The Hunte Corporation is a commercial puppy broker based in Missouri. The company was established in 1991. [1] It is the largest puppy dealer in the world, with sales in the United States, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Japan. The company distributes animals through retail chains such as Petland. [2] According to a November 2007 article in the Tulsa World, the company buys and sells 90,000 puppies each year. Hunte is located in Goodman, Mo., just across the Oklahoma state line and buys and sells purebred puppies for markets in 30 states that include Ohio, Illinois and Florida. [3]
SW Missouri Better Business Bureau
According to Mr. Rook, his business operates in the "stratosphere of integrity". However, the company received an "F" rating from the Southwest Missouri Better Business Bureau for failing to address customer complaints. Although he could not verify breeders who supplied specific stores, he insisted that:
- "There are only two acceptable sources for our puppies at the Hunte Corporation. They include small-time "hobby breeders" and "USDA-registered and licensed and inspected breeders."
He also refused to provide names or information about breeders:
- "The (USDA) is required to by law. And if they find that there is something that should be repaired to improve the quality of the facility, they give that breeder 30 or 40 days to fix that." [11]
USDA certified puppy mills
Breeding dogs in puppy mill
There are only about a hundred USDA inspectors to monitor 10,000 facilities across the country, ranging from research labs to zoos. Furthermore, "standards" are abysmal. Federal guidelines allow a medium sized terrier to be kept in a cage the size of a clothes drier for its entire life. The federal Animal Welfare Act is hardly the gold standard for compassion. For example, the act does not say you cannot have 300 dogs confined to cages for their entire lives; never to be taken for a walk or receive any personal attention, let alone be a part of a family. A breeder passes USDA muster as long as the dog has food, water and enough space to turn around.
USDA standards are very minimal. Adhering to them does not prove that a breeder is not a puppy mill. Even more so, since even these standards are often not enforced. Many licensed breeders for large chains like Petland, have significant violations.
[12]
USDA & Hunte
In September 2001, U.S. Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri announced that the USDA had approved a $900,000 guaranteed rural development loan for the company to purchase equipment for its McDonald County operations; restructure its debt, and expand its operations. The loan followed a $3.5 million dollar loan from the USDA the previous year. According to Hunte, sales for 2001 would exceed 26 million, up from one million a decade earlier.
[13]
Animal welfare related incidents
Clean water & waste citation for trenches of dead puppies
When the Missouri Department of Natural Resources made a complaint driven investigation of a Hunte kennel facility in 2003, they discovered "trenches of dead canines" on the premises. According to department spokesperson Mark Rader, most facilities bury dogs in landfills. It is rare for a kennel to bury so many dogs on site. He did not know how the dogs died:
- "The kennel was close to violating the state's dead animal disposal laws, which allow no more than 1,000 pounds of dead animals to be buried per acre."
The company was cited for clean water and waste violations.
[14] Apparently, no other investigation or inquiries were made regarding into the "trenches of dead canines" by the state of Missouri.
What happens to imperfect puppies?
If the company was "close to violating" a law that allows "no more than 1,000 pounds of dead animals per acre", how many "dead canines" (specifically, puppies) were found? Many or perhaps most of these puppies were likely popular small and toy breeds that weigh no more than a few pounds each. They would have been approximately 8 weeks (the "standard" age for puppies purchased by the company). All the more strange as puppies spend one to five days maximum at the facility and are screened (presumably for illness and other "defects") before being purchased by Hunte. Hunte's puppies are "guaranteed". However, at 90,000 puppies per year processed through the Hunte assembly line, even very small percentage of "unsellable" puppies would translate into hundreds or thousands. This does not even take into account thier breeding parents; at the mercy of miserable AKC and USDA approved puppy mills across the mid west.
Many puppies die within days of reaching the store from illness or lack of nourishment or soon after being purchased. A pet store has no motivation to treat them, as they receive "credit" for dead puppies. If they buy a puppy for 100 dollars or less, than can sell it, along with its AKC "papers"; for $600 and up. Sometimes, the customer often does not have the option of a refund, only credit for another puppy. In the pet trade, it makes little sense to spend hundreds of dollars on a 60 dollar puppy.
[15] In some cases, people or organizations step in to rescue a "defective" dog. However, in the world of puppy mills, pet stores and brokers, unmarketable puppies are usually dumped in over burdened shelters, killed or simply allowed to die.
[16]
