Why does the AKC support puppy mills?   MONEY.

   Kathy Mordini, animal advocate and writer for the Chicago Pets examiner, writes that the AKC is " . . . blocking laws around the country that would crack down on puppy mills, affecting the AKC’s membership. The AKC collects membership fees from thousands of dog breeders including owners of puppy mills – large scale commercial breeding operations that have substandard living condition that create health and behavioral problems in dogs."  The AKC opposed 80 state and local proposals to cut down on puppy mills.

   It's all about the money.  The fewer "breeders", the fewer membership dues.

   As stated in our website, we are NOT anti-breeder. We support legitimate breeders that take good care of their breeding "stock" (not our word - theirs).  The AKC tries to paint those of us who fight against the atrocities of puppy mills as crazy and misguided.  The fact of the matter is, the AKC chooses to turn a blind eye to those atrocities instead using their money and energy to try to turn those of us who want to end puppy mills into the "bad guys".  When greed overtakes an organization to the point that they will accept any breeder and not work to impose standards of care for the animals trapped in a puppy mill, that is WRONG.  The reason that the AKC has become so lax is due to other breeder organizations that have always been lax in their standards, such as the CKC, accepting any and all "breeders".  One can go to flea markets in southern Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana and find cage after cage of "purebred puppies" registered as purebred by the CKC.  In a moment of weakness, I bought a puppy from one of these breeders in 2007.  It was a tiny chihuahua puppy that I was told was a "teacup".  It was the last one left, cold and alone in a big cage and whining and I just couldn't help myself.  It turns out that the 8 week old puppy was actually 4 weeks old and malnourished.  The "teacup" grew to be 12 pounds and had an organic brain disorder caused by inbreeding.  My "teacup" poodle, rescued from a puppy mill in Alabama in 1998 was so malnourished that his bones turned to rubber and his jaw dislocated so that he could no longer eat.

   But the CKC, The American Pet Registry and other breeder organizations were taking members and those precious membership fees from the AKC so they, in turn, relaxed their standards.  It is shameful.

 ********************************************
From Gretchen Bernardi of the Canine Chronicle:
"For those who have not followed the AKC's long involvement in the puppy mill business, here's a quick summary:

* While the American Kennel Club has always put itself out there as an "elite" organization of elite people and elite dogs, the facts are quite the opposite. A huge chunk of the money that finances the American Kennel Club, and an astounding number of dogs, come from commercial puppy mill breeders.

* The AKC puppy mill connection first came out in the press in the late 1980s thanks to a handful of defecting staff. Prior to that time the AKC simply ignored questions about puppy mill registrations, lied about it, or gave deflecting answers.

* With the rapid rise of genetic defects within some Kennel Club breeds, the issue of negative genetic loads and genetic bottle necks came to the forefront of discussion on internet list-servs and bulletin boards. Vocal breed club members began to demand that the AKC keep better track of paperwork, and that they stop winking at puppy mills that cranked out a hundreds dogs a year from a single sire.

* The AKC's implementation of a Frequently Used Sire program, along with some increased inspections of commercial breeding facilities, resulted in the Missouri Pet Breeders Association boycotting the AKC and switching most of their registries over to the no-questions-asked, American Pet Registry which originates in Arkansas.

* Over the space of six years – from 1999 through 2006 – AKC registrations dropped by 250,000 dogs as increasing numbers of puppy millers ditching the AKC.

* The loss of puppy mill income precipitated a cash crisis for the AKC. You see, the American Kennel Club depends on puppy mill money to finance their expensive building on Madison Avenue and their money-losing dog shows, as well as their staff travel, pre-and post-Westminster dog show parties and the like.

* What to do? The answer, of course, was to woo the puppy mill trade back, and so the "High Volume Breeders Committee" was created. This was the old puppy mill business with a new (and not too transparent) name.

* The first meeting of the High Volume Breeders Committee was held in September 2001.

Gretchen Bernardi notes that since 2001, the AKC has not increased the inspection and investigation staff of high volume breeders, and has simply ignored eight of the nine committee members who sought to get the puppy millers to "raise the bar" and change their way of doing business.

Instead of trying to get the puppy mill world to change, the AKC has joined them. The American Kennel Club is now a platinum member of the Missouri Pet Breeders, the very organization which launched the boycott against it back in 2000. In addition, notes Ms. Bernardi, the AKC has removed the “do not buy puppies from a pet shop” advice from its website.

