Proposition B, setting rules for animal care by commercial dog breeders, last week was repealed by the Republican majority Missouri state government. Despite being voted into legislation in the last election, it now will be kept in place only if the Governor vetoes the state legislature action. The ASPCA gives more details about this.
Breeding puppies for sale doesn’t have to be a cruel business. Many breeders breed dogs responsibly. They don’t breed bitches in every heat. They don’t keep dogs in wire-bottomed stacked cages. They assess their breeding stock to avoid congenital problems. They don’t flood the puppy market just because a movie created demand for a particular type of dog.
There’s nothing wrong with making a living from dogs, whether it’s in training, dog clothes manufacture or breeding. What’s wrong is not treating those animals – your capital investment – properly. What’s wrong is breeding without ensuring to the best of your ability that physical and temperamental problems are not passed on.
Responsible breeders should be able to do their business without harassment. If the animals are treated properly, as living, breathing sentient creatures, regulations about space, exercise, food and water shouldn’t be a burden for them. If providing decent housing and care is a burden, then there’s something wrong with the people’s business operation and ethos.
Several other states were watching to see what happened in Missouri, puppy mill capital of the US. If the repeal of Prop B occurs, you can bet your last puppy that they 
will be reluctant to introduce legislation designed to improve the lives of breeding dogs.
And Canada has puppy mills too. We have people in the business who do not want government controls, and we have people trying to stop large- and small-scale puppy mills. Our governments are watching Missouri too.
But there’s more than one way to skin a cat, so to speak. If government won’t regulate dog breeding and puppy mills, we can. Puppy mill operators won’t make money if people stop buying from them. That’s why most pet stores have stopped selling puppies – they come from backyard breeders or puppy mills. If no one buys them, the pet store is stuck with them. Not a position the store wants to be in. It makes them look like good corporate citizens to give that cage space to rescue groups to showcase adoptable pets.
So Kijiji, Craigslist and other online venues have become the place to sell your litter of pups from your ‘special pure-bred’ Lab-Shepherd-Husky cross breeding. Please don’t buy them. Switch Kevin Costner’s Field of Dreams mantra around: if you don’t buy them, they won’t breed them.
Yes, the puppies above are adorable. I hope they don’t end up unwanted in a pound. Both pictures are from Kijiji ads. The one on the left is described as “lab/sheppard/collie/husky mix” and they are selling for $200 and $250. Those on the right are “Boxer/Mastiff” selling for $400. Not cheap. Maybe these puppies are the result of one-off ‘accidents’, but if the mothers were spayed there would be no ‘accidents’. The picture at the top is taken from a Canadian Wheaten Terrier breeder site – this is their page warning about puppy mills. The middle picture I took myself near here. I can see this cage, with rat terriers and other breeds of pups, every week.
