spcaLA Responds to Investigative Report on Brutal Puppy Market
Los Angeles, CA — In response to a recent Los Angeles Times Article, Inside California’s brutal underground market for puppies: Neglected dogs, deceived owners, big profits, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles (spcaLA) responds, “Welcome to the fight.”
In the 1990s, spcaLA formed the Border Puppy Taskforce to intercept puppy mill puppies from Mexico at the border. In the early 2000s, spcaLA sounded the alarm about deals too good to be true on Craigslist and other internet marketplaces. In the mid-2000s spcaLA spearheaded an inter-agency Importation Task Force to catch sick and underage animals flying in from overseas, mostly Eastern Europe. And in 2019, spcaLA prosecuted a puppy peddler right here in Los Angeles, who was breeding dogs, primarily Golden Retrievers and selling them sick and underage to unsuspecting people. Many of the puppies died.
The President of spcaLA, Madeline Bernstein even wrote a book about it, Designer Dogs: An Exposé. In the book, she identifies and condemns the puppy breeders in the Midwest, the South (particularly Missouri and Alabama), as well as oversees in Turkey and the Balkans.
“I hope this piece of investigative journalism withstands the news cycle,” said Bernstein. “Perhaps with support of the LA Times and the media at large, there will be a lasting change.”
spcaLA has been begging, pleading with the public, Adopt Don’t Shop. “It’s not a platitude; it saves lives,” said Bernstein. She continues, “It’s simple supply and demand, stop buying “designer dogs” and these unscrupulous puppy breeders won’t have a market.”
The conditions in puppy mills is well-documented. The vile behavior of puppy breeders and brokers is well-documented. And the aftermath of these sales is well-documented. Yet people are still drawn to “status” animals, the outdated idea that only a puppy can truly “love” me, and the reticence of consumers to consider where these puppies come from.
The LA Times article outlines the lengths breeders and brokers go to deceive law enforcement and consumers. It is up to the people who insist on buying puppies to stop these cruel and inhumane practices. Stop buying. Start adopting.