Market forces aren't stopping puppy mills

In a letter to the editor July 26, the co-owner of Petland pets, Adam Stachowiak made this claim in an attempt to muddy the waters and try to court public opinion away from a general consensus that a) puppy mills are inhumane and b) Petland is contributing to that inhumane industry by purchasing puppies from puppy mill breeders.

To be clear, the goals of a Petland and those fighting for an end to puppy mills are at best, tangential. Petland is a for-profit business that takes on risk if puppies are sold that are sick. It goes through some sort of due diligence to mitigate that risk, but the similarity of goals ends there.

Animal rights activists are trying to eliminate the possibility of any puppies being born into that risk in the first place.

Mr. Stachowiak says transparency and government oversight are protection enough. But if this were true, why do these puppy mills still exist and continue to prosper?

His call for a national solution is an attempt to skirt having to face criticism and challenge to Petland's practices locally. But it is at the local level where the most progress has been made.

The real "truth" in this situation, is that the humane raising of puppies and selling them for profit are not mutually exclusive. But, by continuing to prioritize profit over animal welfare and actively trying to derail local legislation efforts, Petland is supporting the puppy mill industry.

If Mr. Stachowiak indeed shares the goals of animal right activists, his next step is an easy one; stop buying puppies from puppy mills. There is an excess of puppies born into this world every day. Petland could be doing a wonderful thing by helping those puppies find good homes instead.

Rod Smith

Naperville