There are two sad facts to pass along. #1. Missouri is the worst state in America when it comes to puppy mills. #2. This is absolutely not a new problem.

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Kudos to Fox 2 St. Louis for this catch. It's a report based off of a Humane Society Horrible Hundred Report. In a nutshell, the Humane Society issue this to try and warn the public about problem breeders and it seems that this problem has worsened thanks to the internet.

While every state has issues with puppy mills involving a handful of sellers, Missouri has a staggering 21 breeders that were named in this report. For the sake of comparison, Illinois had 4 dealers named. Their list includes many Missouri locations where either animals were found to be in terrible conditions and/or had multiple health issues. The Humane Society stated that many breeders had been hit with thousands of dollars in fines, but kept repeating the same violations.

According to the Fox 2 St. Louis report, this is the NINTH year in a row that Missouri is at the top of this naughty list.

For the record, here's the definition of a puppy mill as shared by Animal Law is "dog-breeding operations that put profit above the welfare of dogs". The Humane Society frowns on mass-breeding operations where maltreatment is too common.

You an read the sad full report by the Humane Society for a better understanding of the puppy mill problem and why it's more of an issue in Missouri than any other state.

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