I sometimes think that I could devote an entire blog rather than just episodic posts to regulatory failures. Here’s another example of regulatory failure that’s near and dear to my heart:
WASHINGTON — Federal investigators have uncovered grisly conditions at puppy mills around the country where dogs were infested with ticks, living with gaping wounds and in pools of feces, according to a disturbing new report that placed the blame on lax enforcement.
Investigators say the Department of Agriculture agency in charge of enforcing the Animal Welfare Act often ignores repeat violations, waives penalties and doesn’t adequately document inhumane treatment of dogs.
In one case cited by the department’s inspector general, 27 dogs died at an Oklahoma breeding facility after inspectors had visited the facility several times and cited it for violations.
The review, conducted between 2006 and 2008, found more than half of those large kennels — known as puppy mills — had already been cited for violations flouted the law again.
to which the president of the Humane Society commented:
“Enforcement is placid, the laws are weak and reform needs to happen,” he said. “We have long criticized having the animal welfare enforcement functions within a bureaucracy dedicated to promoting American agriculture. There’s a built-in conflict of interest.”
You’ll pardon me if I don’t post pictures or even search for them. It’s simply too stomach-wrenching.
Conflict of interest is the rule rather than the exception in federal agencies. The Department of Agriculture is supposed to promote agriculture and the Class A breeders AKA puppy mills are just agriculture as far as they’re concerned. The Department of Trade is supposed to promote trade and regulate it. The Federal Reserve is supposed to regulate banks and promote full employment, not precisely a conflict but not entirely coherent, either.
The immediate reaction of legislators, i.e. to extend DofA control to unregistered large-scale breeders who sell over the Internet, largely misses the point that the Department has more than it can handle in regulating the Class A and B breeders. In my view they should be increasing the penalties sharply and using the proceeds to pay for bounties for information leading to conviction. To be honest I’d ban the Class A breeders altogether.
I’ve mentioned it here before: never buy a dog from a pet store, never buy a dog from an agent, never buy a dog over the Internet. Never get a puppy younger than eight weeks of age. Your best bet for buying a purebred puppy is from an established small-scale breeder who hand-raises the pups and has a good reputation. They can be hard to find but they’re worth it.
Well I did and…normally I’m a peacable guy. Leave me alone and I’ll leave you alone, but after seeing those pictures….yeesh, some people need a tire iron applied vigorously.
Well also there is the issue of inflation, now that introduces a direct conflict given the current understanding of monetary economics. If you have too much employment, then you get inflation.
Or better yet, get a rescue dog. Often there is nothing wrong with these dogs, either through misfortune or changes in their life people can’t keep a very fine dog. You can even find pure breed dogs and unless you are into showing dogs, it really isn’t that much of a big deal. Great prices too. Hell one of my dogs is a rescue and you can’t beat the price: found her in the park while walking my other dog.
There are lots of private groups who rescue dogs, take care of their vet needs, than look for good homes. Same for cats too, though not as many. That is how we got our first cat.
Dave- This sounds like law breaking.
Steve