Have you heard the song “How Much Is That Doggie in the Window?” It’s a cute little jingle about buying an adorable pup you see in a store window — an excellent idea in theory. However, it is more complicated and controversial to buy a pet in reality.
According to Gina Moraz, manager of the puppy mills campaign for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), our pets are members of our family. Many pets for sale come from breeders, the most well-known of whom operate puppy mills, which is largely responsible for the controversy. Is it possible to get a pet from a pet store or an online breeder? Is there a way to make sure you aren’t supporting cruelty to animals? The following information will help you. Check out pet supplies in Dubai.
What are puppy mills, and why are they so bad?
HSUS’s Kathleen Summers, director of outreach and research for the puppy mills campaign, explains that puppy mills are large, inhumane breeding operations that keep dozens, or even hundreds, of breeding dogs in small, stacked wire cages for their entire lives. The conditions in puppy mills are inhumane and filthy, and puppies from them are often sick.”
Are other pets raised this way too?
It’s not just dogs that suffer cruel and inhumane breeding conditions. “This is a dark industry that always operates in the shadows,” Moraz says. The U.S. has also been reported as having kitten and rabbit mills similar to dark dog breeding in this industry.”
Are all breeders bad?
Breeders who are responsible do exist, but their pets can’t be found in pet stores or bought online, Moraz says. “Responsible breeders . . . They do not sell their puppies in stores or online. They want to ensure the animals are going to good homes by meeting and vetting potential buyers.
Breeders who are willing to ship you a pet or meet you at a location different from where the pet is being raised may be practicing questionable practices. Moraz says that the only way to be absolutely certain that a puppy came from a reputable source is to see where it came from in person. Always, always, always meet the puppy’s parents, or at least the mother, if you want to buy a dog from a breeder.
Where are pet mill animals sold?
The HSUS reports that many of them are sold in pet stores. If you walk into a pet store and see animals for sale, it’s safe to assume they came from mills. Breeders who are responsible don’t sell to pet stores because they want to meet their customers who are bringing home their puppies,” Summers says. “Virtually no one who sells you a puppy mill dog is going to admit the dog came from a puppy mill.”
The conditions and treatments of the pets in those stores aren’t much better than those in the mills where they were raised. In spite of the fact that a pet store appears nice, and its employees seem like they treat the animals well, that may not be the case in reality. In order to give the impression of quality conditions, Summers notes that stores might keep their public areas clean.
There are other distributors of mill pets besides traditional pet stores. When searching the Internet for a pet, it can be difficult to identify cruelty in mills that sell pets at flea markets and online. It’s a business built on deception and the irresistibility of cute puppies,” Moraz says. In fact, the industry is banking on people’s inability to make rational, sound decisions when confronted with cute puppies that need homes.
