The Pros And Cons Of The Animal Welfare Act

The Animal Welfare Act is long overdue for an update and should be amended further to improve the quality of life for all commercially bred animals. Until recently, many States have been in the dark over their own local regulations of puppy mills or factory farms. Now more States are realizing the damaging effects that poorly regulated puppy mills can cause. The Animal Welfare Act is a Federal law which covers all of the basic standards of living such as food, water, and shelter for commercially bred animals in the United States. The Animal Welfare Act was signed in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson and is a one of a kind Federal Law. No other Federal Law covers commercial animals such as dogs, cats, monkeys, hamsters, or rabbits with basic
Combining these loopholes with a lack of proper enforcement results in consistent neglect for the puppies and breeding dogs under the care of the dealers. The Albany Law Review sited a direct violation of AWA that occurred “in 2009 when a dog had been bitten by another dog and the wound went untreated for 7 days” (Kenny 7). The flesh around the wound had rotted away exposing the dogs bone. This was just one act of violation that was caught while the inspectors were there. Fast forward 11 months after the inspection and the dealer had not been fined, license revoked or even suspended. Some of the other loopholes in the AWA include cheap food full of fillers, minimal sanitation and even cage space. The AWA states that the animals containment cage must be larger than the animal but it does not state what type of material may be used or how much larger than the animal the cage needs to be. Using this loophole puppy mills have been found using wire floors for easier cleaning of the cage but often stack the cages on top of each other. Stacking the wire cages on top of each other causes the animals on the bottom to get defecated on by the ones on top. This “stacking” method has been outlawed in many States but it still legal in some because the AWA does not provide Federal protection from this.
The definition of a puppy mill is a large scale breeding operation that places profit over the wellbeing of its animals. The limited protection offered by the AWA almost promotes unsafe conditions for dogs inside a puppy mill. For example, with in the AWA it states that animals need a containment or cage of some sort, but it does not state where the cage has to be located and many are kept outside to endure hot summers and icy winters. The AWA gives a minimum number of dogs as a requirement to fall into the category of a commercial breeder but it does not give a maximum number of dogs a puppy mill can own at a given time. As a result, puppy mills will have anywhere from 60 to 70 different breeds at a time. Puppy mills have been found before with over 800 dogs and an understaffed workplace promoting disease and the rapid spread of fleas for the