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Midge5353 · 11-21-2005, 03:50 PM

Thanks for informing us Megan. I did a search on the internet and I think I found the article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index....030.xml&coll=1

A NEW CROP FOR THE AMISH
Pennsylvania farmers have found raising puppies is a lucrative business, but they're reaping an increasingly bitter harvest of cruelty charges

LANCASTER, Pa. -- A few scattered pumpkins dot the muddy fields where bearded men in wide- brimmed hats lead teams of shaggy plow horses tilling the soil.

The scent of cows rides a northern breeze that whips white bonnets, dark pants and black jackets on front-yard clotheslines.

It is autumn in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania's Amish country, and the fields that sustain the simple lifestyle are mostly bare.

But one crop -- the most important crop to some -- remains. Puppies.

"They're more expensive now because of Christmas coming up," said a bonneted young girl, barely 10, who cheerfully greeted visitors to her picturesque Ronks dairy farm last week. "You want a better price, you come back in the summer when things are slower."

She then disappeared into a large red barn and emerged with three squirming puppies, each a different breed. Before she could cross the dusty driveway, one spilled from her arms, tumbling over her white apron to the edge of her long, gray skirt.

"That's a Boston terrier," she said, as the loose pup nipped at her black, high-top shoes.

"This one is a bichon," she motioned to the pups still in her arms, "and this is a Yorkie. ... He's going to cost the most. You can probably have him for $1,300."

Bred for bulk and retail sale, puppies are a growing cash crop for hundreds of farmers in and around idyllic Lancaster County, where Amish and Mennonite settlers from Switzerland and Germany arrived in the early 1700s in search of religious freedom.

For farmers, a big crop of dogs can gross up to $500,000 annually, with successful operations netting six figures.

For critics, the men in the suspenders and bushy beards are concealing a cruel and massive form of factory farming and masking it behind the quaint, simple and pure image of the Amish culture. They so badly want the kennels shut down, they have taken their fight to Congress, where a Senate subcommittee heard testimony two weeks ago.

"Amish country is synonymous with puppy mills, and Lancaster County is the capital of Pennsylvania puppy mills, with more than 200 kennels," said Libby Williams, founder of New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse. "Dogs ... should not be treated like chickens, penned up in coops for their entire lives just to breed."

It's no accident that Garden State activists are in the middle of the debate, given that Lancaster County sits just 70 miles from the New Jersey border.

"Pennsylvania is the main source (of dogs to New Jersey pet shops), and farmers in Amish country are the major suppliers," said Stuart Rhodes, president of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "And right now, it's going on Christmastime, so business is booming.

"Everybody wants a puppy."

THE PUPPIES
At a Parkesburg pasture known to kennel authorities as Betty's Boxers, the pups last week were warm and out of sight at what otherwise operates as a dairy farm.

"They're only 4 weeks old," said Betty Stoltzfus, showing visitors around her small operation. Her puppies, she explained, are still three weeks shy of the age when they can legally be sold. But, she optimistically added, "they'll be ready before Christmas."

The little ones make this a downtime for her breeding stock -- 10 yapping, growling female boxers in wire pens at the front of the property. They now are the concern of Betty's 10-year-old son, Marvin.

A few miles up a mountain, back in the town of Ronks, the little girl in the bonnet and her family have a much larger operation on their hands.

Activists contend more than 200,000 puppies are churned out annually in and around Lancaster County, and the farm where the little girl greets visitors had hundreds of older dogs secluded behind the main barn last week.

The dogs were quiet until a farm hand walked between two buildings and triggered howling and yapping. Some of the pack, perhaps 60 fluffy white dogs, were tucked in rabbit hutches stacked a story high and several dozen feet across.

Scores of others filled two more rows of hutches, dozens of pens stacked two-high on both sides of an alley way. The sight of human visitors ignited another fury of yelps, and the dogs pawed their mesh cages -- some pressing their black noses through the holes.

Some were bichons, others were Malteses. All were the small, playful and popular breeds that bring the farm --known as Clearview Kennel -- a steady income.

THE LAW
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement lists 243 kennels in Lancaster County, and about 50 hold federal licenses to sell entire litters to brokers. Hundreds more are scattered in surrounding farm counties.

"The vast majority of kennels, and we have about 2,500 in Pennsylvania ... go through a year without receiving citations, but there are those where we do find violations," said Mary Bender, director of the dog bureau.

