‘Horrible Hundred’ Puppy Mills: Minnesota Ranking On HSUS List

Continuing its campaign against puppy mills, large-scale dog breeding operations that animal-welfare groups say put profit over animal well-being, the Humane Society of the United States released its “Horrible Hundred” list of problem operations. The good news is, Minnesota had only one kennel on the list. The bad news, according to the report: It’s not exactly a “dog’s life” at SG Kennels in Roseau, Minnesota.

Missouri topped the list for the fifth year in a row with 19 operations HSUS found objectionable, and Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kansas shared the dubious honor of second place with 12 problem puppy mills each. (For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Minneapolis Patch, or click here to find your local Minnesota Patch. Also, if you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Puppy mills often supply retail and online stores with dogs, often raised in cramped, squalid conditions, deprived of approved veterinary care, and subjected to abuse and neglect, HSUS said in the report.

Moving forward, the HSUS says keeping tabs on puppy mills is made more difficult by the Trump administration’s removal of animal welfare inspection reports and most enforcement records from the U.S. Department of Agriculture website. Some reports on research facilities had been restored by April 20, but almost no records on pet breeding operations were restored, HSUS said.

HSUS said it had to rely on state inspection records in those states that inspect puppy mills, or from USDA records that were preserved before the agency’s website was scrubbed. Court records, consumer complaints, investigator visits and media reports were also used in the compilation of the “Horrible Hundred.”

The report lists 45 new dealers, and 55 operations that are “repeat offenders” that appeared on one or more of the organization’s previous puppy mill reports. In 2016, seven puppy mill operations lost their licenses under USDA enforcement, but such actions are rare, HSUS said.

It doesn’t take much for pet breeders to get a license under Animal Welfare Act standards.

“The AWA’s animal care standards are not optimal standards but survival standards, which are so low that licensed puppy dealers can still legally keep hundreds of dogs in small, stacked cages for their entire lives, with little or no exercise, enrichment or human attention, as long as the dogs are provided with basic provisions such as food, water and rudimentary shelter,” HSUS said in the report. “Because the standards are so minimal, it is even more shocking to see how many breeders fail to comply with even the most basic rules.”

The report said SG Kennels failed at least 11 recent USDA inspections and repeatedly failed to treat a dog with health problems, even after multiple warnings. Patch reached out to the kennel for comment via its Facebook page, but did not immediately hear back. If comment is provided, this story will be updated.

“Shockingly,” the report said, “a Pomeranian who was found with a repeat untreated medical problem during these inspections was the same one we reported on in last year’s report.”

The dog had dental disease and ears that oozed “a thick brown discharge” that was matted into her hair,” the report said, noting that due to the USDA’s records scrubbing, HSUS was unable to determine if authorities ever seized this dog or if she received treatment for the dental disease.

“And although the ear problem was finally addressed in July 2016 after many warnings, it was mentioned again on a September 2016 report,” HSUS said.

Here are the findings by state:

Missouri (19)
Ohio (12)
Pennsylvania (12)
Kansas (12)
Iowa (9)
Nebraska (8)
Texas (7)
Wisconsin (5)
Akansas (2)
Georgia (2)
Oklahoma (2)
South Dakota (2)
Indiana (1)
Kentucky (1)
Massachusetts (1)
Michigan (1)
Minnesota (1)
New Jersey (1)
New York (1)
Tennessee (1)

Read the full report.

Photo by Richard Wood via Flickr Commons