Companion Animals
As their guardians, we are duty-bound to provide companion animals with adequate food, water, and shelter, opportunities to engage in natural behaviors, and protection from unnecessary pain or distress. Despite our obligation to these dependent animals, the sad fact is that many people with companion animals fail to meet even these basic needs.
Whether a companion animal has a happy life or a miserable one largely depends on who the animal ends up with for a guardian.
In a few lucky cases, an observer witnesses the poor treatment of a companion animal and takes action. But for every rescued animal, thousands more suffer neglect and abuse with no hope of outside intervention.
The New Hampshire Animal Rights League supports any measures that will afford companion animals greater protection against individuals or businesses that do not put their well being first.
Pet Store Puppies
It is well documented that the majority of pet store puppies come from “puppy mills.” A puppy mill is a commercial breeding operation that disregards the well-being of dogs for profit. Animals are housed in crowded and often unsanitary conditions. To maximize profits, female dogs will be bred at every opportunity with little or no respite between litters. When they are worn out or no longer able to reproduce, breeding females are often killed.
Pet stores are a preferred sales outlet for puppy mills because they allow the inhumane conditions at the mills to remain hidden from consumers. As tempting as those pet shop puppies are, purchasing one supports an industry driven by profit, not animal welfare.
Despite the growing trend to adopt a homeless dog rather than support an industry that profits from bringing more animals into the world, there are five pet stores in New Hampshire that still sell puppies.
These pet stores purchase dogs from commercial breeders located in faraway places such as Arkansas and Missouri. The puppies are handed over to truck drivers to be transported halfway across the country to New Hampshire, displayed like a product, and sold to anyone with a credit card.
