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A kitten or puppy mill is a breeding operation in which cats or dogs are repeatedly bred for financial gain and are kept in substandard conditions. Because you care about animals, you believe that they should be stopped - put out of business. So, what can YOU do?
Your first action should be inaction. Do not buy a puppy or kitten from a pet store that gets their animals from brokers or mills. If you do not know the source of puppies or kittens at your local store and do not trust their answers that "all their animals come from small, local breeders", then you can request a copy of their records.
If you want to know more about the breeder, you can contact the USDA - the organization responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare Act guidelines through inspecting and licensing breeders. Getting this information is not easy, however.
There was a time when the USDA made breeder inspection reports available online in PDF form via a searchable database. After much complaining from the breeding industry, that service was taken off line several years ago. <sad smile>
You can still get the data from USDA by requesting them via snail mail. However, this process can take weeks to months. If the pet store is getting their puppies and kittens from mills, then you can become more of an activist, if you choose.
You can display your disgust with kitten and puppy mills and your belief that they must be stopped by buying different kinds of merchandise (t-shirts, bumper stickers, brochures, bracelets, posters, dvds, books and more).
Here are two great resources for doing that: Last Chance for Animals and Stop Puppy Mills. In both cases, net proceeds benefit these fine, non-profit organizations.
You can also use the web to proclaim your advocacy and tell your story. The American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (the ASPCA)'s website has an open blog for people to talk with others across the country. They will also provide you with email alerts regarding pending animal welfare legislation in your state. And if you want to become even more active, ASPCA provides suggestions on how to lobby your state legislature effectively.
Last Chance for Animals, in coordination with other advocacy groups, began and helps sponsor annual Puppy Mill Awareness Days that include candlelight vigils and walk-a-thons. The Awareness Day celebration is held in September and events are always scheduled in several states.
If you want to get a local advocacy group started, a great way to do that is through the website Meetup. Meetup is a site that allows you to find other people (in your local area) who are interested in the same things that you are. It is designed to facilitate like minded people finding each other, organizing real world meetings ... and meeting each other! (Duh!) You can search for a local "ban puppy mills" group or start your own!
You have many ways to take action to stop puppy and kitten mills from your backyard to Washington. So, get going!
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