http://www.theleadtype.com/news/council-bans-sales-nonshelter-dogs-cats-rabbits/

Council bans sales of non-shelter dogs, cats and rabbits

The Lead Type November 1, 2012 0

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — The Los Angeles City Council voted 13-2 Wednesday to make Los Angeles the largest city in the nation to ban pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits purchased from commercial breeders.
People can still purchase pets directly from breeders, just not in stores, which will be able to obtain non-breeder stock from the city’s animal shelters or humane societies registered with the city’s Department of Animal Services.
City Councilman Paul Koretz introduced the measure with the intention of shutting down puppy and kitten mills and reducing the tens of thousands of euthanizations performed on unclaimed animals each year. The city euthanized more than 21,000 dogs, cats and rabbits in each of the last two fiscal years — about 37 percent of the animals impounded.
Pet shops and other retailers will have six months before the law goes into effect. The penalty for violating the ban will start at $250 for a first offense and goes up to $1,000 for a third strike.
Companion Animal Protection Society West Coast Director Carole Raphaelle Davis said the law would help end “the blood money contracts between puppy mill owners who abuse animals and L.A. pet retailers.”
“We are relieved that finally, the cries of L.A.’s shelter animals have been heard. Puppy mills and cruel pet factories will fade into history at last,” Davis said.
City Councilmen Bill Rosendahl and Mitchell Englander cast the dissenting votes.

Pet shops, farms still not up to standard: SPCA

http://www.todayonline.com/Singapore/EDC121022-0000090/Pet-shops,-farms-still-not-up-to-standard--SPCA

Pet shops, farms still not up to standard: SPCA

Updated 07:32 PM Oct 22, 2012

SINGAPORE - While the general hygiene and conditions of the animals have improved, other prevalent issues such as mandatory licensing and providing correct and proper pet care advice are still seriously lacking in pet shops and farms, according to a survey by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA).

The SPCA recently completed another undercover survey in a follow-up to the "Stop the Cruelty in Puppy Mills" campaign that was launched in October 2010.

The two-month survey was conducted sometime between August and October, with the SPCA visiting 49 pet shops and farms which sold dogs.

The survey also found that there has been no improvement in the application of dog licenses since the second undercover survey in November last year.

Seventy-seven per cent (14 out of 20 pet shops and 13 out of 15 pet farms) of the establishments would not help with licensing, breaching the Pet Shop Licence Conditions that states "when a dog is sold, the shop must apply for the dog licence for the buyer and lodge the microchip number of the dog with AVA", said the SPCA.

Nine out of 10 farms selling large breeds or non-approved HDB breeds also misinformed consumers to buy the animal without informing the authorities.

They also told customers that they could license the animal under another address, or keep the animal at home without attracting attention from the neighbours.

In addition, the SPCA said no pet advice was volunteered by the majority of pet farms and pet shops to prospective buyers. Most of the pet shops did not display any pet care information or give out any pet care leaflets, even when questioned extensively about pet care.

"There was also no emphasis on responsible ownership as buyers were widely recommended and encouraged to cage the animals for toilet training or confine them in small spaces for long periods - from half a day to 22 hours for three weeks to three months duration," said the SPCA.

Other improper suggestions included "minimise taking the puppy out", "try not to take the puppy out of the cage as it is too young", "let it stay in the cage till you are back from work", and "the puppy must be caged until its vaccination".

Almost all (98 per cent) would not provide details or allow the viewing of puppies' parents while only 34 per cent of shops and farms displayed their grading.

Ms Corinne Fong, Executive Director of the SPCA, said: "Two years on and the extent of improvements and progress is dismal. Compliance of the law such as mandatory licensing at point of purchase remains a nagging issue and requires immediate addressing."

"It is disheartening to hear the misinformation offered to potential buyers by the pet shop attendants despite structured training in pet animal management and welfare made compulsory for the pet retail industry."

"There is great urgency for better enforcement from the authorities and greater effectiveness from the pet shop association in upholding ethics and standards in its industry," said Cat Welfare Society president Veron Lau. CHANNEL NEWSASIA

STOP BUYING PETS...STOP THESE UNNECESSARY SUFFERINGS!

