Decades of advocacy efforts have helped generate awareness about the connection
between pet stores and puppy mills, but many are still unaware of the cruelty that lies behind a newer trend: online puppy sales. The Internet has become a popular place to find puppies, providing the perfect marketplace for large-scale and backyard breeders, as well as puppy brokers, to sell to unsuspecting consumers.
An Arizona-based puppy retailer recently came under fire for removing the negative ratings and comments customers had posted about a particular breeder who was selling through their website, leaving only the five-star ratings behind. As a result, customers purchased puppies from the breeder that ended up being severely ill. One puppy was so sick, it had to be euthanized two weeks after it was purchased. It was also discovered that the breeder had previously been convicted of 47 counts of animal cruelty. Seven consumers have since filed a complaint, and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has helped file a lawsuit against the online retailer.
Sadly, this news story is no surprise to those who are familiar with the connection between online pet sales and puppy mills: the large-scale commercial breeding facilities where animals live in substandard conditions and maximizing profits takes priority over the well-being of the animals. The HSUS estimates there are at least 10,000 puppy mills in the U.S., 3,000 of which are licensed and regulated by the United States Department of Agriculture. They also estimate approximately 1.8 million of the puppies sold each year come from puppy mills.
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/buying-a-puppy-online-is-just-as-bad-as-a-pet-store/?utm_source=Green+Monster+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=621848a910-NEWSLETTER_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bbf62ddf34-621848a910-106919241
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