Hundreds of French Bulldogs Imported from Puppy Mill; Dozens Die

Puppy mills are found world wide. In the U.S. the outlet for the mills are dogs sold at pet stores and dogs (and sometimes, though rarely, even cats) sold online. Dogs are sometimes shipped en masse from Asia or Europe to the U.S. and Canada. Crammed together that’s how disease is so easily transmitted. There’s conjecture that this might be how the H3N2 strain of canine influenza virus (dog flu) entered the U.S. in 2015.

Only about a week ago, The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) found dozens of dead and dying dogs aboard a recent flight from Ukraine. The CFIA confirms that a Ukrainian International Airlines flight arrived at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport from Kyiv with 572 French Bulldog puppies on board, dozens of them dead and dozens more dehydrated and seriously ill. Infectious disease experts also offer concern that the imported dogs were not adequately given vet exam, if any exam. And how could the airlines allow this in the first place?

Animal welfare advocates say the Toronto incident is just the latest in a series where flights from Ukraine and Eastern Europe an Asia that are crammed with dogs destined for resale to would-be unwitting owners in the U.S. or Canada.

So, how to eliminate these overseas mills? They’re now making a profit, and it seems the answer is the same as with American and also Canadian puppy mills – and that is to stop those profits.

While it seems puppy mills are less common in Canada compared to the U.S., these mass producers in inhumane conditions do exist. In July 2019, a 57-year-old Edmonton woman faced animal cruelty charges in connection with an alleged puppy mill operating in the city’s far northeast. Animal control officers seized 72 dogs, mostly Havanese puppies.

In the U.S. puppy mills are rampant, selling animals mostly online and also in pet stores. For inexplicable reasons, these places are too rarely shut down by state and U.S. Departments of Agriculture. In fact, sometimes the USDA even inspects these horrific places without any citations.

At some point it’s only the government and also informing and educating “buyer beware” to limit online sales. And also, continuing to stop sales at pet stores (as no responsible breeder EVER sells to a pet store).