WASHINGTON, Feb. 13, 2002 The Humane Society of the 
United States (HSUS), the nation's largest animal protection 
organization, today praised the U.S. Senate for approving an 
amendment to the Animal Welfare Act that seeks to protect dogs from 
exploitation on commercial dog breeding operations, generally known 
as "puppy mills." The Senate approved the amendment, offered by 
Sens. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), during 
consideration of S. 1731, the Farm Bill, and was modeled after S. 
1478, which the two senators introduced in October 2001. 
"The U.S. Senate today recognized that female dogs are more than 
production units and puppies are more than marketable commodities 
in requiring new standards for the protection of dogs on commercial 
dog breeding operations," said Wayne Pacelle, a senior vice 
president with The Humane Society of the United States. "We are 
grateful to Senators Santorum and Durbin for leading this fight and 
working to establish meaningful protections for companion animals." 

Specifically, the Puppy Protection Act: 

-- Creates a "three strikes and you're out" system that allows 
the U.S. Department of Agriculture to revoke the license of chronic 
violators of the Animal Welfare Act. 
-- Limits the number of litters for breeding females to give 
these dogs time to recover between litters. 
-- Mandates that female dogs be at least one year old before 
they are bred. 
-- Requires that dogs be adequately socialized with other dogs 
and with people, which enhances the dogs' well-being and helps to 
prevent behavior problems in the future. 
Puppy mills are breeding facilities that produce purebred 
puppies in large numbers. The puppies are sold either directly to 
the public or are sold to brokers and pet shops across the country. 
Puppy mills have long concerned The HSUS, which has conducted 
undercover investigations documenting inhumane conditions at puppy 
mills. Over 3,000 puppy mills current operate in the United States, 
many of them despite repeated violations of the Animal Welfare Act. 

Puppy mill dogs typically suffer from overbreeding, inbreeding, 
minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of 
socialization with humans and overcrowded cages. Consumers 
unwittingly purchase these dogs, who may have immediate veterinary 
problems or could be harboring genetically borne diseases that do 
not appear until years later." 

"This legislation is by no means a total fix for animals or 
consumers, but it will impose new humane standards that breeders 
must observe," concluded Pacelle. "In a larger sense, people 
interested in having a pet should obtain the animal from a shelter 
or from a responsible breeder." 

Reps. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) and Sam Farr (D-Calif.) have 
introduced a companion bill, H.R. 3058, which has 136 cosponsors. 
The House-passed version of the Farm bill, H.R. 2646, contains no 
language dealing with this issue. The final outcome will be 
resolved by a conference committee.