[Nancy1999]

I don't want to do away with USDA breeders, I believe they fill need, but I do want to do away with puppy mills. I think some people call every commercial breeder a puppy mill, but I believe it's possible to be a large-scale breeder and raise the dogs humanely. I would like to see the USDA have more authority to enforce laws already in place, and I would like every breeder who breeds above a certain number of litters a year, to have some type of license, and be inspected. I'm not sure what that number should be, I believe there has been talk of 10 or so litters and that seems reasonable. I think we need input from good breeders because I would hate to do anything that hurts them and has no impact on the bad breeders. First we need to address the problem of really inhumane kennel conditions, for millions of dogs. The second problem is people breeding who aren't held accountable for the health of their dogs offspring. This is more of a problem with small backyard breeders. These breeders generally treat the breeding dogs well, but the offspring often has a most difficult life, due to poor placement or people not being able to afford proper health treatment for genetic problems.