Listener Picks: The Problems with Puppy Mills
Dogs are seen at 'Sofitel Los Angeles and Wagmore Pet Dog Rescue host 'Happy Pawlidays' at Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California. Emma McIntyre/Emma McIntyre/Getty Images hide caption
Dogs are seen at 'Sofitel Los Angeles and Wagmore Pet Dog Rescue host 'Happy Pawlidays' at Sofitel Hotel Los Angeles in Beverly Hills in Los Angeles, California.
Emma McIntyre/Emma McIntyre/Getty ImagesOver 2.6 million dogs in the U.S. originate from commercial breeders or puppy mills. There are countless stories of animals being kept in miserable conditions, small cages, and with little medical care.
This week, an Iowa breeder was fined over $12,000 by the USDA after it was found that he euthanized unwanted dogs with unauthorized injections, and left them to die. Last month, New York banned the sale of dogs to pet stores to cut down on the use of puppy mills.
States have slowly been putting policies in place to protect pups, but some say federal protections don't go far enough and many breeders go under the radar.
We talk about the ethics of dog breeding and what can be done to ensure the welfare of man's best friend with John Goodwin, senior director of the Stop Puppy Mills department at the Humane Society of the United States; Mike Bober, CEO and president of the Pet Advocacy Network; and Dr. Danika Bannasch, Professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis.
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