Investigation ties Petland chain to Puppy Mills

After an eight-month investigation, the Humane Society of the United States accused Petland, the national pet store chain, of selling dogs bred under appalling conditions at puppy mills around the country.

Many Petland stores are being supplied by large-scale puppy mills, although customers are routinely informed that the dogs come only from regulated breeders, the Humane Society said Thursday.

“They are buying from puppy mills where these dogs are not treated like pets,” Michael Markarian, an executive vice president with the Humane Society, told a news conference. “They’re treated like a cash crop, where mother dogs live in wire cages, sometimes stacked on top of each other in filthy, dirty, cramped conditions, where they receive little socialization or human interaction or exercise.”

Dogs from puppy mills are sold at Petland stores for as much as $3,500 each, according to the Humane Society.

Humane Society investigators visited 21 Petland sites and 35 breeders and brokers who sold puppies to Petland stores, according to a release on the group’s Web site. Investigators reviewed interstate import records of an additional 322 breeders, U.S. Department of Agriculture reports and more than 17,000 individual puppies linked to Petland stores.

Filthy cages, inadequate care
Among the abuses cited, investigators found puppies in commercial breeders, “living in filthy cages reeking of urine, with inadequate care and socialization,” according to the release. Many Petland puppies come from breeders in Missouri and other Midwestern states, the Humane Society said.

A call to Petland corporate offices was not immediately returned.

A statement on the company’s Web site noted that “Petland stores are independently operated by qualified franchisees. Each is responsible for choosing healthy pets offered to Petland customers. Petland, Inc. provides each Petland store with humane care guidelines to assist in this important task.”

Individual Petland stores previously have been targeted by animal rights activists for reselling puppies supplied by commercial breeders.

Large commercial breeders are legal and regulated by the USDA, but enforcement of humane conditions is a low priority.

The Humane Society investigation comes as legislators recently have stepped up moves to crack down on the lucrative puppy mill industry. In October, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signed a bill imposing stricter standards on commercial kennels, including regular veterinary exams, larger cages and exercise areas. At least three other states have issued laws this year enforcing restrictions on commercial breeders.

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pets_related_news_and_events/petland_puppy_mill_112008.html