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Puppy Mills
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
“Puppy Mill Capital of the East Coast”
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LCA's billboard, located just outside Lancaster County on Westbound Route 30 (by Route 82), made the front page of the Lancaster newspaper. The billboard is scheduled to be in place until November, 2005. If you would like to sponsor the billboard for additional months, please contact
campaigns@lcanimal.org.
Lancaster County, Pennsylvania -- known as “The Puppy Mill
Capital of the East Coast” -- has the largest concentration of dog breeders for any county in the United States. Lancaster is commonly recognized for its large Amish population. Although the Amish are known for their very traditional, religious lifestyle, they also own and operate many of the worst puppy mills in Lancaster. Their involvement with these mills brings them millions of dollars each year.
Many of the mills in Lancaster keep their small, cramped cages outdoors – exposing the dogs to Pennsylvania’s extreme winter and summer temperatures.
Lancaster’s breeding facilities house an average of 119 dogs, almost twice the national average of 60 dogs per USDA-licensed facility. There are 193 licensed breeding kennels in Lancaster County that produced more that 200,000 animals in 2004. However, even with licensing requirements, it is estimated that half of the breeders in Lancaster County are unlicensed -- which means they are difficult to locate and operate unregulated by the USDA.
Two Things You Can Do
1. Contact the governor and the deputy secretary for tourism of Pennsylvania. Demand that the state conduct a thorough investigation into Pennsylvania puppy mills and the Bureau of Dog Law, which continually fails to enforce the state dog law. Demand consistent enforcement of the dog laws and the full prosecution of breeders that violate the laws. Tell them you will not visit Lancaster until these demands are met. This is particularly important if you live in Pennsylvania or surrounding states such as New Jersey, Delaware, New York, West Virginia, Maryland and Ohio.
Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
Email from Rendell's site:
http://sites.state.pa.us/PA_Exec/Governor/govmail.html
Mickey Rowley
Deputy Secretary for Tourism
Pennsylvania Tourism Office
Department of Community and Economic Development
4th Floor, Commonwealth Keystone Building
400 North Street
Harrisburg, PA 17120
Phone: (717) 787-3003
Fax: (717) 787-6866
E-mail: jarowley@state.pa.us
2. If you live in Pennsylvania, ask your representatives to support HB 1003, a
bill which will empower state dog wardens to handle complaints, investigate and enforce laws relating to animal abuse. You can find your representatives at
www.legis.state.pa.us/index.cfm
To learn more about HB 1003, visit http://www.lcanimal.org/alert/alert_112.htm
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