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Originally Posted by Woogie Man  Nancy, I agree with you about this. There probably is some overlap between farmers and mill operators as I don't see how puppy mill operators alone could exert so much influence. Even without that, I think farmers would be against this anyway, and see it as a stepping stone to their door.
I really liked what you said in the recent thread (the one about buying from a pet store) that if 'everyone would just visit the premises where the puppy comes from, there would be no more puppy mills'. I hope I'm paraphrasing you correctly and I 100% agree. It's a very simple solution that we all can implement.
More so than the cruelty of some mills, this bill was aimed at those that intentionally harm animals for kicks. There is no reason for such acts to be considered only a misdemeanor when cats and dogs are suffering horribly at the hands of demented sickos. |
Lol, who do you picture as a mill operator? There not just backyard breeders gone wild. Think of how farmers decide a crop, they have some type of group that tells them how much they will pay for certain things. The farmers aren't deciding yorkies are really hot this year, "I'll breed me some of those", they are given suggestions on what to breed, just like they are being told what would be good to grow. The farmer/mill operators are not the ones making the money; it's the brokers. Farmers are lucky to get $200.00 for a puppy. Haven't you ever heard of dog auctions, where breeders are sold in large numbers, farmers are changing crops. Now sure there are probably larger commercial facilities that are run by larger groups or individuals and puppies are their only business, but I'd guess most of the mills are one-family operations. It's not like they spend all day caring for the dogs, they are raising and growing other things as well.
I try to stress the importance of visiting homes, but even some breeders on Yorkietalk give excuses why it can't be done. They say they don't trust a person enough to come to their home, yet they have no problem meeting the person, and selling them a dog. If you don't know a person well enough to feel comfortable visiting your home, you shouldn't sell them a defenseless dog. I didn't get much back up on this, but breeding isn't for everyone, and if you can't figure out a way to show people the breeding location, then you need to quit breeding. You know it would be great if we could tell a miller just by talking to him, but we can't. They know the right things to say, and the brokers can win almost anyone over.
I understand that this bill isn't a puppy mill bill, but the farmers don't. How many times have you heard, "Give em an inch."?