Letter: No Pet Store Puppies Day and the 'Puppy Mill Belt'
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Shelters and rescues all over Texas continue to struggle with the problem of too many unwanted/stray/homeless pets, while puppy mills are still churning them out — under horrific conditions. Because of the conditions in the mills, puppies can suffer from an array of health issues as well as behavioral problems. It's time to do something about that.
This Sunday, July 21, is No Pet Store Puppies Day. Retail pet stores that sell puppies put profit over the health of animals and have been repeatedly proven to source puppies from out-of-state puppy mills. Texas is a part of the Puppy Mill Belt, a corridor stretching from Texas north through the Midwest where most puppy mills are located. While there are 18 cities in our state (including Wichita Falls) that have banned retail pet sales, dozens of such stores that still remain in business are selling hundreds to thousands of puppies annually. Texas must step up and end retail pet sales on the state level to protect puppies and people alike.
Please educate family, friends, and coworkers about retail pet stores, cruel puppy mills, and the "Puppy Mill Belt" — the very last thing Texas needs is the import of often-sick puppies from out of state. For more information, check out Texas Humane Legislation Network on facebook or at thln.org.
Jan Herzog, Wichita Falls Chapter president, Texas Humane Legislation Network
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This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Letter: No Pet Store Puppies Day and the 'Puppy Mill Belt'