Condemned To Death By Mass Breeding

 http://hopedogrescue.blogspot.sg/2012/08/condemned-to-death-by-mass-breeding.html

 

31.8.12

Condemned To Death By Mass Breeding

I would like to share an incident which recently happened to me. I bought a Chihuahua puppy about a week ago from Pet Movers at Pasir Ris Farmway. I bought the Chihuahua when he was about 2+ months old. Initially when we brought the puppy home, he was quite healthy and was able to run around like a normal puppy. However, on the third day, the puppy started having a loss of appetite, then he went into seizures and I immediately rushed him to the vet. On the way to the vet, I called Pet Movers to ask them to recommend me a vet as this was my first dog, although I have had cats previously.  They recommended me to bring it to AMK Veterinary Clinic as it the same vet that they had taken the puppy for his vaccinations.

The sick Chihuahua puppy

When I brought it there, the vet did some examinations and by this time, my poor puppy was very weak. The vet did a blood test and said that the puppy’s glucose level was very low and they injected glucose into him. After a while, the puppy was able to walk but was still terribly weak and was trembling as he walked. The vet then showed me the blood test results and said that the white blood cell count was high, and he concluded saying that the puppy had a lung infection. Lung infections can lead to pneumonia and water in the lungs, my poor tiny puppy could die from that! For the puppy’s well-being, I decided to ward him at the hospital to ensure he received the necessary medical treatments.

The next day I decided to bring my puppy home. When he got home, he was still able to walk and was running around but still not eating normally. However, the puppy's health suddenly deteriorated the next day. He started having seizures in the morning when we wanted to feed him his medicine. We quickly rushed him to the vet. The vet immediately again injected glucose into the puppy and the puppy was awake again. The puppy was picky with his food and would only eat fresh meat. The vet then told us that we could inject glucose and saline into the puppy ourselves so we brought him home once again. 

At first it was easy to inject the glucose into the puppy’s arm as the vet had left a needle in, and the puppy was ok with it. However, the next day when we wanted to inject, it became more difficult, and the puppy’s arm swelled badly. He was grossly underweight by then, with all this unseen health issues that he came with when we bought him from Pet Movers. We quickly brought him to the vet again, for the third time in a week! This time we visited another vet, Mount Pleasant Medical, which was beside the other vet we visited. The vet at Mount Pleasant said that the puppy was coughing very badly, and when I told her that the white blood cell count was very high she concluded that the puppy was possibly unwell even before we bought it. At that moment of time I was having mixed feelings. My heart was aching to see my newly bought puppy being so sick and we had to keep visiting the vet, not to mention spending so much money on vet bills, the unnecessary stress and emotional worry, and I was also angry with the pet shop that sold us a sick, unhealthy puppy. How can they do that to unsuspecting pet owners? Who is the governing body for all these pet shops that are selling sick, unhealthy pets to owners and why is nothing done to monitor or stop this? I am very sure I am not the first pet owner to go through this, neither will I be the last, so why is this sub-standard still allowed to go on?

After we left the vet, we quickly rushed down to the pet shop to demand for an explanation. We argued with the pet shop for about half an hour, all this while the puppy was sleeping in my arms. This would tell you how weak and unwell the puppy was, to sleep soundly throughout the entire commotion. The pet shop then promised us that the vet would send them the medical report on my puppy, first thing in the morning. Pet Movers said if the medical report was very bad, they would do a one to one exchange for us. What do they mean by “very bad”? They sold me a very sick puppy who is having seizures at 2 months old, loss of appetite and lung infection, you don’t even need a medical report to see that this is already very bad!

Anyway I waited till morning and when I saw my puppy, he was biting the syringe that was attached to his hand, and it was bleeding. Again we rushed him to another vet. When the vet saw my puppy in the state of health that he was in and just by reading the medical report, the vet concluded that even when we bought the puppy, the puppy was alreadyVERY SICK! The vet suggested that we could do a few tests, like x-ray, blood tests and all, which would add up to about $500, however the tests will or will not show what is wrong with my puppy. So it’s a 50 percent chance of finding out what is wrong with my puppy. I would not mind spending all the money, however I just started working, and with all the expenses of having just paid so much to buy the puppy, and all the many vet bills, I would not be able to cough up such an amount of money for more medical bills. For the past few visits to the vet, medical bills already added up to about $400+. So we decided to call up the pet shop and tell them that we would like to do one for one exchange.

