Can someone point me in the direction of ways to fight puppy mills and backyard breeders?

Question

I have only really started looking into this recently... these issues mean a lot to me and I would like to help. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, maybe some of you out there are already on a roll fighting these causes and can point me in the direction of where I can help. Who to write to, what to do, etc.

Pateo - thanks for the link. Very informative. They had this great brochure which can be distributed to educate people:

ftp://ftp.unitedagainstpuppymills.org/brochure-2006.pdf

Answer 1

The animal legal defense fund has done some good work with this. I volunteered with them fostering puppy mill victims in NC and they've made some path-breaking changes to the system:
http://www.aldf.org/
Also browse through some of the groups and forums on Dogster--I know there are some grassroots efforts there:
www.dogster.com
And here are some other sites to check out for inspiration:
http://www.stoppuppymills.org/
http://www.nopuppymills.com/
http://www.puppymillrescue.com/

Good luck!

Answer 2

I'd suggest you do projects that educate children when they are very young how to properly care for their pets. Call schools and scouting groups and offer to volunteer to teach a seminar. Children should be taught how to select a healthy dog and how to train it. If a dog is trained properly as a pup, he's much less likely to be dumped at a shelter.

Don't you see how many people on this site alone are asking how many days a female is pregnant? They don't even know the basics and they are calling themselves "breeders."

Write to your legislators and get them to BAN puppy mills and make it illegal to sell puppies and kittens in stores. This is the source of most of the unwanted dogs in the US. They lie to the customers all the time. The goal of a salesman at a pet store is to get your money - not to sell you the right dog for your family. I have overheard them say that an Old English Sheepdog pup wouldn't get too big and wouldn't need any grooming. Jack Russell Terriers are sold everyday as "perfect family dogs" - they conveniently forget to tell you that they're hard to train and very hyper! A good breeder will spend more time telling you why you SHOULDN'T own his puppies than trying to get you to buy one.

Good luck on your crusade - if there were more smart, caring people like you there would be fewer abused and abandoned dogs and cats in the world!

Answer 3

Look in the classifieds in the newspapers. Then call and make an appiontment to go "look for 'your' new puppy" when you get there be sure to look at all the dogs (moms, dads, other puppys, ect.) tell the breeder you want to make sure the parents are strong and healthy. Tell them you want to see the living enviroment for the other dogs because you dont want a sick puppy. Then when you have seen everything tell the breeder you will be in touch about the puppy (be sure to sound convincing).


Contact your local pound or human society and alert them of any findings.

Answer 4

I know that puppy stores usually get there dogs from puppy mills. Perhaps you can stand in the mall and hand out brochures about the horrible ways these dogs are treated!

Answer 5

most breeders are licenced by city, county, & state agencies. Your state department agriculture would be a good place to start, and then contact your local animal control agency to get the numbers/addresses of the other agencies you should contact.

Answer 6

i am totally against puppy mills, but i don't think every person/family that breeds dogs is being irresponsible or cruel. I do believe they should treat breeding seriously.

Answer 7

Check out http://www.unitedagainstpuppymills.org/

Answer 8

Try your local Vets and ASPCA. there are also local police dept that have specific offices for this. Thanks for the help. The more people we have to prevent this the better.

Answer 9

contact your local state animal humane agency.They have packets that explain everything you need to know.

Answer 10

try google