What is a puppy mill?
A puppy mill a.k.a puppy "farm", is an establishment that breeds puppies just for sale. These dogs are constantly used for breeding litter after litter. The conditions these dogs are in are disgusting and are treated inhumanely.
Is it legal?
Puppy mills are not illegal. In many states, a breeding kennel can keep any amount of dogs in cages for their entire lives, as long as they are provided water, food and shelter. Good news is, police in NYC has been trying to hunt down puppy mills and shutting them down!
Some facts about Puppy Mill
1: Puppy mills will breed a female dog every chance they get. E.g: a 5-yearold dog could have given birth to 10 litters of puppies. A litter can range from 2-10 depending on the breed and size of the dog!
2: Most the times, the food and water provided for the dogs and puppies are so contaminated that they are crawling with bugs. Sometimes they are living in their own urine and feces for long periods of time before it is cleaned.
3: Puppies in mills are found with bleeding or swollen paws, feet falling through the wire cages, severe tooth decay, ear infections, dehydration, and lesions on their eyes, which often lead to blindness.
4: Almost all puppies from pet stores are from puppy mills, rarely are they ever from actual breeders. When people buy puppies from the store, they are usually given incorrect lineage of the puppies (health, breed, breeder).
5: Only 26 states in the U.S. have laws to regulate commercial kennels to prevent animal abuse and cruelty.