However when we called the pet shop, the staff kept saying that the person in charge was busy and could not come to the phone. We called many times and was very upset that he actually promised us that he would be in the office the whole day and we could call him and look for him. But he did not keep his promise. We called at least 5 times but all 5 times he was said to be busy. We ended up calling AVA and reporting this issue. After calling AVA, we called the pet shop to extend their opening hours for us to see the dogs and to do the exchange and they agreed.

To date, we have yet to hear from AVA.

While we were choosing another puppy, I looked at my poor Chihuahua, he was lying down in a basket, no life and no more energy to even move. When I lifted his head, he quickly hid his head under his hand. I really did not want him to go back to the pet shop. Who knows what the pet shop will do to him. I was really heartbroken to be giving up my dear Chihuahua to the pet shop, I cried the whole entire night. Even though the pet shop agreed to the exchange, I would really love to have my Chihuahua back. The pet shop then also promised that they can heal the puppy back to health. I really hope they can keep their promise and not just make empty promises. I am really upset with the pet shop for selling unhealthy puppies to people like me. Whenever we buy a puppy we would want the puppy to be healthy and be running around and not keep visiting the vet all day. We are all working adults and really cannot afford so much time off just to take a newly bought puppy to keep visiting the vet. I would like to take this opportunity to warn people not to buy puppies or even dogs from Pet Movers, as the living condition there is very bad. Even though they sell cheaper dogs and puppies but their health might not be very good and may end up visiting the vet like me.

I called Pet Movers a few days later to ask how the sick puppy was and if they would give it to me, as I had found a sponsor for his vet bills. They replied that I was not entitled to ask any more questions on the returned puppy.

Story and photographs by Heng Mui Na.

Disclaimer: HOPE Dog Rescue bears no responsibility for the contents of the above post. We received this from a pet buyer and have her permission to share her views on this post. HOPE does NOT support the buying of pets.

Note from Fiona: It is difficult to resist that adorable puppy in the window, but you may be paying a lot of money for a dog you know nothing about. Very often these pet shop puppies develop health issues, either almost immediately after purchase, or later in life because usually genetic issues are passed down from parents to puppies and your cute little puppy will soon cost you a lot of money to remedy. Imagine generation after generation of flawed and defective genes.

Do you know who your puppy's parents are?

What’s the big deal if the puppies come with pedigree certs? Pedigree just means a piece of paper with names on it. It might just mean you’re paying more for the same set of health issues! Can the pet shop tell you how old your puppy’s grandparents lived till and what they died from? They probably don’t know any more than you do!

Do your puppy's parent look like this? Is he living a life of breeding hell because you are supporting the puppy trade?

Some pet shops offer a one for one exchange but their guarantees may be bad as their reputation. A replacement puppy might not necessarily be healthier too and it is highly possible that they would have euthanized the sick puppy you returned because it is much cheaper to put it down than to take it to the vet. We heard that another common sales tactic is to blame you for not having taken good care of the puppy, or to tell you it will outgrow its health issue.

Why do you want to support puppy mills?

Puppy mill dogs

We believe almost all puppies that are sold in pet shops come from puppy mills. What this means is mass produced puppies with money as the prime motive. These breeding dogs are often kept in extremely poor conditions and are sometimes malnourished. Females are generally bred every heat cycle from the time they are mere puppies themselves, until they are worn out and then they are often sentenced to death.

The horror of puppy mills is encouraged every time a puppy is bought from a pet shop.

A pet shop usually never hears about their puppies once they leave the shop, and they really don't care. Once you take the puppy home, the pet shop doesn’t care if you lose your puppy, breed it continually or if it dies of liver failure at two years old. They won’t spare a thought for the “product’s” welfare.

So please, ADOPT and NOT SHOP.

Photographs courtesy of Davis KK.

The hidden SUFFERINGS behind the puppies sold in pet shops and from pet farms!

Dog Saved from Puppy Mill Adopted through Berkeley Heights Rescue

http://berkeleyheights.patch.com/articles/dog-rescued-from-puppy-mill-adopted-through-berkeley-heights-rescue

Photos (16)

China, a 15-year old Chihuahua, was shaking when she was taken out of her cage for the first time after years of forced reproduction in a Georgia puppy mill. It was partially because she was scared, partially because her legs couldn't support the weight of her body.

She has a tumor the size of a deck of cards on her back leg. She doesn't have teeth after years of malnutrition. Her eyes are gray and cloudy. She's basically skin and bones.

