Frequently Asked Questions About Puppy Mills

How big is puppy selling in Hawaii?
The demand for purebred puppies in Hawaii is staggering. In a recent research project conducted by the Hawaiian Humane Society, we found 360 puppies for sale online and in Oahu pet shops during a two-week period. Based on this, we project that profiteers will yield an annual revenue of more than $9.4 million in puppy sales. This is a major industry in Hawaii – completely unregulated.

On Oahu, dog ownership has doubled in the last 20 years. Our research shows that about 43% of homes have a dog. That’s more than 330,000 dogs statewide. According to a 2008 Ward Research poll, 13% of dogs were purchased from pet shops and 14% adopted from Hawaiian Humane Society.

Nationwide about 16% are adopted from shelters, 31% are purchased directly from breeders, and about 6% are purchased from pet stores each year. Approximately 44.8 million American homes have at least one dog as a pet for a total of 74.8 million dogs that share our lives, according to the American Pet Products Association.

What is the Humane Society’s position on breeders and pet shops?
As long as people are uninformed about buying a purebred dog responsibly, puppy mills will continue to operate. We are not against puppy sales nor breeding as we believe the public should not be denied choices. We stand for responsible breeding. And responsible breeders would never sell through a pet shop because they want to create a relationship with buyers and invite inspections of housing and care of the dogs they breed. Our ambition is to create a well-educated public that acquires puppies responsibly and considers Oahu’s pet overpopulation issue in which nearly 10,000 dogs and puppies arrived at our open admissions shelter in 2011.

How can you tell if a puppy was born in a puppy mill?
Ask a lot of questions. Require an inspection of where the dogs are bred. Every responsible breeder typically allows you to meet the mother and father of the puppy and see them in their home environment. Any puppy bought out of a car trunk, in a pet store, or on the internet - you have no idea of parent's living condition unless you see it yourself.

What were some of the health issues with puppy mill dogs?
While a photo may say more than a thousand words, what the public often does not witness through media reports is the unseen abuse that manifests as serious health and behavior issues: Parvo virus, heartworms, flea, tick, and parasitic infestations, along with severe dental disease that devastates their overall health and well-being. These conditions are often synonymous with puppy mills. Hawaii’s cases involving commercial breeding operations mirror what’s found nationwide.

In a 2011 Waimanalo case, we rescued dogs suffering from a range of ailments: brittle bones and muscle atrophy from a lack of nutrition and exercise, infestation of intestinal parasites so serious that they embedded in muscle, and debilitating dental issues in which nearly 200 teeth had to be removed. In an investigation of a Windward pet shop in 2011, several puppies for sale were found suffering in the final stages of Parvo. In a 2005 case involving a Kahaluu breeder, dogs were forced to live in wire cages no larger than the size of a mini-refrigerator.

Dogs bred in puppy mills are proven unable to cope fully with normal existence and demonstrate impaired health, according to a recent University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine study. Abnormal psychological and behavioral characteristics included elevated levels of fears and phobias, pronounced compulsive behaviors such as spinning in tight circles and pacing, house soiling and a heightened sensitivity to being touched and picked up. This was based on 2011 research of 1,200 breeding dogs observed two years after rescue – long after they had been removed from puppy mills.



What kind of laws are already in place to regulate puppy mills?
Hawaii has no laws targeted at breeding operations except for a county zoning ordinance that requires an indoor enclosure and a certain distance of commercial kennels from the property line. Hawaii's animal cruelty law ensures what's called "necessary sustenance," which means adequate shelter and protection from the elements and access to food and water. This is applicable to breeding operations and people's pets.

Is the problem inadequate existing laws or lack of enforcement?
Existing law is inadequate. The only applicable existing laws are basic care statutes that have proven unenforceable due to lack of inspection authority. The fallback is the general animal cruelty law, which can only enforce complaints that merit search warrants. Existing law may only be utilized after animals are demonstrably suffering. 



Is there any federal protection against puppy mills?
When Congress enacted the Animal Welfare Act in 1966, an exemption was created for pet stores who run their own breeding operations or those who sell puppies directly to buyers. The rationale was that consumers would be able to inspect the conditions at breeding facilities if they buy a dog directly from a breeder. The law passed long before the dawn of the Internet, which changed the marketplace in how puppies could be sold. 


Regardless of the loophole, breeders are not in compliance with an existing federal law that mandates licensing for breeders who sell dogs to brokers or pet stores. In Hawaii, federal enforcement is nonexistent. A Honolulu pet shop disclosed to the Humane Society that they work with more than 90 local breeders. We have found that not one of them – nor any in Hawaii – has a federal license.



What was the 2011 puppy mill bill at the Hawaii State Legislature?
A legislative bill we aimed to pass last year would have allowed humane societies access to inspect such operations and to assure the welfare of breeding dogs. It resulted in a state audit to explore potential regulation, which recommended against licensing. Licensing would enable authorities inspection access similar to regulated home-based businesses. As of now, the only authority that can mandate access for the Humane Society to inspect a breeding facility on private property is a court-approved search warrant that meets the requirements to prove compelling potential for a crime.

This bill is designed to help prevent suffering from occurring in the first place. By capping the size of these large facilities, this legislation will enable humane investigators to more effectively and efficiently deal with complaints about dogs living in squalid conditions and receiving inadequate care.

If the 2011 bill aimed to create minimum standards of animal care, why shouldn't those standards also apply to shelters, pet stores, and any other facility that houses and places pets with the public?
There is a fundamental difference between those types of facilities and a puppy mill: the animals in those situations are housed there temporarily, and not for their entire lives. And these facilities are open to the public and therefore the treatment of the animals is vastly more observable and transparent. The bill is offered as a solution to a specific problem that arises when large numbers of dogs are kept for breeding purposes at a profit-making, commercial entity.

What is Hawaii's forfeiture law?
In 2006, Hawaiian Humane Society developed and advocated for a new state law that would enable the courts to award ownership of animals involved in cruelty cases prior to the outcome of the criminal trial. This was due to a large scale rescue case involving a Kahaluu breeder in 2004. Because it can take years to go to criminal trial, this law was passed so animals can either be awarded to the Humane Society or the defendant must post bond for their care until that criminal trial takes place. As an independent nonprofit that relies on donations and is not affiliated with any other animal welfare organization, large-scale rescues and the costs involved could put the Humane Society in jeopardy. This law was passed.

Because the accused are considered innocent until proven guilty, they also have rights under the law. Under the forfeiture law, Hawaiian Humane Society can be awarded animals before the outcome of a criminal trial or the defense can post bond and bear the burden of cost for care until the criminal case is settled.

SB2503 - Relating to Animal Cruelty (Companion Bill HB2679)
Senator Hee's bill aims to include horses and all animals' offspring to the existing forfeiture process and would allow compensation for attorney fees.

Is it important to buy a dog with "papers" to certify parentage?

AKC and UKC are not involved in the sale of dogs and do not guarantee breed purity, the health and quality of dogs in their registries. Owners voluntarily register their purebreds with either clubs for "papers." It doesn't guarantee that the animals live and are bred in humane conditions. AKC lobbied against legislation to regulate Hawaii puppy mills and urged all its members to protest regulation.