New Legislation May Stop Unscrupulous Breeders From Harming Thousands Of Pups

Throughout the course of the pandemic, one of the upsides has been the number of dogs in shelters who have found a new home. While people have been quarantining, they desired the comfort and love that only a dog can give.

Sadly, dogs have had very few protections in the eyes of the law, but a new initiative hopes to change all that. It’s called the Puppy Protection Act, and it has big goals to help innocent dogs.

According to Senator Rick Durbin of Illinois, his goal is to protect dogs from “neglectful breeders who have evaded proper oversight and inspection in the past.”

Sadly, with over 10,000 puppy mills across the United States and over 213,000 dogs being used for breeding, there is an influx of dogs in the United States. Not all of those dogs are being treated properly, where the Puppy Protection Act comes in.

Source: Egor Myznik/Unsplash

The United States Department of Agriculture imposes regulations on only 2,000 commercial breeders. That means hundreds of thousands of puppies and dogs are crammed into tiny cages, stacked on top of one another, and placed in overcrowded rooms.

Sara Amundson, President of the Humane Society Legislative Fund, says sometimes those innocent animals never leave the stacked cages.

Source: Fredrik Ohlander/Unsplash

“How on Earth is man’s best friend supposed to be socialized and interactive with us if they don’t even have the opportunity to put their feet on grass?” she told Business Insider.

The new bill, if passed, would implement new standards for the cage sizes and would prohibit the stacking of cages. Dogs over 12 weeks old would require unrestricted access to an outdoor play area and be required to have 30 minutes of socialization with other humans and dogs each day.