Puppy Love, a kennel at the southern end of Lancaster County that sells more than 1,000 puppies a year, was labeled one of the most notorious by the state Attorney General's Office earlier this year. In a lawsuit, the state charged customers bought dogs that died within 48 hours of purchase.

The case was settled in May, when owners Joyce and Raymond Stoltzfus (no relation to Betty Stoltzfus) agreed to pay more than $75,000 in fines and restitution. The money reimbursed 171 customers in seven states for veterinary bills.

Under the settlement, Puppy Love, now known as CC Pets, must have every dog tested and treated by a veterinarian -- a measure that exceeds existing state law for other kennels. (Pennsylvania law requires only that kennels be inspected once a year, and that the dogs be keep "healthy and free of disease," Bender said.)

The worst puppy mills, according to Williams and Humane Society investigators, pen up young females and force them to mate from their first day in heat. They then mate every time they're in heat until they grow too old to produce litters.

That means churning out litters twice a year, maybe for up to seven years, and often with some unhealthy results, said Bob Reder, who conducted undercover puppy mill probes for the Humane Society throughout the 1990s.

"To breed a dog properly requires a medical checkup to see if the animal is healthy enough to give birth to healthy litters. That is never done by these breeders. They breed every dog, so you get sick offspring" said Pamela Shot, a Morris County veterinarian and activist.

She cited congenital defects, such as bad hips and poor eyesight, and allergies that develop years later. Temperament problems also occur.

In response to problem breeders, New Jersey and Pennsylvania adopted "Puppy Lemon Laws." The lawsuit against Puppy Love was based on such a law.

The lemon law requires anyone who sells a sick dog to cover costs and veterinary expenses of buyers, according to Nina Austenberg of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the Humane Society of the United States.

But she said the laws do little to solve health problems that develop a year or more after a purchase, and they do not address the proliferation of unwanted pets caused by puppy mills. The bulk of the nearly 48,000 dogs landing in New Jersey shelters annually, about 14,000 of which end up euthanized, comes from puppy mills, Austenberg said.

"The point is, we don't need more domestic pets; we don't need people churning out hundreds and thousands of dogs," she added.

