2008.11.20
Petland linked to puppy mills, HSUS says
The Humane Society of the United States today released the results of an eight-month investigation into Petland, Inc. and said the main source of the dogs sold in the country's largest chain of puppy-selling pet stores are puppy mills.
According to Petland's Web site, there are 140 Petland-franchised stores in the United States, including the one here in Roanoke. The company is based in Ohio.
The Humane Society alleges that many of puppies sold in Petland stores are purchased from puppy mills or from brokers that buy from puppy mills. The animal welfare organization disputes the claim on Petland's Web site that they screen the breeders that are the sources of the puppies they sell.
The Humane Society said their investigators visited 21 Petland stores and 35 breeders and brokers who supplied the pups sold in Petland stores. They said investigators also reviewed interstate import records of an additional 322 breeders, USDA reports and more than 17,000 individual dogs linked to Petland stores.
The organization said the investigation revealed:
- Despite claims on the corporate Web site and from store management that the company knows its breeders and deals only with those with high standards of care, many of the puppies sold in Petland stores came from large commercial breeders in Missouri and other Midwestern states.
- "Appalling conditions" were found at many of the 35 breeding operations linked to Petland that the Humane Society visited, including dogs kept in dirty, cramped cages without adequate veterinary care and human socialization.
- Many of Petland's breeders that are registered with U.S. Department of Agriculture had been cited by the USDA for serious violations of basic animal welfare standards.
There is no reply to the charges on Petland's Web site, where the news archives stop in 2006.
"People have a right to know exactly what they are buying, but the real victims are the breeding dogs confined to a life in a cage for as long as people are duped into buying their puppies." Stephanie Shain, director of the Humane Society's Stop Puppy Mills campaign, is quoted in the news release.
As a former Store Assistant Manager for the local Petland, I can offer some insight.
The Hunte Corporation is one of the primary distributors used by the local Petland (and, as I understand, by many other Petland franchises, as well). The puppies Hunte provides come primarily from those Missouri breeders, as found on the breeding certificates that come along with the shipments.
To a degree, however, it's hard to blame the individual franchises. They are given a business model to follow, one that supports the use of the larger puppy distributors. Very few of the franchises take it upon themselves to work with local breeders, as the profit margin is not as high. The local Petland has a few miniature breeds that do come strictly from local providers, so if you're in the market for a smaller dog, they do have a small selection that supports small, local breeders.
On the other hand, if you're looking for a dog and feel a moral obligation to avoid stores that support puppy mills, either intentionally or inadvertantly, you'll probably want to head to Pet & Aquatic Warehouse in Lynchburg. I worked there for quite a long while and know first hand that the owners themselves drive down to southern Virginia and North Carolina to hand pick puppies. Quite honestly, between the two stores, I'd be more inclined, myself, to make the drive to Lynchburg.
Don't get me wrong. I do respect Petland for offering some local puppies, but they will continue to use the mill-oriented distributors as long as it's more profitable to do so.
Comment by Matt — November 20, 2008 @ 5:34 pm
I'm a pound girl, myself. Paying hundreds of dollars for pure-breds is bad enough, but knowing they might have been purchased from puppy-mills makes it even worse.
And thanks for sharing your insight, Matt.
Comment by Amy Hanek — November 21, 2008 @ 12:49 pm