Tennessee has no puppy mill law. The last thing it needs is a new Petland selling puppies.
A puppy mill law we helped pass in Tennessee sunsetted in 2014 when the state declined to fund enforcement efforts. Despite attempts by some lawmakers, it has not been renewed in subsequent years. Above, dogs at a Tennessee puppy mill. Photo by Michelle Riley/The HSUS
Tennessee has a huge puppy mill problem and no law to fight these operations that mistreat the dogs they profit off. Just over the past year we have heard of several puppy mill rescues, including two—one in Grundy County last month and another in Madison County last June—where hundreds of dogs were found living in squalor among the corpses of other dogs.
In both cases, the owners were suspected of selling puppies online. But here’s the kicker: they couldn’t be charged with violating any puppy mill laws because Tennessee just doesn’t have one.
A puppy mill law we helped pass in Tennessee sunsetted in 2014 when the state declined to fund enforcement efforts. Despite attempts by some lawmakers, it has not been renewed in subsequent years. According to news sources who quoted humane law enforcement officials, this absence of a law has led to difficulties accessing properties suspected of being puppy mills to check on complaints, and a delay in obtaining search warrants.
As if this anarchical situation weren’t enough, a Petland store that would sell puppies is now about to set up shop in Memphis, one of the largest cities in Tennessee. The reason this is concerning is that Petland sources animals from puppy mills, many of whom have appeared on our annual Horrible Hundred reports of problem puppy mills in the United States. Most Petland stores sell 80-100 puppies a month, so one could assume that they will potentially bring in hundreds of puppies from out of state for sale in Memphis, exacerbating what is already a bad situation.
Local animal advocates have been objecting to the Petland opening, saying their local shelters are already filled with dogs and puppies in need of homes. A Change.org petition, “Say no to Petland in Memphis” had more than 22,300 signatures as of Monday morning.
Luckily, the Memphis city council is now considering an ordinance to stop the sale of puppies and kittens in pet stores. The city will vote on this humane pet store ordinance for the first time tomorrow and it will then move on to a second and then final vote in the following weeks. Tennessee celebrities Priscilla Presley and Ginnifer Goodwin have both submitted comments in support of the Memphis ordinance. Two other cities in Tennessee, Nashville and Franklin, have already passed similar ordinances.
We are rooting for the Memphis ordinance. If it passes, Petland will have no option but to abandon its plans for selling puppies there. Our investigations have proven time and again that besides sourcing puppies from puppy mills, Petland often fails to provide needed treatment to sick puppies and sells sick or even dying puppies to an unsuspecting public. It’s time for this chain to stay out of cities like Memphis, or better yet, follow the model of other pet stores by ending the sale of cats and dogs in all their stores, and focus on pet food and supplies instead.
The situation in Tennessee also highlights why we need better vigilance from the federal government of massive online pet sellers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is tasked with this job under the federal Animal Welfare Act, but as we have been reporting, it has failed to enforce the law against puppy mill violators during the four years of the Trump administration. This, combined with the absence of a state law, has no doubt helped operations exploiting dogs thrive and flourish.
Following the Grundy County case, news reports said state Sen. Jon Lundberg, who had introduced a puppy mill bill in 2017 that failed in committee, plans to revisit the issue. We urge other Tennessee lawmakers to also do their part and ensure a bill cracking down on puppy mill abuse passes their state swiftly, so that cruelty such as that we have witnessed in these recent puppy mill rescues is ended for good.
Esto ya no lo podemos permitir ya no mas abusos ni mas cruelda hacia los animalitos solo por beneficios de empresas que solo buscan enriquecerse ha costillas de los seres vivos
Pet land is a filthy deplorable corrupt greedy place and needs to be shut down immediately. What is taking so long since this cruelty to animals has been going on for years? This is an outrage for all these precious animals.
As a volunteer who has worked for decades to help rescue innocent puppies, kittens and other poor animals, I support the work of the HSUS regarding shutting down these Puppy Mills. Many of these animals puppies and kittens, etc., often end of on the streets, or if lucky, an animal shelter.
These animal mills may say they “care about the animals they sell” but the bottom line is $$$$$. It is time to move into the 21st century, and Ban These Mills.
Lamentável o que fazem por dinheiro!
THANK GOD FOR GUARDIANS OF RESCUE !!!! GRUNDY AND MADISON WERE BOTH CASES THEY WORKED
Why doesn’t TN have a puppy mill law ?
I think all States should have laws on breeders that make money off the puppies they should be inspected and a registered fee’s so that way the state has the money to send the inspector out a give fine’s on people that don’t follow the rules .