Animal Mills and Live Animal Suppliers; The Industry Behind the Cages

Kyrsten Enseki

December 9, 2016

Animal Mills and Live Animal Suppliers; The Industry Behind the Cages
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When a person enters a pet store they are immediately drawn to the fluffy bunnies,

frolicsome puppies, and darling kittens. It is nearly impossible to not become filled with glee

after being covered with slobbery kisses and little nibbles from the adorable companions. When

that cuddly pug is looking longingly into the visitors eyes, it is good that the mammal is

incapable of talking. If the animals being kept at pet stores could speak, the stories about their

treatments and journeys to their current locations would be gruesome. Uneducated customers

dont give a second thought on the animals histories. Customers prefer to believe that the

animals willingly and joyfully just walked into the stores to be bought rather than consider the

corrupt industry breeding these adorable, yet abused, friends. Awareness of the topic is crucial

for people to understand the injustice and should be spread before the sale of a live animal takes

place. The puppy mills and live animal suppliers that provide companions to pet stores across the

country are traumatic, inhumane, and simply heartbreaking.

Puppy mills, which are crude outdoor breeding farms that mass-produce puppies for sale

to pet stores and regularly supply dogs to laboratories and animal brokers, have little to no

boundaries or controls placed onto them. According to the American Society for the Prevention

of Cruelty to Animals, 10, 000 puppies are estimated to currently be in a puppy mill. The average

age at which a puppy mill puppy is marketed is 8 weeks old, which is the absolute youngest age

a puppy should be separated from their mother. Veterinary care is a necessity when it comes to

dogs, and this care is never provided due to the cost. The dogs are kept in wire cages so that

urine and feces and fall through, even when the cages are usually stacked into columns. The wire

also tends to injure the paws of the puppies kept inside of them. The puppies bred in puppy mills

are only a source of income to the owner, resulting in little to no care about the health and quality

of the pups. This inadequate care leads to congenital and hereditary conditions, diseases or
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infirmities, fear and anxiety from the separation, and even death. Most puppy mills in the United

States are operating without oversight or regulations to their business, making these cruel acts an

easy act to commit continuously. There is currently not a legal definition of a puppy mill, so

pet stores can claim that they got their dogs from secure breeders when in reality they bought

them from a puppy mill. Responsible breeders never sell their puppies to pet stores because they

are aware of the diseases from the puppy mill puppies, and they want top conditions for their

pups and parenting dogs. It is important to always know where your puppy is coming from.

Many registered dogs, as well as pedigreed dogs, are sold in puppy mills. The only way you can

be sure that a puppy came from a reputable source is to see where he or she came from yourself.

Puppies sold online often times come from puppy mills. Responsible breeders would never sell

to someone they haven't met because they want to screen potential buyers to ensure the puppies

are going to good homes (ASPCA). These same exact condition apply to kitten mills as well,

which is the main source for kittens at pet stores.

If you are searching for a dog for your future companion, there are plenty of respectable

dog breeders across the United States. Unlike puppy mills, responsible dog breeders have a depth

of experience and have a plan that especially stresses the importance of the puppies health,

temperament, and socialization. Tips from Your Dogs Friend include, Go to performance

events like agility and rally. While you are there, talk to handlers and owners. Just make sure

they have time to give you and are not preparing to compete. Consult websites and publications

of national registries and parent clubs. Get advice from vets, groomers, and members of local

training clubs and kennel clubs. Although breeders tend to be more pricey, it is worth it

considering the love and care given to the puppies being bred. Cats as well can be bought from
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responsible breeders across the country, it is all about searching and finding the reliable breeder

that is right for the buyer.

Small animals such as rats, mice, hamsters and bunnies that are sold alongside the cats

and dogs in pet stores have no better history to their existence. Reports from the Animal Welfare

Act investigations between the years of 2004-2006 included stories of ...a small-animal dealer

with over 2,000 hamsters and other small pets inside cages that had reportedly not been cleaned

in weeks; sick hamsters being treated without a veterinary consult; holes in the facility walls, and

accumulation of dust, cobwebs, and rodent droppings throughout the facility "dead hamsters

found in different enclosures housing other hamsters," as well as "green algae" growing in some

of the animals' water bottles. The severe mistreatment of animals with no voice or ability to

defend themselves is mind blowingly cruel, regardless of the animal that is being bred and sold

to pet stores everywhere.

