Puppy mill raids - the shock and horror of Aussie puppy farms

Think puppy mills are just something they have in the United States? Sadly not - everyone needs to read this interview with dog rescuer Debra Tranter about her experiences raiding Australian puppy mills and reminds us exactly why people should say no to animals in pet shops…

Abolitionist: Many people won’t know what’s involved with puppy mills so please Deb take this opportunity to explain what’s involved with puppy mills, who is doing it and why is it allowed to continue?

Debra: Puppy farms are the hidden business behind the pet shop window. They are breeding farms where thousands of dogs are kept imprisoned for life churning out puppies to supply the pet shop industry.

Most puppy farms have between 200-300 female dogs and approximately 50 male dogs. This amount of dogs can earn the owner approximately $450,000 per year in puppy sales. The farms employ minimal staff to keep wages down and only feed the dogs once every second day. Veterinary treatment is rarely provided, as this is another expense. Some of the puppies are put aside to replace the sick, injured or old breeding stock.

Female dogs come into season at approximately 6 months of age so this is when they start breeding. They are not rested in between cycles and are kept in a continual cycle of pregnancy. The dogs are kept in small pens their entire lives and spend their days ceaselessly pacing back and forth, the only way of coping with their despair. These intelligent animals are never walked, socialised or given any love; they are simply breeding machines.

The puppies are weaned from their mothers between 4 and 5 weeks and then transported to pet shops to be displayed to the unsuspecting public.

Pet shop owners depend on love at first sight because it prompts people to make an impulsive purchase.

What the consumer can’t see is the puppy’s mother imprisoned miles away.

Abolitionist: In all the vast amount of animal work that needs to be done why did you and the rescue team concentrate on bringing puppy mills to light and why is it allowed to continue?

DT: It is allowed to continue because it is legal and there is a demand for cute puppies. Anyone can apply to local council for a breeding permit. There is no limit on the amount of dogs that a person can own. Most puppy farms start off small with 50-80 dogs and then they can apply to council to extend their permit to allow more dogs. Councils are hopeless at enforcing the code of practice for breeding establishments. One Council in Victoria recently inspected a puppy farm with 120 dogs and had to call in a vet because of the appalling state the dogs were in. The vet put down 17 dogs and examined the remaining dogs that he noted to be in “poor health and not fit for breeding”. The Council left the remaining dogs on the puppy farm and the owner kept operating. No cruelty charges were laid even though 17 dogs were put down.

Puppy farm owners have to pay their local councils an annual registration fee for each dog, the more dogs a puppy farm has the more money council makes.

I decided to concentrate on puppy farms because dogs hold a special place in my heart. Domesticated thousands of years ago they were chosen to be our protectors, companions and best friends and although we have betrayed our responsibility towards them in many ways, none is so distressing or disturbing as the puppy factory. I want to raise awareness of what really goes on behind the pet shop window and I want these dogs to know real love and companionship, not brutality on a daily basis.

In Australia we kill approximately 160,000 dogs every year. That’s 350 a day or one every 4 minutes.

Abolitionist: What is the solution to the puppy mills and how is it ever going to end?

DT: The problem that causes animals to end up in shelters are preventable and the solutions are in our hands. Everyone in the decisions they make and the actions they take can have an impact on this issue. As long as there are not enough homes for them all, dogs added to the population by puppy factories and pet shops help feed companion animal over population and contribute to the killing of massive numbers of dogs in shelters and pounds.

We need to transcend the current shelter system in Australia. This systems primary function is the processing of living beings, either by recycling them to new homes or destroying them, but to dispose of them somehow, to relieve people and communities of their responsibility for them. It is a sign of our societies disconnection from other beings. The truth is there should not be a need in a civilised society for a system that disposes of animals as if they were trash.

Abolitionist: What atrocities have you been witness to?

DT: The atrocities I have witnessed on puppy farms will stay with me for the rest of my life. I have seen mother dogs become so dysfunctional after years of confinement and pregnancy that they eat their own puppies.

I have seen dogs with hair matted so thickly that it rips their skin and cause gaping sores and infection. Dog’s gums and teeth decayed and infected through inadequate diet. Dogs that have given birth so many times that their uterus comes away form its body and becomes infected. Mother dogs dead with puppies stuck in the birth canal. When I enter these properties the fear, pain and suffering is tangible.

Abolitionist: What are some of your most memorable raids?

DT: I have had many memorable moments on raids but two stands out in my mind.

One was a night I rescued a female pug. I found her in a small birdcage. The floor was covered in two inches of faeces. She was constantly spinning in circles and crying as I videotaped her. I opened the cage door and she stopped spinning and slowly approached me. I noticed that her vagina had been stitched up and the wound was weeping and obviously infected. She had suffered a prolapsed uterus. It was an easy decision to take this little one and get her to a vet for treatment. She is now in a loving home and named Lutana, which is aboriginal for “moonlight”, which signifies the night of her rescue. She brings such joy and delight to everyone who meets her.

My second most memorable raid was when 50 members joined me in raiding Australia’s largest puppy farm in Ballarat. This was the final raid at this property after 10 years of campaigning as shortly after this we were successful in shutting the place down for good.

The feeling of carrying dogs off the property knowing they will never breed again is indescribable. I stay in contact with all my rescued dogs and it’s seeing them free that keeps me going.

Abolitionist: How can people reading this help?

DT: No one has more power to fight puppy factories than the consumer does. Everyone has the ability to stop the cycle of abuse. Never buy a puppy from a pet shop, urge them to sell supplies not animals.

Resolve to tell family and friends about the puppy factory issue. Many people who care deeply about animals are not always aware of the connection between pet shops and the breeding dogs trapped for life in a factory.

I believe we can close down this industry that views dogs as mere profit machines. Dogs are our best friends and companions and deserve our best effort. After all the licks wags and love they have given us, we owe them this fight. Their lives depend on it.
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