2006, and convicted of animal cruelty and torture in 2009. It’s a wonder why such facilities were permitted to operate for so many years when conditions were so terrible, and we are grateful to the USDA for taking meaningful action to revoke these licenses.
These critical enforcement efforts then got an additional boost from congressional leaders, as they finalized work on the bill that funds USDA for this fiscal year. House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Jack Kingston, R-Ga., and Ranking Member Sam Farr, D-Calif., announced that they will reprogram approximately $4 million for USDA to increase enforcement of problematic animal dealers, especially large-scale, commercial puppy mills. This funding prioritizes resources within the agency in the wake of problems revealed during a shocking internal audit last year.
The May 2010 audit by USDA’s Office of Inspector General revealed many deficiencies in APHIS’s Animal Care unit, which is charged with inspecting commercial puppy mills, kitten mills, and other large-scale animal dealers for compliance with the federal Animal Welfare Act. The audit revealed that “Animal Care’s enforcement process was ineffective against problematic dealers,” allowing serious repeat violators to continue to harm animals without significant penalties, that “Animal Care inspectors did not cite or document violations properly to support enforcement actions,” and that minimal, if any, penalties were applied. The report contained shocking photos taken by Animal Care’s inspectors, including a puppy mill dog whose leg was so badly damaged due to an untreated injury that the bones were fully exposed, and another with his face completely covered in ticks.
The report recommended numerous improvements to enhance enforcement and better protect dogs, but as always, funding is a key component to implementing significant changes. This new funding support from Congress will help the USDA to properly enforce violations, maintain a full staff of inspectors, better train and monitor inspectors, shut down some of the most problematic puppy mills, and help prevent future abuses of dogs.
“The Inspector General confirmed evidence of a growing problem with large-scale dog dealers or ‘puppy mills,” said Chairman Kingston. “We have come together on a bipartisan basis to give the USDA the necessary resources for enforcement without sacrificing any other area of plant or animal health. This is a temporary fix and we look forward to working with the USDA to establish a more structured and dedicated source of funding for this program.”
“For too long reckless dog breeders have taken advantage of a lack of proper oversight to increase their profits at the expense of the health of thousands of dogs,” said Ranking Member Farr. “Protecting the health and safety of young dogs has been a passion I have carried from my days in the California Legislature to the halls of Congress. It has been a long and hard effort to extend these protections to our most vulnerable pets. These funds will finally allow the USDA to properly enforce violations, shut down puppy mills, and prevent future abuses of dogs and unsuspecting consumers.”
One of the most interesting aspects of the OIG audit report was its noting that public pressure helped drive the study: “In the last 2 years, there has been significant media coverage concerning large-scale dog dealers (i.e., breeders and brokers) that failed to provide humane treatment for the animals under their care. The breeders, negatively referred to as “puppy mills,” have stirred the interest of the public, Congress, animal rights groups, and others.” The public demand for stronger enforcement of puppy mill abuses continues, and an online petition asking the Obama administration to crack down on puppy mills selling directly to the public over the Internet now has more than 30,000 signatures, and is currently the most popular open petition on the White House web site.
We are grateful to Chairman Kingston and Ranking Member Farr, as well as to Senate Chairman Herb Kohl, D-Wisc., and Ranking Member Roy Blunt, R-Mo., for taking action to address the OIG’s damning report and to step up enforcement at puppy mills. Thanks to their leadership, and to all the citizens who weighed in, hope may be on the horizon for many dogs suffering in puppy mills.
