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Tiny Loving Canines,
Inc.
2828 Cochran St., #215
Simi Valley, CA 93065
(805) 405-2765 or via
EMAIL
FAX: (805) 578-2604
IRS 501(c)3 # 26-4639832
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USDA Regulated Breeders--What does
it really mean?
When a pet
store says their puppies come from
USDA regulated breeders, what does
that really mean? Let's forgo the
semantics. Whether you call them a
puppy mill, USDA regulated and
inspected breeder, professional
breeder, puppy farm, commercial
kennel, local breeder, private
breeder, etc., these are simply
labels used to divert attention from
the fact that pet stores obtain
their puppies from breeders who mass
produce puppies.
Truly
reputable breeders do not mass
produce puppies. They are not
licensed by the USDA to wholesale
their puppies, you will never find
their puppies for sale in a pet
store, their location is not a
secret, they do not meet you in a
parking lot to sell you the puppy,
they invite you into their home so
they can meet you and you can meet
the puppy and its parents and see
the conditions in which they live.
The prospective buyer should also be
aware that many mass breeders also
pose as small family breeders on the
Internet and in newspaper ads.
Please never buy a puppy without
first screening a breeder's facility
in person. Please look over these
suggestions for help in finding a reputable
breeder.
The meaning
of the term "puppy mill" is always
in debate. Many mass breeders and
pet stores say it has no "legal"
definition. Actually, it does. The
following is the "legal" definition
of a puppy mill, established in a
court of law in the case of Avenson
v. Zegart, 577 F. Supp. 958, 960 (D.
Minn.1984). "A "puppy mill" is a dog
breeding operation in which the
health of the dogs is disregarded in
order to maintain a low overhead and
maximize profits." Additionally, in
April 2008, the USDA recognized
"puppy mills" as "facilities that
breed large numbers of dogs for
sale".
The
label is insignificant. Call them
what you wish. What matters are
their breeding practices and the
conditions under which their
breeding dogs are kept. Regardless
of their claims, the bottom line is
that they are mass breeding
facilities. The dogs are a cash
crop, hence the regulation of
domestic animals by the United
States Department of Agriculture. |
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Minimum Standards of Care
Here are the
basics: if a breeder has more than
3 unaltered females and sells
their puppies "wholesale", meaning
to someone other than the final
owner, they must be licensed by
the USDA and are subject to the
regulations set forth by The
Animal Welfare Act. The Animal
Welfare Act is the federal law
that regulates the dog breeding
industry. The USDA is responsible
for setting the "minimum standards
of care" by which commercial/mass
dog breeders must operate, as well
as enforcing the Animal Welfare
Act. The commercial/mass dog
breeding industry itself had a
significant role in determining
the "minimum standards of care".
Commercial/mass dog breeding
facilities that are in full
compliance of the Animal Welfare
Act usually fall far short of what
most of us would call humane.
USDA size requirements for dog
cages:
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Wire flooring must be at least 8
gauge wire or coated with vinyl.
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Minimum cage floor space equals
(length of dog + 6 inches) x
(length of dog + 6 inches).
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The top of the cage must be at
least 6 inches above the dog's
head.
So what does this really
mean?
Let's
take Peanut for example - she is
12" high and 16" long (according
to the USDA regulations - nose to
base of tail, not including tail):
According to the USDA regulations
we must add 6" to her height and
6" to her length (or 18x22") -
here she is in an 18x24" crate...
doesn't look very happy does she?
If Peanut were a puppymill
breeder, she would spend her
ENTIRE life in this space 24/7...
until she could no longer breed
(or was breeding too small of
litters to be profitable).
Then Peanut would be taken to an
auction and sold to the highest
bidder (some as low as $5.00) or
be killed to make room for another
female to take her place and start
producing. As Chihuahuas can
live 15-20 years and will breed
long into past their midlives, it
is highly possible Peanut would
still be in this small space at
her current age of 13~!!!
She would never have been touched
by a human, would receive her food
and water via an auto-feeder
located outside and her waste
would fall onto the kennel floor,
to be washed down by a water hose
with unheated water when the
miller gets around to it.
She would mate and give birth in
this same space. MANY puppymills
receive substandard inspections,
but some have been receiving them
for over 20 years by the USDA and
were never shut down!
USDA exercise requirements for
dogs in commercial
breeding facilities:
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Dogs housed
in cages with only the 6 inches
of space, as described above,
must have an exercise plan in
writing. However, regulations
fall short of actually requiring
the breeder to implement the
exercise plan. There is no way
for the USDA to know if the
exercise plan is being followed.
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If a
breeder doubles the minimum cage
size (12 inches instead of 6
inches of space), the
opportunity for exercise is not
required.
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If 2 or
more dogs are housed together,
the opportunity for exercise is
not required.
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Up to 12
dogs can be housed in the same
cage.
This
treatment is standard and legal
according to USDA guidelines.
Consider if you would view
life as worth living if you
spent your entire life in a
box 6" taller than you and 6"
wider than your shoulders....
it wouldn't be much bigger
than the normal sized coffin
we humans bury our dead in!
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Statistical information courtesy of
PetShopPuppies.org |
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OUR MISSION:
To rescue,
rehabilitate, and
re-home abandoned
and
neglected dogs,
saving them from
certain death in the
local shelters.
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