Puppy Mill Raided, Humane Society Pushes Kennel Regulation Bill

Sheriff’s deputies and two dozen animal welfare workers raided an alleged “puppy mill” in White County near Sparta this morning.

They seized an estimated 275 animals – largely small breeds like Jack Russell terriers, Pomeranians and Chihuahuas. This marks the sixth major raid in the state within the past year.

The raid occurred as animal activists are pushing legislation targeting “puppy mills.”

Officials with the Humane Society of the United States say, based on advertisements leading consumers to Tennessee sellers, as many as 500 “puppy mills” operate in the state.

This year the Humane Society is pushing for a law requiring inspections for kennels which keep more than 20 breeding females.

State director, Leighann McCollum, says the bill is aimed at “mega-mills” that exploit animals, by mass breeding pups for profit.

“Operations that are typically housing three, four, five, six, seven hundred animals. We’ve recently worked with local governments to assist them is seizing puppy mill animals where more than a thousand breeding dogs were kept on the property in horrible conditions.”

McCollum says over the past year law enforcement has shut down five puppy mills – one in Sumner, Shelby and Hamilton counties, and two in Hickman County.

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Workers for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals took over the care of the dogs taken from the large rural property. The animals were scattered through several buildings.

White County Deputy Chris Isom said no charges had been filed as of early this afternoon and the investigation continues.

Animal activists say charges in such cases must wait on scientific evidence to be collected from the animals.

McCollum says breeding females are kept in crates in cramped, unsanitary conditions for their whole lives,. The outcome is often a broken-hearted new owner with a puppy that is unhealthy – sometimes sick enough to die.

“These adult breeding dogs are not being provided with proper nutrition, or proper care. They’re unsocialized, they’re typically not vaccinated, and they carry a host of diseases. So an unsuspecting consumer, who sees a cute puppy on the Internet, and has an animal shipped on an airplane three states away, ends up with a puppy that more often than not is sick, and has a lot of behavioral issues starting right off the bat, so it’s a serious consumer protection issue.”

The Humane Society’s bill is sponsored in the state Senate by Dickson Senator Doug Jackson and in the House by Nashville’s Janis Sontany and Hendersonville’s Debra Maggart.

ASPC officials on the scene sent this information in a news release:

Animals in critical condition were examined immediately on the scene and in the ASPCA’s CSI unit, which operates under the leadership of Dr. Merck and brings both state-of-the-art forensics tools and unmatched expertise to crime scenes. The specially-designed vehicle is also outfitted with medical equipment tailored for animal patients. Animals needing emergency care are being transferred to local veterinarians who lent their services.

The dogs are under the official custody of the White County Sheriff’s Department and are being transported to a nearby emergency shelter staffed by the American Humane Association (AHA). Other organizations assisting in the animal recovery effort include the Nashville Humane Association, several local veterinarians, and PetSmart Charities, which provided the majority of sheltering supplies and an emergency relief vehicle.

The dogs are small breeds under 20 pounds and include Boston and Jack Russell terriers, Pomeranians, Shih Tzus, Chihuahuas, poodles, miniature Pinschers and Schnauzers. According to Dr. Merck, the dogs are suffering from a general lack of husbandry, such as little to no food or water, lack of proper ventilation in enclosed areas, and feces encrusted pens. Conditions such as matting, sores, mange, poor teeth, abscesses, and a host of other medical conditions are prevalent.

The investigation was set into motion last September, when a consumer who had visited the property to purchase a dog alerted the White County Humane Society reporting horrible conditions. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), which had also received complaints, alerted the sheriff’s department, and a formal investigation began. The sheriff’s department then enlisted the ASPCA’s support for the operational phase of the case.