Puppy mills are large scale operations that force
breeder dogs to produce litter after litter to support
consumer demand for puppies.
These puppies are sold in pet stores or over the
Internet, storefronts that mask the suffering, disease,
malnutrition, and loneliness of puppy mills. Even
the puppies themselves are prone to a variety of
illnesses. Some die within days or weeks of purchase.
Most people are unaware that when they buy a puppy
from a pet store, via the Internet, or any place
they have not visited in person, they are often
supporting a cruel and inhumane industry.
By choosing not to buy your next pet or any pet
supplies from retail stores or Internet sites that
sell dogs or cats, you are directly helping to end
this cycle of cruelty.
(Humane Society of the United States
There are as many
puppy mills in the United States as there are shelters!
According to the Humane Society of the United States,
there are over 5,000 puppy mills and there are between
4,000 and 6,000 shelters. That fact says it all!
• 6–8 million dogs and cats enter shelters every
year and only 3–4 are adopted out!
• Over 56% of dogs and puppies entering shelters are
killed based on reports from 1,055 U.S. facilities.
• Each day 10,000 humans are born in the U.S. and
each day 70,000 puppies and kittens are born. We
must neuter and spay!
• It costs U.S. taxpayers an estimated $2 billion
dollars each year to round up, house, kill and dispose
of homeless animals.
• The public only acquires 14% of its pets from shelters.
If we could just increase this by 10% and implement
spay/neuter programs, we can help to eliminate this
problem.
• One cat or dog is put down every 6 seconds in the
U.S.
• One female dog and her offspring can produce 67,000
dogs in a 6 year period!
• 63% of all households in the U.S. have a pet.
• The cost of spaying and neutering a pet is less
than the cost of raising puppies or kittens for
1 year.
• Only 10% of the animals received by shelters have
been spayed or neutered.
• 25% of dogs who enter local shelters are purebred.
• Less than 2% of cats and only 15-20% of dogs are
returned to their owners. Most of these were identified
with tags, tattoos or microchips.
