The week before Mother’s Day in the United States is also Puppy Mill Action Week.
What are Puppy Mills?
The American Humane Society defines “Puppy Mills” as the breeding of dogs in facilities where profit is clearly given priority over the health and well-being of the dogs, where there is no interest in or effort toward addressing welfare problems.
These substandard facilities do not provide for the dogs’ welfare needs and often manifest in filthy and unsafe kennel conditions. Dogs are frequently dirty, ill or injured, and they may receive little or no behavioral or veterinary care. For the breeding adults and the puppies born in these facilities, neglect of emotional needs due to lack of socialization, isolation and the trauma of transportation at an early age are serious problems which can lead to ongoing health and behavioral problems. Lack of knowledge and care about genetic diseases and proper breeding regimes, to reduce health issues, can result in future suffering for both adults and puppies.
Goldie’s Act
Commercial dog breeders with more than four breeding females that sell puppies sight unseen through retail stores and online are required to be licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and are subject to the minimal animal care standards set by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) and related regulations.
Although the AWA gives the USDA enforcement authority, sadly, the USDA has failed to protect the animals in USDA-licensed breeding facilities, and with recent government cutbacks, the situation has only gotten worse. As a result, animals are suffering and dying, and these operations are producing puppies to be sold as pets that have serious physical, behavioral, and genetic issues.
Goldie’s Act (H.R. 349) is critical legislation that would ensure the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will do its job to protect dogs in federally licensed, commercial puppy-breeding facilities, also known as puppy mills.
Specifically, this legislation would require the USDA to:
- Conduct better inspections of licensed facilities.
- Provide lifesaving intervention for suffering animals.
- Impose meaningful penalties for violations.
- Promote timely communication with local law enforcement in circumstances of suspected cruelty and neglect.
Goldie’s Story
Goldie (Golden Retriever #142) was one of hundreds of dogs kept in horrific conditions by a Puppy Mill breeder named Daniel Gingerich. Goldie was discovered in a barn, along with multiple dead dogs. She had no water, protruding bones, and sores all over her body. USDA inspectors documented Goldie’s deterioration month after month, even filming her skeletal condition. They had the authority to intervene, but USDA policies failed her. According to state inspection reports, a veterinarian was called, and USDA inspectors allowed her to be euthanized on site. Shockingly, her story is not unique.
If passed, Goldie’s Act will require the USDA to conduct annual inspections and any necessary follow-up inspections to ensure compliance with the AWA, to fully document violations and share that information with state and local law enforcement, to confiscate or euthanize any animals found to be suffering, and to issue penalties for AWA violations.
The Status of Goldie’s Act
Originally introduced (but not passed) in Congress’s last legislative session, Goldie’s Act has been reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. Goldie’s Act has broad bipartisan report, including being sponsored by Representatives Nicole Malliotakis [R-NY], Raja Krishnamoorthi [D-IL], Mike Quigley [D-IL], Brian Fitzpatrick [R-PA], Christopher H. Smith [R-NJ], and Zachary Nunn [R-IA]. Full text of the bill is available HERE.
The reintroduction of Goldie’s Act comes at a time when the ASPCA’s 2024 USDA Enforcement Report and an audit released by the USDA’s own Office of Inspector General (OIG) show that the USDA’s lax enforcement of the AWA continues to result in severe animal welfare problems in commercial breeding operations.
This bipartisan legislation has also garnered support from nearly 150 animal welfare, law enforcement, and shelter organizations, along with : American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), Animal Rescue League (ARL) of Iowa, Michigan Humane, Animal Rescue Corps, Bailing Out Benji, Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF), Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and the National Sheriff’s Association (to name a few). and received attention during Secretary Tom Vilsack’s recent appearance before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, when Congressman Nunn raised the urgent need to pass Goldie’s Act.
How You Can Help
Reintroduced in January of this year, the bill has been referred to the House Agriculture Committee and then to the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry. The bill’s status is “Introduced”. As of May 4, 2025, it is still in the early stages of consideration. However, in spite of its broad support, according to GovTrack.us, the bill has a low probability of being enacted.
You can help by calling or sending an email to your Congressional Representative and Senator, urging them to pass Goldie’s Act. The ASPCA has also designed an online form you can fill out and submit.
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Photo Credit: NeelRong / Shutterstock.com