Yet another fantastic piece from Gina Spadafori at Pet Connection
I don’t know how many times and in how many ways we have to say this:
If you buy a puppy from a pet store, you are supporting a system of cruelty that has been well-documented again and again and again for more than 50 years. You, yes you, are making puppy mills possible.
Grow up. Take responsibility for your actions. And say NO to puppy mills by buying directly from a reputable, ethical breeder or adopting from a shelter or rescue group. There is no excuse for supporting cruelty with your puppy-mill retail outlet purchase.This year’s first installment of No Christmas Puppies (click for all our past posts, going back for years), courtesy of MSNBC.com.
We write about this every year. Nothing will stop this sick and cruel mass-production of puppies except for customers to not support this industry. No reputable, ethical breeder sells through a third party. Not ever. And no reputable, ethical breeder ships from Internet sites to people who place an order with a few clicks and a credit card. Not ever.
So why is Gina so outraged? Because the HSUS have just announced that their 8-month investigation into America’s largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores found;
In the largest-ever puppy mill investigation, HSUS investigators visited 21 Petland stores—in Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, Nevada, Ohio and elsewhere—and traced the origins of about 17,000 puppies shipped to the stores. They also visited many of Petland’s breeders and suppliers. Our findings contradict assurances by staff at Petland stores and on Petland’s corporate website that the company deals only with breeders who have “the highest standards of pet care.”
Watch the video to see how gormless staff at these stores assure customers that their puppies come from ‘nothing but the best breeders’.
It happens in the US. And it’s happening in Australia too.
And as Gina put it so brilliantly;
People who run puppy mills are heartless bastards. And they wouldn’t be in business without buyers.
If you’re one of those buyers, shame on you.
