Great Article From C.A.R.E. Rescue

This article is from a rescue in Nebraska, HEARTS UNITED for ANIMALS (HUA) and they work tirelessly to help dogs from puppy mills. Some of the stories will break your heart. This article is so good; please read and enjoy. I added some personal comments. Hearts United REALLY wanted Prop B to pass in Missouri as a first step in breaking down the steel door to closing puppy mills. If one state like Missouri could do it, more states would follow. There was so much riding on Prop B. How sad. Here is their article-
"On a day in the middle of February, fifteen puppy mill dogs were brought to the Hearts United Animal Shelter. They were the last dogs of a much larger group being transported from a breeding place going out of business in Missouri. The breeders had said that all dogs had to be gone immediately because they were tearing down their ramshackle housing.
On April 28, 2011, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon signed The Canine Cruelty Prevention Act, a bill proposed as a compromise between animal welfare people and dog breeders. One of the most significant requirements in the law is an increase in the living space for dogs. This means that facilities would need to be reconstructed or largely remodeled, a major cost item, and noncompliance is obvious, not something that can be falsified.
By year end 2011, one hundred dog breeders were reported to have turned in their licenses. ( Be aware, some of these breeders re-established themselves as rescues and shelters. These lazy jerks don't believe in getting a job. Just keep selling the dogs.) As it was hoped, the worst breeders would be those most likely to quit. During the controversy over Prop B in Missouri, one astute website blogger wrote of Missouri Breeders, "the good ones aren't good, and the bad ones are criminals." Excluding possibly a small echelon of commercial breeders who are sensitive to the needs of their animals, what the blogger said is true. Cost cutting regardless of humane considerations is the way of life in commercial dog breeding. Some years ago, a breeder in Nebraska was sending off an older Beagle with a transporter scheduled to meet another transporter at a rest stop. She wrote a note to send with the Beagle saying, "She has been a good dog for me and made me lots of extra money. If your connection doesn't show up at the rest stop, just drop her off there." ( I would like to meet this woman). Enforcement has also been stepped up many notches in Missouri. Inspections have increased by 150% ( NOT ENOUGH) and violations by 47% (NOT ENOUGH), according to the Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation. Jay Hagler, head of the Missouri Department of Agriculture appointed by Governor NIxon, and Attorney General Chris Koster has announced their intention of strictly enforcing laws protecting animals. State inspectors have referred 21 cases to the attorney general for prosecution.(There are thousands of puppy mills in Missouri and they recommend 21 for prosecution. Surely there are more puppy mills instead of only 21 that should be prosecuted.)
Missouri is exemplary at this time. In other states with strong agricultural economics, legislation meant to protect dogs is attacked by so many powerful special interest groups that it is watered down to the point of being almost ineffective. Strong forces are working against the rampant commercial dog breeding business. Not the least of these is the national recession that ruled out buying a puppy as a luxury item. The American public is making it increasingly known that inhumane treatment of animals is something they will not tolerate. When large pet store chains announce that their stores will no longer sell puppies., it is obvious that they recognize this change of attitude.
Laws that protect these dogs should be made and enforced. A question we have been asked frequently for over twenty years is, "Aren't puppy mills illegal? It is a difficult question to answer because the people asking are typically so amazed to learn that animals can be kept in small cages for years serving as production machines until they are physical wrecks. Puppy mills have been declared of the worst forms of animal cruelty in this country. The war against commercial breeding of puppies needs to be won on every front."- What a great article. What a great rescue, HUA. They see evil everyday.
And my reaction when the puppy mill breeder cannot sell their puppies due to the recession; they dump them on the rescues like CARE and HUA. It is time to stop this business. "A puppy mill breeder is a criminal" that should be put in jail, even though I would prefer to put the breeder in a small cage, let him or her sleep and stand in their excrement, and then ship them to death row. To stop puppy mills without having to pass laws is to stop the public from buying puppies on the internet or at sale shops. When there is no demand for the product, the product will stop.