"Do you think she's feeling any love?" asked Susan Strell, a volunteer with The Home for Good Dog Rescue in Berkeley Heights, who wrapped China in a blanket and held her like a baby. She stopped shaking afer a while in her arms.

"At least she might feel some love for once in her life." Strell began to cry, it was too sad to look at China's face, she said.

China was brought from a closed puppy mill by Atlanta, Georgia to spend her final days in the loving home of Joann Mullen, a Hopewell resident who has set up a dog hospice in her house. She cares for several hospice dogs and when she heard China's story, she wanted to make her feel comfortable and loved after years of abuse.

The Home for Good Dog Rescue organized the transport from Georgia - Strell said she was up all night hoping China would survive the trip. The rescue matches dogs with foster homes so the dog is in a family environment and not in a kennel, and then sets up adoptions.

It was a life or death situaiton, Mullen said, as the puppy mill was going to put China down once it closed. But Mullen said she deserves to spend her last days comfortable, and away from the life that plagued her while in captivity.

Every three months for her 15 years, China would give birth to a new litter of puppies, which were sold by the Georgia breeder. She was hardly fed, never cleaned and forced to reproduce regularly.

Her conditions are common in puppy mills where dogs are bred for sale, said Gail Ryan, a volunteer with the rescue. "There is no end to the abuse," she said, pointing to pictures of cramped, stacked cages with dead dogs among the live ones.

Puppy mills, which are monitored by the United States Department of Agriculture, have 70 inspectors to check 4,500 facilities in the country. The regulation is that a cage needs to be six inches longer and six inches heigher than the dog so he or she can move. In some mills, cages are stacked so urine drips down from the top cages to the bottom, Ryan said.

There are no regulations for treatment for dogs sold over the internet, which isn't good enough, Ryan said.

That's why the rescue has a network of 40 foster homes throughout the area who take dogs out of their cages and let them into their homes until they can be adopted. The Home for Good rescue receives two to three transport shipments of dogs a month, with 30 dogs coming in for adoption. Most are coming from mills and are in need of a good home.

Scooter, a black lab at the rescue, was scheduled to be put down today, before he was taken by the rescue. He's been cleaned and checked and is waiting for adoption.

The rescue sets up medical care and checks for the dogs and make sure they are clean before adoption.

"They are dirty, scared and shaking," Strell said. "And we clean them up and love them. Here, they are loved.

For more information about adoptions and donations, visit www.homeforgooddogs.org.

No More Puppy Mills: Local Pet Store Will Only Sell Shelter Dogs

http://laist.com/2012/01/13/local_pet_store_will_only_sell_shel.php

Illustration by joingate via Shutterstock

A national organization is helping pet retailers move away from selling commercially bred dogs and get shelter pets in the store and for sale. In March, the Barkworks store at the Westside Pavilion will "become an official adoption center for rescues," according to ABC7.

Barkworks has been the focus of a protest movement because of their use of puppy mills as a source for dogs to sell.

Pet Connections Inc. has devised what they call a Pet Transport Program, which gets shelter pets into retail stores, so that clientele who do not wish to go to the shelters can still buy a rescue pet. Thanks to the pilot program's popularity, Barkworks at the Westside Pavilion has made the move to make the switch.

"If it goes well at this Barkworks store where rescues will be adopted out for a $300 to $500 fee, owners say they will convert the rest of their stores into adoption centers," notes ABC7, who spoke to Barkworks General Manager Darren Letterman about the change in how they do business.

"I just think it gives us a great opportunity to help the county and the city of L.A. and surrounding areas diminish the amount of dogs that are euthanized every year," said Letterman.

The 'puppy mills' of Singapore CNNGo reader Natasya Ong calls for Singaporeans to stop supporting the country's "puppy factories"

http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/puppy-mills-pet-store-337803

Three ways to help

Dogs in puppy mills are often plagued by illnesses and neglect.

1. Make adoption your first option

Adopting a puppy instead of buying one is the best way to strike a blow against puppy mills. Visit local shelters like SPCA, ASD, where dozens of dogs are just waiting for homes. Not only you will be saving a life, you will not be putting money into those breeders’ pockets.

2. Spread the word

If a friend or family member is planning on buying a puppy, advise them not to buy from a pet store. Let them know there are perfectly healthy dogs at shelters waiting to be adopted.

