Iowa puppy mills make ‘Horrible Hundred’ report

Iowa continues to rank high on the list of states with some of the worst puppy mills, according to a report released by the Humane Society of the United States.

“It’s time for state to step up,” said Mary LaHay, founder of Iowa Friends of Companion Animals and Iowa Voters for Companion Animals.

The Humane Society of the United States released for the third consecutive year a report of some of the worst puppy mills in the country. The society stated the list does not include all of the “worst” breeders.

“The Horrible Hundred 2015” report listed 100 dealers from 16 states. The states with the most breeders on the list were Missouri, with 23, and Kansas, with 16. Nebraska followed with 14 breeders, and Iowa ranked fourth with 11.

A puppy mill is described by the Humane Society as “an inhumane, commercial dog-breeding facility in which the health of the dogs is disregarded in order to maintain a low overhead and maximize profits.”

Iowa has remained high on the list of states with the most puppy mills that are included in the reports by the Humane Society of the United States. In 2013, Iowa had the fourth-most, with eight. The state was fifth in 2014, with six on the list.

Rural areas, like those in Midwestern states, enable operators of puppy mills to hide their operations better than in urban areas, said Kathleen Summers, director of outreach and research for the Humane Society of the United States’ Puppy Mills Campaign.

“Puppy mills don’t want people to see their conditions,” Summers said. “They’re often hidden on properties with a lot of acreage.”

“The Horrible Hundred 2015” described conditions at these puppy mills as reported by inspectors from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. These inspectors conduct compliance inspections at licensed commercial dog breeding facilities that sell to pet stores, brokers, research facilities and online.

USDA inspectors found some Iowa facilities were not providing adequate veterinary care for their dogs. For example, inspectors found several dogs with lesions and eye conditions at Pee Vine Kennels in West Point.

At Black Diamond Kennel in Kingsley, inspectors found a dog with a “severely bloody” tail and another dog with a two-inch swelling on her neck. Inspectors returned to the facility a few weeks later and found the dogs had been checked by a vet and received treatment.

Inspectors wrote 17 pages of violations — many mentioning sick and wounded dogs — for K & L Kennels in Westside, Iowa, in 2014, according to the “Horrible Hundred 2015” report. Summers said she had heard K & L Kennels is no longer in operation — having auctioned off its dogs in April.

The Humane Society of the United States wrote in its 2015 report that almost two dozen problem puppy mills listed in the two previous reports closed their doors “partly as a result of greater public scrutiny and stronger laws.”

Bills aiming to increase state oversight on commercial dog breeding facilities have been proposed in the Iowa legislature for five of the past six years, LaHay said. These bills, including Senate File 502 in this legislative session, have had little success.

LaHay said she will continue to lobby for more state oversight of these facilities because she believes more oversight will help improve enforcement of Iowa’s animal cruelty statute.

“There will be another set of eyes on the problem,” LaHay said. “A set of eyes that are Iowa-based, not federal based.”

LaHay encouraged people who want to take action against puppy mills to contact their legislators and voice their support for strengthening enforcement of laws protecting animals.

Summers also advised people to not buy dogs from puppy mills or from pet stores that sell animals from puppy mills. She suggested people first look at adopting dogs before buying.

“Any dog adopted from a shelter, is one less dog bought from a puppy mill,” Summers said.

If people do want to buy from a breeder, they should tour the breeding facilities and make sure they see a puppy’s mother and father, Summer said.

“It may take a little more time, but it’s definitely worth it,” Summers said. “You want a healthy puppy from a responsible breeder.”

2015 PUPPY MILL FACTS

10,000 Estimated number of licensed and unlicensed puppy mills in the U.S.

1,055,435 Estimated number of puppies produced by USDA-licensed facilities each year

172,739 Estimated number of dogs kept only for breeding in USDA-licensed facilities

2.11 million Estimated number of dogs sold annually who originated from puppy mills

Source: The Humane Society of the United States