USDA WANTS TO RELY ON THE AKC FOR INSPECTIONS OF PUPPY MILLS
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is proposing that the Agency NOT schedule inspections of puppy mills, as mandated by the federal Animal Welfare Act, if third party entities such as the American Kennel Club (AKC) and other dog breeding industry groups such as the Missouri Pet Breeders Association approve of the facility.
Dog rescued in Washington State from AKC Approved & Sanctioned "Breeder of Merit"
PLEASE SPEAK UP FOR THE ANIMALS
Please contact Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue and:
- tell him not to help puppy mills circumvent USDA inspections by allowing AKC or other industry groups to perform inspections for USDA.
- remind him that USDA is mandated by federal law - the Animal Welfare Act - to perform inspections of dog breeders to ensure that the animals are being treated humanely.
- remind him that the president of the MPBA, Kevin Beauchamp, was recently fined $6,000 and issued a cease and desist order for violations of the Animal Welfare Act for repeatedly failing to provide veterinary care to sick and injured animals.
- let him know that USDA should continue to perform all inspections of dog breeders and not to rely on the AKC and other dog breeding affiliated groups, with serious conflicts of interest, to conduct inspections and to monitor conditions at federally licensed dog breeding facilities.
TO CONTACT SECRETARY PERDUE:
- via email at AgSec@usda.gov
- via phone at 202-720-3631 (leave a message)
USDA is proposing to turn over USDA inspections to third-party inspectors such as Kevin Beauchamp, President of the MPBA and a chronic violator of the Animal Welfare Act
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WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE AKC:
AKC inspectors have a long and sordid record of approving of dog breeders that were subsequently convicted of animal cruelty:
One dog breeder was raided
only a few days after an AKC inspector approved of the facility.
Dogs were found starving and living in filthy rusted crates with feces-infested water bowls. Over 50 dogs were seized and the owners were convicted of animal cruelty.
Only days after AKC approved this breeding facility in Louisiana, this dog along with 50 others were seized by law enforcement due to cruelty to animals
In another instance, AKC's "2016 Breeder of the Year," Joan Huber of Pennsylvania, who was responsible for breeding hundreds of AKC champion dogs, was convicted of cruelty in 2017 and had her dogs seized by the authorities and her kennel license revoked by the state.
AKC routinely contacts breeders 7 days in advance
to schedule appointments for inspections, yet shockingly, USDA is considering using AKC to determine if breeders are in compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.
AKC inspections are not even comparable to USDA inspections as
AKC standards of care are even less stringent than those required by USDA. Shockingly,
AKC requires less living space for show dogs than USDA requires for dogs confined in puppy mills.
One need only review the paltry number of suspensions handed out by the AKC, based on the findings of their inspectors, to recognize the inadequacy of AKC inspections.