3. Make a stand

Choose not to buy your next pet from a pet store or Internet site. Refuse to buy pets or supplies from any pet store that sells puppies. Never buy a puppy with the idea that you are “rescuing” him or her from the shop. While your intentions may be good, your “rescue” money goes back into making more space for more dogs to breed.

Read more: The 'puppy mills' of Singapore | CNNGo.com http://www.cnngo.com/singapore/puppy-mills-pet-store-337803#ixzz1eum0m8cr

Imagine being pregnant your whole life.....

stop cruelty in puppy mills
adopt
don't buy

sgpuppies.com

Unspeakable Pain

http://zeuscommunications.blogspot.com/2011/04/unspeakable-pain.html?spref=fb

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Unspeakable Pain

AS I drove out from the breeding farm tucked away in a quiet part of Singapore, my heart grew heavier as I made the journey to the vet’s.

In a pet carrier on the passenger’s seat of my car, the skinny malnourished male Maltese we rescued started whimpering and broke out into baby-like cries. He was one of the four dogs we rescued from this breeder, perhaps one of the luckier four picked from the lot of some 80 toy-breed dogs who were confined to cages and pens, existing only for the sole purpose of producing puppies fronting the windows of pet shops across the island.

Rescued Chihuahua, looks to be about 3 to 4 years old

I was taken aback by the intensity of what I saw. The stench in the air was a stale mix of pet food and urine. From Poodles and Jack Russell Terriers (JRTs) to Shihtzus, Scottish Terriers and Malteses, dogs of all colours and sizes were reared for the sole purpose of commercial sales in such undesirable living conditions. As to how many of them actually end up in a loving home, I don’t know. What about the fate of those who never get sold? Are they doomed to a life of repetitive breeding?

Your guess is as good as mine.

The crying grew heavier, but this Maltese was already one of the luckier ones. Estimated to be around 5 years of age, Wally the Maltese had no major health issues except for a lack of teeth and undernourishment.

Wally the Maltese, malnourished and extremely thin

Baxter, exhausted and resigned to his fate

Accompanying him was Kit the Chihuahua, a lucky chap around 3 to 4 years old with no health issues and Baxter, a Shihtzu/Maltese Cross estimated 6 to 7 years old, who was suffering from a bout of dry eyes.

Eyes of desperation and hopelessness

Grossly malnourished, neglected and hardly able to stand

Then came Molly.

Sweet Ole Molly

A grand old dame around 8 – 10 years of age, white fur on her face, Molly the Jack Russell Terrier caught our volunteer’s eye because of how she was hobbling around, dragging a right hind leg that somehow looked detached from her body. Yet despite this apparent pain, her white furry face was eager as she wagged her short tail and sniffed her way around us. “That one, her leg broken. No good already,” murmured the breeder. “Accident.” 

No longer able to use her right hind leg

Upon picking Molly up, we gasped in horror as we saw a mesh of stitches slicing through the lower half of her body, which somehow reminded me of the cross-stitch homework I was forced to do as a primary school kid. Bits of thread dangled across the dark purplish flesh that lined her bloated stomach. The cause? A caesarian delivery where she was sloppily stitched up after her puppies were born. The breeder was probably in a hurry to get the puppies out for a quick sale.

A botched up job; her stitches would have been left on for at least 4 months!

Molly's right hip and hind leg was so badly fractured, it can no longer be saved. An amputation is inevitable. I can't begin to imagine the emotional and physical pain and abuse she has gone through.

I shuddered at the thought of this poor old dog having to carry babies, but the real shocker was to come at the vet’s, where an x-ray revealed her leg and hip was fractured in THREE places! Her femoral bone was pushed out of its socket like Venus and she had a broken right leg which resulted from a strong force that struck her. Her knee bone had totally snapped, which explained why her leg was dangling when she walked. The breeder had claimed that Molly had been hit by a car some months back but how could that be possible? She is a small dog and if she had been hit by a car at high speed, she would have been killed. It would not have been possible to have her leg fractured in three places and have no further injury. Could she have been kicked? Flung against the wall? One can only guess.

There was a more horrific discovery at the vet’s. While looking at the x-ray film of her fractured leg, Dr Teo noticed some shadow in Molly’s abdomen and decided to do a stomach x-ray as well. To our shock, Molly had THREE more puppies in her at that moment! We had initially thought that the breeder had not removed all the puppies from the previous C-section and that these could have been dead puppies left in her. However, if that was the case, she could have died of an infection. On further check, we realized that she was pregnant yet again!