Andrew Hunte, founder of the Hunte Corporation, the largest commercial puppy mill broker in the U.S. was invited to sit in the AKC box at Westminster. Then, in 2005, the AKC entered into a contractual arrangement with Petland, the largest outlet for Hunte puppy mill dogs in the U.S.

This deal was only abandoned after a massive protest by dog owners, but the AKC continues to register puppy mill puppies, continues to register pet shop dogs, and continues to give discounts to high volume breeders. And, of course, now there is a direct web link from the Hunte Corporation (supplier of pet store dogs) to the AKC's web site.

In August of 2007, the AKC unanimously passed a resolution “to direct management to aggressively pursue the registration of every AKC registerable dog and to actively welcome any breeder or owner who is willing to abide by all AKC rules, regulations, and policies.” In short, do whatever it takes to make nice with the puppy millers. The AKC needs the money!
**********************************

    Laura Allen of The Animal Law Coalition writes: "Puppy mills mean big revenues for the AKC. In 2006, the American Kennel Club (AKC) registered 870,000 individual dogs and 416,000 litters. At $20 per dog and $25 per litter (plus $2 per puppy), AKC brought in well over $30 million in revenues from registration of dogs born in puppy mills."

   "The AKC, though, does not check to find out if dogs even qualify for registration and does not travel to every breeder’s facility to inspect it. The AKC has announced it “cannot guarantee the quality or health of dogs in its registry.” But AKC is happy to take the money, which, incidentally, is the largest source of its revenue, and issue "papers" for the dogs anyway. Usually the "papers" simply list the purebred lineage listed on the application submitted by the breeder.

    An American Kennel Club (AKC) representative, Lisa Peterson, recently stated: “Dogs are property. And we like to leave the option to the owner of the property, of the dog, with the breeder. It's their decision as to how many intact females to own or how many litters to produce.”

   How about The American Pet Registry?  This is the statement on their website:

   "We condemn any and all activities and legislation that infringes upon the individual's right to choice concerning their pets. We condemn any activity, which results in the seizure of personal property without due process as guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Furthermore, we reject efforts by the radical animal activist movement to circumvent existing animal husbandry practices and replace them with their animal rights agenda"  

   But of course they have to sound like they're playing by the rules, so they post this shallow statement first: "APRI condemns all substandard kennels, which by their actions or inactions reflect poorly on the credibility of all reputable, law-abiding, responsible breeders who maintain or exceed all current local, state and federal animal welfare laws and regulations."

   From the AKC website itself, referring to the "Puppy Protection Act" that was sponsored by Rick Santorum in 2003:   "The Animal Welfare Act currently does not regulate breeding practices of any species of animals. The PPA will, for the first time, thrust the federal government into a whole new arena of animal regulation. The federal government should not be in the business of specifying and regulating breeding practices of dog breeders. Furthermore, and very importantly, there is no scientific basis for the specific breeding restrictions included in the PPA."
   "As a practical matter, it will be impossible for the USDA, which enforces the Animal Welfare Act, to police breeding practices without imposing overwhelmingly intrusive burdens on persons who breed dogs. "
  
   THIS is the letter that the AKC encouraged their members to write to their representatives in 2010:


   "The term "puppy mill" is a derogatory word used by animal rights activists and supporters against anyone who breeds dogs, and is no more acceptable than using slur names for those of different ethnic backgrounds. It is as degrading and offensive to professional breeders to call them "puppy mills" as it is to call our fellow man slur names. It is not socially acceptable to call our fellow man names, nor is it acceptable to call breeders slur names.

We ask that you refrain from using the term "puppy mill", and that you correct others that use the term to describe dog breeders. Animal rights activists use the term to garner support for fundraising, and those funds are being used to eliminate all agriculture, use and enjoyment of animals. Please help us to stop the spread of animal rights issues. Let's all begin by eliminating the term "puppy mill" from our vocabulary."

    There is a huge difference between a legitimate breeder and a puppy mill.  It's a shame that the AKC cannot - or CHOOSES not - to see that.  And the fact that they will continue their practices, with full knowledge of the pain and suffering of dogs trapped in puppy mills, is beyond disgusting.

   To learn more about the AKC, puppy mills, organizations fighting puppy mills and more, please go to the links provided below.  Only by educating ourselves - and others - can we make a difference.



References

http://www.examiner.com/article/hsus-akc-not-helping-fight-against-puppy-mills

http://www.citizensagainstpuppymills.org/pmakc.php

https://www.aprpets.org/

http://caninechronicle.com/Features/Bernardi_08/bernardi_108.html

http://classic.akc.org/enewsletter/taking_command/2010/march/letters.cfm