Is there public demand for limits on commercial dog breeding?
Public scrutiny of dog-breeding operations has increased as awareness of puppy mills has grown. Because they nearly always involve horrendous examples of badly neglected dogs and puppies, raids of puppy mills typically attract widespread media attention and public outrage. Recent national television coverage about the horrors of puppy mills has provided even more heightened awareness of the problem. Major humane organizations have reported receiving more requests from their members for legislative action against puppy mills than any other animal issue. Q: Is Prop B a reasonable reaction to the public’s demand for legislative action against puppy mills? Prop B is carefully drafted to target only puppy mills — the large-scale commercial dog breeding operations where abuse and neglect of dogs are rampant. Smaller breeders, especially family or hobby breeders,who keep a small number of dogs for breeding, will not be affected. Additionally, hunting dog breeders, animal shelters, and resear
