Amish & Mennonite Puppymills

[Freedom]

New York Post article on puppy mills in Amish country:

"Inside the picturesque barns and wooden fences of Amish country, pedigree puppies are bred by the tens of thousands, many living in a hellish world of filthy, crowded cages. They are 'puppy mill' puppies, and they bring in $4 million a year for the 100 Amish and Mennonite farmers who supply boutique dog-shop markets, including at least two New York dealers, the ASPCA says. 'It's not just some cottage industry by people who sell bread-and-butter pickles by the roadside,' said Roger Caras, ASPCA executive director. The farmers sell 20,000 puppies a year to wholesalers for an average $223 a pup, government records show. And it's making some of these quaint farmers quite rich. U.S. Department of Agriculture documents show that one farmer in the town of Blue Ball sold 1,293 puppies last year for an estimated $290,000 though federal inspectors have cited his farm for numerous violations since 1992 including overcrowded cages and inadequate sanitation, pest control, feeding and watering of animals. 'Then these sickly, genetic nightmares are delivered to the upscale pet shops,' Caras said. 'They given them a bath and blow dry them and fluff them up and pray they don't die before they're sold,' for $1,000 or more each."
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You may think that the Amish just make quilts, bake breads and make homemade jams.
And I'm sure that some of them do.
Some of them also do something else. They mill dogs and puppies in the worst of the worst ways.
The Amish truly are among the worst of the offenders in the way that they treat their animals, both dogs and horses.

This is more about it on Google.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=ISO-8859-1&q=Amish+Puppy+MIlls&btnG=Google+Search

Amish puppy millers have personally told me that God gave them animals to "make a living off of" and no man or government is going to tell them how to treat their animals.
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(The following pics were taken with permission of the owner today.)
All (these dogs) have been on wire (all their lives, both indoors and outside) and have splayed feet.

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/apr%203%20Amish%20mill/amishohmill.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/apr%203%20Amish%20mill/amishohmill1.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/apr%203%20Amish%20mill/amishohmill2.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/apr%203%20Amish%20mill/amishohmill3.jpg

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q57/sfsamm/2008/apr%203%20Amish%20mill/amishohmill4.jpg


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[Catty1]

I hope a wise theologian gets there and smacks someone upside the head with a liturgical 2 x 4! :mad:

I was at a forum recently - and the Biblical quote about God giving people "dominion" over all His creations meant CARETAKING. The Creator made all this beautiful stuff - and it is to be nothing more than a commodity?

ALSO - these 'breeders' are lying, misleading the public about the dogs they are getting, and the 'wholesalers' don't help. Isn't there anything in their faith that forbids lying and dishonesty? (sarcasm here)

Since this has been brought to light, I hope all those poor dogs get POOFED and taken to sanctuary!

ETA: I hope you cross-post all those pics...and send them to some media outlets as well!

[mugsy]

They have a totally different view on life...but, I will tell you, them make me want to Gack! We have Amish farms on the east side of our county and they are filled with mills. They sell to Petland...yet another HORRIBLE, AWFUL, place. I have no use the Amish. While most don't necessarily mill, they cover for those who do. If I could say I was intolerant of a group of people, it would be the Amish.

[Catsnclay]

Oprah Winfrey is doing her 4.4.08 show about puppy mills.

It truly is a shame things like this go on. I feel so sorry for the dogs/cats that are caught up in this so that the humans can make some $$$$ :mad: :( :mad:

[Twisterdog]

They have a totally different view on life...but, I will tell you, them make me want to Gack! We have Amish farms on the east side of our county and they are filled with mills. They sell to Petland...yet another HORRIBLE, AWFUL, place. I have no use the Amish. While most don't necessarily mill, they cover for those who do. If I could say I was intolerant of a group of people, it would be the Amish.

I hate to say it, but I totally agree with you. When I moved to Indiana from Wyoming, I was fascinated by the romantic notions of the Amish. That myth was QUICKLY dispelled for me, as soon as I got involved with the local shelter, and started to learn the truth about these people and their treatment of animals. In all my years of animals rescue work, the Amish are, far and away, the worst.

[dukedogsmom]

Wow. I had no idea. That is just horrible! I thought they were honorable people.

[shepgirl]

Looking at those pictures made me run for the kleenex. Amish people are not people I deal with, they get a wide berth from me. What I cannot fathom is why they aren't closed down. I abhor the way they treat their horses, and the way they haunt the auctions to get the rejects from the racetrack that could otherwise go to rehab centers and used for a multitude of better things and lead a good life.

[Lady's Human]

Go Sterotypes!

[IRescue452]

With all that money they could at least give the poor dogs better conditions.

[shepgirl]

They don't feel about animals the way we do. No matter how much money they make they still wouldn't care, animals are just machines to those people.

[Lady's Human]

Recently we had a huge blowup over similar comments about the Chinese.

I fail to see how this is any difference. Senseless bias is senseless bias. You don't know the entire group, how then can you say that the entire group is or isn't a certain way?

[sparks19]

Recently we had a huge blowup over similar comments about the Chinese.

I fail to see how this is any difference. Senseless bias is senseless bias. You don't know the entire group, how then can you say that the entire group is or isn't a certain way?


I couldn't agree more.