There are many chain pet stores that are quite common in the United States and locally,

including PetSmart, Petco, Pet Supermarket, Pet Supplies Plus, and many more. Although these

places have a high reputation and appear to care for the live animals while keeping the place

sanitary, the industries that they are buying from are corrupt and choose to do anything to save a

dollar without the animals well beings in mind. Petco, Pet Supplies Plus, and PetSmart receive

their animals from a company named Holmes Farm. A three month investigation was conducted

by PETA to inspect the quality of breeding and the care given to the animals on this farm.

According to The DoDos website forum, Investigators found that thousands of animals were

being stored in plastic storage bins, stacked in shelving units and rarely checked on. The facility

reeked of feces. One floor was splattered in blood after cats were allowed to jump in and out of

the crates and attack animals. A hamster who had been attacked by a cat was left to flail and
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eventually die on the floor. The rabbits had urine stained feet, fur filled with feces, and obvious

medical problems in need of immediate care. They were denied veterinary care. The

investigators later stumbled upon literal piles of newborn mice thrown on top of each other in a

cardboard box labeled freeze, while the newborns were still calling out to their mothers for

help. The frozen mice are then sold in stores to people who are looking for a more humane

way to feed their pet snakes. Many of the cages were void of any water for the animals, and

coolers were found with animals that had been gassed out. Petco and PetSmart also return any

sick or injured animals back to the Holmes farm, only for them to die days, or even hours, later.

It is nearly impossible to know the conditions that the animals at pet stores came from when so

little information is provided about them, resulting in a lack of awareness in the customers.

One of the most underrated ways of getting a pet in a way that doesnt support animal

cruelty, but isnt as expensive as a breeder, is adopting a pet. It is common for a person to say the

animal shelter is depressing compared to a pet store, resulting in a difficulty to enter one. PETA

replies to this with If you think its depressing, imagine what its like for the animals who have

been abandoned there. When you adopt an animal from an animal shelter, you have the

satisfaction of saving a lifenothing depressing about that! The pet store is actually an awful

place if you think about where those cute animals came from. That puppys mother is probably

living without any human contact in a barren wire cage and most likely has extensive health

problems from constant breeding and stress (PETA). Another common misconception with

adopting an animal is that it isnt a new puppy or kitten, it is older and passed down. Most pet

stores get their stock from puppy mills and other sources that raise animals in unspeakably

cruel conditions, and each purchase motivates these places to breed more. If your heart is set on a

puppy or kitten, animal shelters have plenty of healthy and happy young animals to choose from.
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And consider this: For many people, the best choice for a new animal companion is actually an

adult dog or cat. Adult animals are calmer and less destructive, and you can see exactly what

youre signing up for in terms of personality, size, and energy level. Animal shelters are a great

place to find that perfect match (PETA). Adopting an animal from a shelter not only creates a

better life for that animal, but also contributes to the stop of pet store suppliers.

The puppy mills and live animal suppliers that provide companions to pet stores across

the country are traumatic, inhumane, and simply heartbreaking. Puppies are being taken at young

ages and left without veterinarian care to fend for themselves. Kittens are being left in wire cages

to be shipped to the nearest pet store, only to be returned and left to die due to illnesses. Small

animals are being frozen alive, thrown, gassed, and completely disregarded as a life at all. There

are many alternatives to buying your future companion, such as adopting or purchasing from a

responsible animal breeder. As long as live animals are being bought from pet stores, the supply

and demand reaction will keep occurring with the suppliers.

Citations:

"Breeders vs. Puppy Mills." Your Dog's Friend. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

"Myths About Pet Stores and Breeders." PETA. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

Open-source Framework for Publishing Content." The Dodo. N.p., 2015. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.

"Pet Mills Churn out More Than Puppies." RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.
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"Puppy Mills." ASPCA. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Dec. 2016.