The following is a letter written by Tami Marchiondia of Penn Yan and was printed recently in the (Penn Yan) Chronicle Express and the Finger Lakes Times (Geneva). It is published here with permission of the author.

As you may know, there is a hugh loophole that allows some of the worst puppy mills to operate with no federal oversight or regulation.

Under the current Animal Welfare Act, commercial dog breeders only have be federally licensed and inspected if they sell wholesale to pet shops or brokers. If they sell puppies directly to the public through classified ads, the Internet, or other means, they can operate virtually under the radar and don’t even have to provide minimal standards of care for their dogs.

Fortunately, this could be the year that something is done to close the loophole that allows thousands of puppy mills go unregulated.

The Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety (PUPS) Act will require all high-volume commercial dog breeders to be licensed and inspected, and to comply with the basic standards of care required by the Animal Welfare Act.

Your help is needed to make sure that this critical piece of legislation gets through Congress and is signed into law. With just a few clicks, you can do your part to help hundred of thousands of puppy mill dogs throughout the U.S.

Even if you have already contacted your representative, please take a moment to contact them again to urge them to support the PUPS Act.

Thank you for all you do for animals.

To Contact Rep. Reed:

Web site-http://reed.house.gov

email–go to “https://reed.house.gov/contact-me/email-me”

Official Governmental Facebook page–http://www.facebook.com/RepTomReed?fref=ts

Washington Office-Washington, DC
1504 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515
Phone: (202) 225-3161
Fax: (202) 226-6599

(See the “Connections” for information about Rep. Reed’s Corning, Geneva, Jamestown and  Olean Offices,)

Related articles

• Why We Need the PUPS Act: The Basics (thepawreport.wordpress.com)