Puppy Mills: Dogs Abused for the Pet Trade

The Puppy Pipelines

10Dealers who want to avoid relevant U.S. laws—the few that exist—look elsewhere to continue doing business. For example, there is a network of breeders and smugglers who bring puppies into the U.S. from Mexico. While investigating what he called this “multi-million dollar industry,” Capt. Aaron Reyes of the Southeast Area Animal Control Authority reported finding “puppies stuffed in speaker boxes, screwed into the car door panels and wrapped in blankets with their little legs taped to their bodies and stuffed under seats.”11 At Los Angeles International Airport, 30 puppies were found in a shipment from South Korea. Twenty either died or had to be euthanized after the arduous journey.12

While no federal agency tracks the number of puppies that enter the U.S., an investigation by a New York TV station concluded that thousands of puppies arrive every year and that many are sick or dead when they get here. A staff member at a private veterinary clinic at John F. Kennedy International Airport told the CBS affiliate that she had seen “a couple of cases where [the puppies] were shrink-wrapped.” The station also found that although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies have been alerted to the problem of underage, sick puppies being crammed for shipping into filthy, crowded kennels for hours at a time, none has jurisdiction over the animals’ care. The CDC only checks animals for rabies, and the USDA regulations for transport conditions do not apply to foreign shipments.13,14

Some states have enacted “puppy lemon laws” that give caretakers the right to return sick or dead puppies for replacement or that offer the option of having veterinary expenses paid by the seller. Unfortunately, depending on the state, the law may not clearly say to whom it applies, or it may affect only pet stores or breedersthat sell a certain number of animals each year. Check with your state’s attorney’s office to find out about your state’s laws.