Posts tagged "puppy-mill"

After passing Prop. 2, which offers greater protection for farm animals, the state of California is working to give better protection to dogs and cats. California Assembly member Pedro Nava introduced three pet-focused bills that have already passed in the Assembly and are being put to a vote in the Senate today. We break down what they mean for the state's millions of cats and dogs and thousands of breeders.

AB 241
Assembly Bill 241, the Responsible Breeder Act, seeks to limit each seller to 50 adult intact dogs or cats. This will help law enforcement crack down on overpopulated puppy mills (currently, only 70 inspectors are expected to license and inspect these large-scale commercial breeders). Seeing as there are 8,300 facilities in California alone, inspecting kennels becomes a very low priority.

Due to many breeding mills' unsanitary conditions and the poor treatment animals receive during transport, only about half of puppies born in puppy mills actually survive to find a home. Many who do live are sold to impulse buyers and often end up in shelters. When puppy mills are raided and the animals are rescued, it's the state (i.e. taxpayers) who end up footing the bill. AB 241 hopes to not only save animals' lives but save state spending as well.

Back in February, a Bengal tiger named Sheena was found in a Missouri puppy mill. She weighed around 175 pounds (she should have been closer to 400) and was surviving in a small pen littered with feces, urine, and dog corpses. A small amount of dog food and a couple of possums were tossed into the cage as well.

Among Sheena's health problems were boils on her paws and tongue, unexplained wounds, poor posture due in some part to the fact that she was declawed, along with vision problems. When first brought to the National Tiger Sanctuary near Bloomsdale, Missouri, she was afraid to go outside. She was also eating 25 pounds of food a day and was very aggressive when eating.

Five months later, Sheena's a new tiger. For the first time in her nine years Sheena is experiencing life among other tigers. Her posture and vision issues are improving, and she's put on weight, now eating a healthy 7 lbs a day. Formerly afraid of humans, she now runs up to see her favorite people and rubs on the fence for attention. Naturally, Sheena has become the sanctuary's star attraction.

If you're in Missouri you can visit Sheena and her other sanctuary playmates. If you're not, consider "adopting" one of the sanctuary's many big cats.