Why are Puppy Mills Still Legal?

Maddy: Why are puppy mills legal?
Why are puppy mills legal? I guess I don't fully know what they do to the dogs there. Yesterday I went to the pet store to play with the puppies in the backroom, and I chose a dachshund to play with. She was so small and sweet and I felt so bad for her. I know most dogs in pet stores come from puppy mills and when adopting them you support puppy mills. If they're already in the pet store haven't the puppy mills already been supported?

Answers and Views:

Answer by Feisty
In many states, they are NOT legal. They are raided all the time. However, until all states make laws and can afford to enforce the laws and pet stores no longer use them, puppy mills will be around.

Answer by dobiz_rule
Why they are legal? Because dogs are treated the same as cattle by law. Nothing more than a piece of property. The law doesn't consider them living creatures and they really have no "rights" in the eyes of the law.
As for how buying from a pet store supports puppy mills. the answer is the law of supply and demand.
in this case, demand drives supply. (Demand is how many people are willing to buy from the pet store and Supply is how many dogs the puppy mill can provide to meet the demand)
so the more people are buying from pet stores the more demand it creates which causes puppy mills to produce more dogs. if there was NO demand, pet stores would not want to buy puppies from puppy mills (because no one would buy them in the store) and in turn, puppy mills would stop producing dogs because no one was buying them!

Answer by Naysa
Like all places who sell goods... They buy what's in demand, then we come along and buy what popular, therefore making the stores need to buy more to supply us with what we want. That's the simple way of putting it... Its supply and demand. Also if people boycotted pet shops, and didn't buy the pups, then the pet store would stop buying from the puppy mill, therefore no longer supporting them

I have no freaking clue why they're legal.

Answer by Tiki C
There is info here and what you can do https://www.humanesociety.org/all-our-fights/stopping-puppy-mills

Bottom line- tell everyone you know NEVER buy a puppy at a pet store, from the classifieds, or from a website. Those are the puppy mills!
Instead, visit http://www.petfinder.com and find a great dog and helpful info at a shelter, rescue, or breed rescue.

When people stop buying puppy mill puppies (which are also terribly unhealthy and have problems too) the mills will close.
And join a Humane Society in your state that is working on the puppy mill problem!

Answer by Marigold
If you buy a puppy from a pet store then the pet store can buy another puppy from the puppy mill or puppy mill broker. It is a cycle that will not stop unless people stop buying.
For example, John buys a puppy from a pet store. The pet store has to get another puppy to sell so they buy another puppy from the broker or directly from the puppy mill. So that the next John can buy a puppy.
If John 1 wouldn't have bought from there then a new puppy wouldn't have been brought in from the puppy mills.

They are not legal.

Answer by gentlegiants
You are right on the mark. Buying the dog does help keep the puppy mills going, but you'd be rescuing the puppy so it's a real dilemma.
It's a no-win situation. If you loved the dog, buy it and do the right thing for the dog, by spaying or neutering and giving it lots of love and attention.

Answer by Kate
This is an international problem. There are puppy mills in Russia, there are puppy mills in China. Many countries are selling puppies to the US.

• What percent of Puppy Mill Puppies Have Diseases?

Answer by paint1boxers
Because puppy mills come in different forms - from I want my girl dog to have puppies because she is sooo cute! to the ones that have hundreds of dogs in crates with no exercise and raise one litter after another without ever knowing the joy of running in the grass or being loved. Breeders raise dogs to show and prove they have met or improved the breed standard, they spend thousands of dollars every year for health testing,& going to shows, they not only keep their old dogs, but they rescue dogs too.

There is no money made for reputable breeders. Millers don't spend any money on health, breed anything with reproductive organs, and kill dogs no longer able to reproduce. The Department of Agriculture can't shut down the millers without making laws putting breeders out of business. Sometimes they are raided, and the dogs seized, but it would put all millers out of business if people would just stop buying their dogs. Buy from a breeder who cares about their dogs, and love them. Check out Best Friends Animal Sanctuary on the Web also known as Dog Town for more information.

Answer by Rayven~Summer Troll Patrol
Commercial breeding is legal. The horrid conditions of 95% of puppy mills is what's legal. Animals are property and can be massed produced.
When you buy from a pet shop you open up space for them order more pups from the mills or broker they deal with. Simple supply and demand.
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