After a three-hour emotional debate, Richmond, in a landmark decision, became the first Canadian municipality to draft a bylaw prohibiting the sale of dogs in stores. Councillor Ken Johnston initially proposed the amendment to address the issue of puppy mill abuse.
"By their actions Richmond councillors have become leaders in Canada in the fight against puppy mills and the cruelty that is condoned inside them," said Lorie Chortyk, general manager of community relations for the BC SPCA.
So, what is a puppy mill?
A puppy mill breeds dogs for the sole purpose of maximum profit. The phrase comes from World War II, when the US Agriculture Department encouraged struggling farmers to raise puppies as an alternative "crop." Retail pet stores opened across the US in response to the growing supply of pups, paving the way for mass puppy production.
Novice puppy farmers, however, often launched their ventures with little money and even less knowledge of canine husbandry. To this day, the folks, also known as puppy-millers, who run these businesses do not take proper care of their animals and do not take genetic defects or hereditary disorders into consideration. They just don't care. Their emphasis is on volume and profits above animal welfare and the health of the pet.
Most dogs are confined in tiny, cramped, wired cages on top of each other, living in unsanitary conditions, with little or no veterinary care. The breeding mothers live a horrendous life breeding one litter after another with no socialization at all. At the age of about six or seven, or when they cannot produce anymore, they are often killed since they are now a financial burden.
Puppy mills produce dogs that are of poor quality and, more often than not, sickly. Puppy mill pups are stripped from their mothers as young as six weeks and transported by trucks and airplanes when their immune system is low. With this come illnesses such as the deadly parvo virus and distemper.
Why are these puppy-millers in business if they are so bad? It's a very simple case of consumer demand for a cheap "product" and consumer ignorance of the origin of their puppy.
"This cycle of abuse in puppy mills and homelessness due to overproduction is allowed to occur because there are currently no checks and balances in place to ensure that the puppy brokers, who access dogs from puppy mills, do not sell animals in our communities," maintains Lorie Chortyk.
Chortyk continued: "We respect that this wasn't any easy decision for Richmond's city council, but it is the right decision and it builds on the city's existing reputation as a humane and responsible community that does not tolerate animal cruelty."
The only way that we are going to stop the abuse of puppy mills is to stop the demand placed on their product through pet retail outlets. Kudos to Richmond for leading with humane standards for other communities in B.C. and Canada.
Puppy mills are bad and the only way to put them out of business is to stop the demand. So how can you be part of the solution rather than part of the problem?
If there is a specific breed that you are interested in, check with the local shelter first, as pure breeds are often available for adoption.