Some visible foetuses in Molly's abdomen

Dogs generally come into season every six months or so. Was there a possibility that the stitches have been left on her for MANY months since her last heat and pregnancy? We can’t even begin to imagine.


How could the breeder have the heart to continue mating her despite her old age (imagine your grandmother giving birth time and time again!), broken right leg and raw Caesarian wound… I shudder at the thought of her puppies’ health, having been produced from such a frail, old mother dog plagued with issues of her own.


At such an age, dogs like Molly should not be giving birth as their bodies and legs are no longer able to take the weight of the full pregnancy. The decision by the vets and volunteers was to spare her the pain of yet another birth and one that would hopefully turn her life for the better. In other words, Molly would have to undergo:


1) An abortion of the puppies she was carrying because of her frail health, infected wound, badly fractured leg and hip; not to mention, old age.


2) Amputation of her right hind leg a month later as her leg can no longer be saved


With wicked breeders who treat dogs like Molly as puppy-churning machines, the onus really lies on the consumer to be discerning and alert when buying puppies from a pet store. Not only should breeders be subjected to regulations that encourage a certain humane breeding standard, proper medical living and quality of life for their dogs, consumers MUST do their homework and find out more about the puppy and its parents before committing to a lifetime of responsibility. Instead of creating more demand for such puppies and more suffering for dogs like Molly, why not adopt and save a life?

No hope in his eyes

Taking turns to have their ears checked

A society’s quality of living can in some ways, be reflected from the way we treat the animals around us. Before you fall in love with that puppy in the window, let the countless of dogs in Singapore’s many shelters and foster homes waiting for love have a chance at joining your family and turning their lives for the better.

If you would like to help with :

1) Molly’s vet bills
2) Boarding fees while they wait to be adopted
3) Adopting / fostering any of these four dogs who are looking for a good home

For contribution to vet bills, please email Fiona at dogs_ink@singnet.com.sg

To adopt Baxter (Shihtzu cross), please sms Irene at 8298 8129

To adopt Wally (Maltese) and Kit (Chihuahua), please sms Lynda at 9757 2528.

Story and pictures by Jean Loo

Editor's Note - We would like to thank Jean for helping us with the photography and story contribution.

6 comments:

Joy said...

Thank you so much for saving their lives. Thank you Thank you. It means a lot to the community.

April 21, 2011 5:15 PM

Anonymous said...

I reiterate Joys comment THANK YOU for being so kind and caring and rescuing these poor dogs from a life of torture and torment.Unbelievable cruelty... They deserve to be loved and respected..oh and with lots of cuddles thrown in!
I hope they find homes that are able to provide this.
Suzanne

April 21, 2011 5:47 PM

Jo Ann said...

Molly's story is truly horrifying and difficult to read. It is hard to comprehend how people can abuse animals in this manner. There should be laws to regulate these breeding establishments. Thank you for getting her out of there. I wish they could all be rescued.

April 21, 2011 6:44 PM

Anonymous said...

So sad......how can we save them from these evil breeders? :(:(

April 21, 2011 8:11 PM

Anonymous said...

Why can't the breeder be charged with animal cruelty? Is this not a clear case of long-term abuse?

April 21, 2011 9:40 PM

Jia Xin said...

disgusted once again. I seriously wonder how many more dogs are still suffering in silence out there while these "heartless" breeders are using them as puppies churning machines to earn their fortune. VERY VERY DISGUSTED. =/

as much as we hope the authorities WOULD DO SOMETHING, i guess right now, we can only rely on people like you guys who can help these helpless doggies. no dogs deserve this kind of treatment!

I hope we could bring this issue to the media and public awareness, and once again, thank you to everyone who have make an effort to help them! =D

April 22, 2011 12:04 AM

The CRUELTY in PUPPY MILLS!

ST Forum
Mar 15, 2011
Step up regulation of puppy mills

RUNNING a puppy mill is an attractive financial proposition, given the propensity of Singaporeans to buy dogs as pets, coupled with the huge increase in prices of dogs in the past eight years.

I say this from personal experience, having purchased a puppy eight years ago for $1,200, and recently paying $2,800 for a puppy of a similar breed and age, and with no pedigree. This could explain why puppy mills are such popular ventures, and the same applies to pet shops that offer these dogs for purchase.

