It’s been seven years since we passed key puppy mill legislation to address “large-scale breeders,” otherwise known as our puppy mill law.

A Texas agency, the Department of Licensing and Regulation, is in charge of administering the law by adopting rules to ensure the health and safety of every animal in a licensed facility.

The problem is, many breeders are not licensed, operating illegally and in the shadows. They profit from the neglect and mistreatment of these animals; animals that may never be found, may never be saved.

In a late March blog post, we shared some of the ways we know the law is being enforced. But recent crackdowns are just the tip of the iceberg. Through the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, we have the opportunity to do more.

Next Monday, May 7^th, the Licensed Breeder Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet in Austin. The agenda is jam-packedwith items critical to cracking down on our state’s puppy mills – from updates to inspection procedures to new rulemaking requirements since the 2017 legislative session. You can find more details about the meeting, which is open to the public, here.  If you’re able to attend, please email [email protected].

If you can’t attend the May 7 meeting in Austin, you can still take action.

It’s easy to contact TDLR and ask them to strengthen our current puppy mill laws. Here are some of the standards we should be fighting to make mandatory for all breeders:

• Animals should be prohibited from being kept in an outdoor facility when the temperature reaches more than 90 degrees or less than 50 degrees.
• Current rules provide an insufficient space for a dog's comfort and barely allows enough room for the animal to turn around. The minimum space should be doubled and TDLR should adopt the increased size recommended by the Advisory Committee when the initial Rules were considered.
• Dogs and cats should not be forced to stand or lie 24/7 on 100% wire or wire mesh their entire lives. Among other problems, this can result in severe damage to their limbs and paws and is highly unsanitary.
• Stacking of primary dog enclosures on top of one another jeopardizes the health and well-being of the dogs and should not be allowed.

TLDR is charged with ensuring the well-being of these animals. Please let them know our animal advocates are paying attention and want to see improvements in our standards of care.

Thank you for being their voice.