11-21-2005, 03:50 PM	#12
Midge5353 BANNED! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: North East Ohio Posts: 1,297	Article Thanks for informing us Megan. I did a search on the internet and I think I found the article: http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index....030.xml&coll=1 A NEW CROP FOR THE AMISH Pennsylvania farmers have found raising puppies is a lucrative business, but they're reaping an increasingly bitter harvest of cruelty charges LANCASTER, Pa. -- A few scattered pumpkins dot the muddy fields where bearded men in wide- brimmed hats lead teams of shaggy plow horses tilling the soil. The scent of cows rides a northern breeze that whips white bonnets, dark pants and black jackets on front-yard clotheslines. It is autumn in the rolling hills of Pennsylvania's Amish country, and the fields that sustain the simple lifestyle are mostly bare. But one crop -- the most important crop to some -- remains. Puppies. "They're more expensive now because of Christmas coming up," said a bonneted young girl, barely 10, who cheerfully greeted visitors to her picturesque Ronks dairy farm last week. "You want a better price, you come back in the summer when things are slower." She then disappeared into a large red barn and emerged with three squirming puppies, each a different breed. Before she could cross the dusty driveway, one spilled from her arms, tumbling over her white apron to the edge of her long, gray skirt. "That's a Boston terrier," she said, as the loose pup nipped at her black, high-top shoes. "This one is a bichon," she motioned to the pups still in her arms, "and this is a Yorkie. ... He's going to cost the most. You can probably have him for $1,300." Bred for bulk and retail sale, puppies are a growing cash crop for hundreds of farmers in and around idyllic Lancaster County, where Amish and Mennonite settlers from Switzerland and Germany arrived in the early 1700s in search of religious freedom. For farmers, a big crop of dogs can gross up to $500,000 annually, with successful operations netting six figures. For critics, the men in the suspenders and bushy beards are concealing a cruel and massive form of factory farming and masking it behind the quaint, simple and pure image of the Amish culture. They so badly want the kennels shut down, they have taken their fight to Congress, where a Senate subcommittee heard testimony two weeks ago. "Amish country is synonymous with puppy mills, and Lancaster County is the capital of Pennsylvania puppy mills, with more than 200 kennels," said Libby Williams, founder of New Jersey Consumers Against Pet Shop Abuse. "Dogs ... should not be treated like chickens, penned up in coops for their entire lives just to breed." It's no accident that Garden State activists are in the middle of the debate, given that Lancaster County sits just 70 miles from the New Jersey border. "Pennsylvania is the main source (of dogs to New Jersey pet shops), and farmers in Amish country are the major suppliers," said Stuart Rhodes, president of the New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. "And right now, it's going on Christmastime, so business is booming. "Everybody wants a puppy." THE PUPPIES At a Parkesburg pasture known to kennel authorities as Betty's Boxers, the pups last week were warm and out of sight at what otherwise operates as a dairy farm. "They're only 4 weeks old," said Betty Stoltzfus, showing visitors around her small operation. Her puppies, she explained, are still three weeks shy of the age when they can legally be sold. But, she optimistically added, "they'll be ready before Christmas." The little ones make this a downtime for her breeding stock -- 10 yapping, growling female boxers in wire pens at the front of the property. They now are the concern of Betty's 10-year-old son, Marvin. A few miles up a mountain, back in the town of Ronks, the little girl in the bonnet and her family have a much larger operation on their hands. Activists contend more than 200,000 puppies are churned out annually in and around Lancaster County, and the farm where the little girl greets visitors had hundreds of older dogs secluded behind the main barn last week. The dogs were quiet until a farm hand walked between two buildings and triggered howling and yapping. Some of the pack, perhaps 60 fluffy white dogs, were tucked in rabbit hutches stacked a story high and several dozen feet across. Scores of others filled two more rows of hutches, dozens of pens stacked two-high on both sides of an alley way. The sight of human visitors ignited another fury of yelps, and the dogs pawed their mesh cages -- some pressing their black noses through the holes. Some were bichons, others were Malteses. All were the small, playful and popular breeds that bring the farm --known as Clearview Kennel -- a steady income. THE LAW The Pennsylvania Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement lists 243 kennels in Lancaster County, and about 50 hold federal licenses to sell entire litters to brokers. Hundreds more are scattered in surrounding farm counties. "The vast majority of kennels, and we have about 2,500 in Pennsylvania ... go through a year without receiving citations, but there are those where we do find violations," said Mary Bender, director of the dog bureau. Puppy Love, a kennel at the southern end of Lancaster County that sells more than 1,000 puppies a year, was labeled one of the most notorious by the state Attorney General's Office earlier this year. In a lawsuit, the state charged customers bought dogs that died within 48 hours of purchase. The case was settled in May, when owners Joyce and Raymond Stoltzfus (no relation to Betty Stoltzfus) agreed to pay more than $75,000 in fines and restitution. The money reimbursed 171 customers in seven states for veterinary bills. Under the settlement, Puppy Love, now known as CC Pets, must have every dog tested and treated by a veterinarian -- a measure that exceeds existing state law for other kennels. (Pennsylvania law requires only that kennels be inspected once a year, and that the dogs be keep "healthy and free of disease," Bender said.) The worst puppy mills, according to Williams and Humane Society investigators, pen up young females and force them to mate from their first day in heat. They then mate every time they're in heat until they grow too old to produce litters. That means churning out litters twice a year, maybe for up to seven years, and often with some unhealthy results, said Bob Reder, who conducted undercover puppy mill probes for the Humane Society throughout the 1990s. "To breed a dog properly requires a medical checkup to see if the animal is healthy enough to give birth to healthy litters. That is never done by these breeders. They breed every dog, so you get sick offspring" said Pamela Shot, a Morris County veterinarian and activist. She cited congenital defects, such as bad hips and poor eyesight, and allergies that develop years later. Temperament problems also occur. In response to problem breeders, New Jersey and Pennsylvania adopted "Puppy Lemon Laws." The lawsuit against Puppy Love was based on such a law. The lemon law requires anyone who sells a sick dog to cover costs and veterinary expenses of buyers, according to Nina Austenberg of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Office of the Humane Society of the United States. But she said the laws do little to solve health problems that develop a year or more after a purchase, and they do not address the proliferation of unwanted pets caused by puppy mills. The bulk of the nearly 48,000 dogs landing in New Jersey shelters annually, about 14,000 of which end up euthanized, comes from puppy mills, Austenberg said. "The point is, we don't need more domestic pets; we don't need people churning out hundreds and thousands of dogs," she added. Last edited by Midge5353; 11-21-2005 at 03:54 PM.