11 Pennsylvania Kennels Among Humane Society's 'Horrible Hundred' Puppy Mills

Several Pennsylvania kennels are on a list compiled by the Humane Society entitled the "Horrible Hundred," including the worst offenders across the nation.

Animal protection groups are renewing the fight against puppy mills, large-scale dog breeding operations that groups say put profit over animal well-being.

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.

In Pennsylvania, a total of 11 kennels made the list. We've listed them below:

• Evergreen Kennel, East Earl, Pennsylvania
• Garden Spot Puppy Haven, Parkesburg, Pennsylvania
• Margaret (Molly) Graf, Eichenluft Working German Shepherds, Newville, Pennsylvania
• Hill Top Farm Kennel, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania
• Jonathan Lapp, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
• Paul Ober, Celtic Farms and Kennels, Inc., Mohrsville, Pennsylvania
• Runway Kennel, Gordonville, Pennsylvania
• Sunny Slope Kennels, Honey Brook, Pennsylvania
• Walnut Run, Strasburg, Pennsylvania
• Whispering Spring Kennel, LLC, East Earl, Pennsylvania
• Marlin Zimmerman, Turkey Hill Kennel, East Earl, Pennsylvania

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

In one of the Missouri operations, 53 puppies died after they were left on a cargo truck with a space heater running, and a veterinarian wasn’t contacted until eight hours after the dogs showed signs of distress.

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.

Read the full report.

With reporting by Patch correspondent Beth DalbeyPhoto by Richard Wood via Flickr Commons

Patch file photo