However, the way these dogs are treated is nothing short of animal abuse. I read with interest how a local pet shop owner stated that a puppy kept in an air-conditioned room needs less water because its body temperature is lower ("In the doghouse"; Sunday). That is a flimsy excuse at best to justify such atrocious behaviour. The converse should be true as a puppy exposed to constant air-conditioning is more susceptible to dehydration.

While I applaud those pet shops and puppy mills that provide adequate facilities for the puppies they house, the sad fact is that most do not even provide the bare necessities.

Public education and awareness campaigns by the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals are not enough. Legislation or subsidiary regulations have to be passed to penalise animal abuse in puppy mills.

The absence of deterrent rules has emboldened recalcitrant owners to treat puppies inhumanely.

Michael Lee

STOP THE CRUELTY IN PUPPY MILLS; adopt,. don't buy.

Undercover operation to expose pet shops and farms

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_638469.html

THE Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and animal welfare groups went undercover to inspect 35 pet shops and farms across the island over November and December 2010.

The undercover operation - a follow-up to the 'Stop the Cruelty in Puppy Mills' campaign launched in October 2010 - found that a total of 19 out of 35 establishments did not comply with the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority's (AVA) standards.

These establishments have been reported to the AVA. Conditions were lacking in many establishments, from improper flooring to small cages and unsatisfactory hygiene. The survey conducted by the animal welfare members found that 79 per cent of the establishments did not provide details about the puppy's parents when asked, while 84 per cent did not allow viewing of parents. When prompted by the welfare members with basic queries on whether they could see the puppies' parents, the enquirers received these responses 'for what...you are buying the puppy, not the parent', and 'if you can find another pet farm which allows you to see the parents, the pup is free'.

Most were not forthcoming with licence application information either, with all 13 pet farms and 33 per cent of the pet shops declining to help. A whopping 92 per cent of the farms and shops did not question prospective buyers on their knowledge of puppy care and very few shops were proactive in offering pet care tips.

Deirdre Moss, executive director of the SPCA, said: 'It is a case of puppies for profit and the results highlight the urgent need for setting higher industry standards and best practices, a robust licensing system and increasing rigorous enforcement for the trade.' The results from the undercover operation have been forwarded in a paper to the AVA with key recommendations such as improvements to flooring, abolishment of the use of water bottles, mandatory licensing at the point of sale, as well as proper counselling on pet care prior to any purchase of a pet.

Other recommendations include a, 'Think twice before you buy' poster (designed by welfare groups and endorsed by AVA) that should be prominently displayed in all shops and farms, and improvements to be made in all 19 premises that failed to meet AVA's standards. View the 'Stop the Cruelty in Puppy Mills' campaign website at http://sgpuppies.com

Impose stricter measures to protect dogs at farms

Straits Times Forum
Apr 29, 2010
Impose stricter measures to protect dogs at farms

I REFER to the report, '5-digit sum spent to save 80 dogs' (April 21). It related how a group of animal lovers came to the rescue of dogs at a breeding farm after the owner could no longer manage the 'business investment' after only three months.

Periodic checks by the authorities have obviously not uncovered symptoms of neglect, which means as long as such breeders are given licences, closer scrutiny is needed, including a checklist of preventive measures - to be complied with as part of licensing conditions - to safeguard and ensure the dogs' welfare.

Regular checks by a veterinarian - so early signs of illness can be detected and treated - should also be factored into the licensing conditions, and certified.

In view of what has transpired in this latest case, which no doubt involved considerable and unnecessary animal suffering, a more stringent code of practice and regulation needs to be urgently implemented.

Deirdre Moss (Ms)
Executive Officer
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals

'If the Government can curb the number of cars on the roads, it can restrict the number of dogs imported and monitor farms.'

MS TABATHA RANDALL: 'The Government should limit the number of dogs and other pets imported into Singapore, and monitor the number of dogs a breeder may rear, relative to the size of the farm, the farm's financial standing and its ability to care for the pets adequately. If the Government can use certificates of entitlement (COEs) to curb the number of cars on the roads - and family planning when it wanted to in the 1970s - it can restrict the number of dogs imported and monitor the animal farms strictly.'

From http://www.mettacats.org/abused_dogs.htm