Reply #40: If it's not part of their mission, why did they conduct an undercover [View All]

[Karmadillo]

investigation at Nielson Farms, a puppy mill, in 1999? Sounds like PETA has been concerned about puppy mills for some time.

http://www.peta.org/factsheet/files/FactsheetDisplay.asp?ID=45

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Young puppies who survive the unsanitary conditions at puppy mills and grueling transport to pet stores rarely get the kind of loving human contact that is necessary for them to become suitable companions. By not spending money for proper food, housing, or veterinary care, breeders, brokers, and pet stores ensure maximum profits.

Conditions don’t improve much when puppies reach pet stores. Dogs who are kept in small cages without exercise, love, or human contact tend to develop undesirable behaviors and may bark excessively or become destructive and unsociable. Unlike humane societies and shelters, pet stores do not screen buyers or inspect the future homes of the dogs they sell. Poor enforcement of humane laws allows shops to continue selling sick animals, although humane societies and police departments sometimes succeed in closing down stores where severe abuse is uncovered.

Farms and Brokers Do Big Business

In 1999, PETA conducted an undercover investigation at Nielsen Farms, a Kansas puppy mill. The dogs at Nielsen Farms had no bedding or protection from cold or heat. Some were suffering from untreated wounds, ear infections, and abscessed feet, and confinement and loneliness had caused some mother dogs to go mad. PETA’s investigator witnessed one inspection by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), during which the officer glanced at the cages but did not examine the dogs. Our investigation led to the Kansas facility’s closing and a $20,000 fine from the USDA. The Nielsens are also “permanently disqualified from being licensed” by the USDA.(7)

There are thousands of breeders and dealers across the country—in Missouri alone there are an estimated 3,000 dog-breeding operations that generate $2 billion a year.(8) The nation’s largest puppy broker is the Hunte Corporation in Missouri, which also exports dogs overseas.(9) The company has been linked to numerous negligent pet stores and breeders and has sponsored American Kennel Club (AKC) meetings.(10) The USDA has loaned the company more than $4 million for expansion and upgrades in the last three years—taxpayer money used to bring more misery to dogs and puppies.(11)

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