I can't believe that some people tell me that I should have empathy for the extremists that cut peoples heads off because "it's their belief and the way they were raised... you shouldn't judge them and not all of them are like that"

yet here we are :D

I must say that living in Amish country... I know plenty who treat their animals very well and who do NOT run puppy mills. they are very nice, quiet people who don't hurt or disturb anybody... yet they must be thrown into the mix and be the subject of hatred because of what other people do?

[Catty1]

The fact of Oprah's show on puppy mills got me thinking...is she focusing on the Amish?

No.

Puppy mills, cruelty and greed are found in every part of our society, and the Amish form one of those parts. We can't point fingers at any one area.

Let's work for all puppy mills to be outlawed.

[Grace]

I posted this over in Dog General on the topic.

The county in which I live forbids the sale of pets in pet stores. It has been that way for as long as I can remember. There are cats at Pet Smart - cats from the Humane Society, for adoption.

Perhaps if more counties around the country would adopt similar laws, the puppy mill business would be severely impacted - maybe even done away with over time?

[cassiesmom]

Around here the only "general" pet store from which you can actually purchase a cat or dog is Petland. Neither Petsmart or Petco sell dogs or cats. The Petsmart I shop has fish, birds, and little furry creatures, and they have a room with cats adoptable through a local shelter. If you want to adopt a shelter dog, you can get a list of local shelters at customer service. My local Petco has supplies for fish and birds, but they don't sell them. I wish Petland wouldn't. The local feed store has business cards for the humane center. They have the opposite problem - people sometimes call the feed store when they have found an animal, so they refer those calls to the humane center which has a microchip reader.

[Karen]

I must say that living in Amish country... I know plenty who treat their animals very well and who do NOT run puppy mills. they are very nice, quiet people who don't hurt or disturb anybody... yet they must be thrown into the mix and be the subject of hatred because of what other people do?

Thank you for defending the good Amish folks you know.

I do not believe the thread is not meant to be against ALL Amish of Mennonite people, but just against those who run puppy mills.

[lizbud]

Thank you for defending the good Amish folks you know.

I do not believe the thread is not meant to be against ALL Amish of Mennonite people, but just against those who run puppy mills.


I would think that would not have to be stated, but some folks want
to quibble about semantics, so I'm glad you did Karen. :)


To say that there are many operating puppy mills in Amish communities,
would be a true statement.

[mugsy]

Recently we had a huge blowup over similar comments about the Chinese.

I fail to see how this is any difference. Senseless bias is senseless bias. You don't know the entire group, how then can you say that the entire group is or isn't a certain way?

I don't condemn the entire lot of the Amish, but, I will say that even if they are not involved, they will defend their own. Also, I know that there are some Amish that are great and some (a lot of them) are hypocritical. At least here in Indiana, most claim to be simple, peace loving people, yet, they fight like I've never seen, they run electrical line from their "English" neighbors, they use cell phones, have electric stoves, electric sewing machines, have the internet, and own websites. I know this because I've seen it with my own eyes. I also don't like being looked down upon because of my choice of lifestyle...and that happens A LOT too! And while most Amish take care of their working animals, that is not true of their "pets" and animals that have outlived their usefulness. Ok, I'm done with my rant...I'll shut up now and won't post again...I promise.

[phesina]

Washtenaw County does this, Gretchen? (Dexter is in Washtenaw, isn't it?) I didn't know that. Wow! I'm so glad to live in such an enlightened county!



I posted this over in Dog General on the topic.

The county in which I live forbids the sale of pets in pet stores. It has been that way for as long as I can remember. There are cats at Pet Smart - cats from the Humane Society, for adoption.

Perhaps if more counties around the country would adopt similar laws, the puppy mill business would be severely impacted - maybe even done away with over time?

[Grace]

Washtenaw County does this, Gretchen? (Dexter is in Washtenaw, isn't it?) I didn't know that. Wow! I'm so glad to live in such an enlightened county!

Yes, Pat, it's Washtenaw county. As I said, I have no idea how many years - but I think it goes back quite a ways. I think it's wonderful, and something people can get active about in their own areas. You get enough people protesting the practice, and it seems like something a local government can do without a lot of difficulty.

[Twisterdog]

I fail to see how this is any difference. Senseless bias is senseless bias. You don't know the entire group, how then can you say that the entire group is or isn't a certain way?

While I, and Mugsy, never claimed to know the "entire group" we do, however, know what we are talking about from personal experience.

I used to live, and Mugsy still lives, right in the heart of a large group of Amish people. While I lived there, I volunteered with an animal shelter and went out on abuse and neglect calls. I can tell you from personal experience, the VAST majority of calls we received, investigated and proved to be true were from the Amish community. Without a doubt, of all the terrible things I have seen done to animals in the 20+ years I have been involved with shelter work in three states, the worst cases were Amish people.

And the least amount of cooperation we ever received was from the Amish community as well. I saw dozens and dozens of times, neighbors and friends lying for and covering up for abusers under investigation, in a way I have never seen any other group of people do.

We are not stating something without first hand experience and facts. We are not pre-judging. We are stating what we saw and witnessed first hand. And while I am sure there are some Amish people who treat animals decently, it is certainly not the norm or the culture of this group to do so. There are always exceptions to the rule.