Animal Folks Minnesota

The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) requires the USDA-licensed facilities to be inspected by USDA inspectors. Due to limited resources, inspections are infrequent; due to poor governance and policy, compliance by breeders and penalties imposed are minimal.

There are 2.5 USDA inspectors for all of Minnesota. These inspectors must inspect licensed breeders as well as exhibitors, dealers, brokers, zoos, research laboratories, circuses and animals transported via commercial airlines. No inspections are required for non-licensed breeders.

In 2006, there were 9,075 total USDA-licensed facilities in the United States (not all are breeders). The USDA conducted 20,311 inspections of those facilities for compliance and non-compliance; some facilities were inspected multiple times to check if they had fixed a violation or not and some facilities had no inspections. In 2005, the USDA licensed 8,048 facilities and conducted 18,290 inspections for compliance and non-compliance.

Freedom of Information Act

Inspection reports can be obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Go to:
United States Department of Agriculture - APHIS
Attn: Freedom of Information Act Officer
4700 River Road Unit 50
Riverdale, MD 20737-1232
Phone 301-734-8296

A lack of enforcement

Whether or not AWA standards are strictly or loosely enforced during inspections is a policy decision. Field inspectors follow the direction given to them by ‘top officials’ at the USDA-APHIS.

In 2005, for example, an Audit by the Assistant Inspector General was conducted of the USDA-APHIS Animal Care Program Inspection and Enforcement Activities, who are responsible for inspecting dog and cat breeders and ensuring compliance. The Auditor identified numerous recommendations in the report; one particular observation made: “Discounted stipulated fines assessed against violators of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) are usually minimal. Under current APHIS policy, Animal Care (AC) offers a 75-percent discount on stipulated fines as an incentive for violators to settle out of court to avoid attorney and court costs. In addition to giving the discount, we found that APHIS offered other concessions to violators, lowering the actual amount paid to a fraction of the original assessment. An Investigative and Enforcement Services (IES) official told us that as a result, violators consider the monetary stipulation as a normal cost of conducting business rather than a deterrent for violating the law.”

This and other actions illustrate how inspectors are supposed to behave, according to policy set by USDA-APHIS officials. Today, legal action is rarely taken against breeders who violate USDA standards. (There are no State breeding standards.)

Multiple chances given while animals wait

Instead of imposing fines for violations or shutting down facilities, the USDA has chosen to educate breeders about AWA requirements. If violations are found, multiple chances are given to breeders for them to “fix” the problem. Animals are not removed while compliance is occurring.

In 2006, (per Detroit Free Press article), “the USDA in 2004 opted not to fine Heartland Kennels [a puppy mill in southwestern Minnesota] — which sent at least 123 pups to local pet shops in 2005 — after citing the facility for repeated violations that include confining dogs to cramped, dirty cages that offer no protection from the wind, rain and snow. In a letter to the facility, the USDA said its run of violations used to result in fines or closure, but current policy “is to encourage compliance through education and cooperation rather than legal action”.… The USDA’s Office of Inspector General has criticized the agency since the 1990s for failing to adequately crack down on violators. And in a blistering September 2005 report, the inspector general found an ineffective monitoring and inspection system and concluded the USDA failed to take action against “violators who compromised…animal health.”

Inspections are useless if violations are found and no action is taken.

Because Minnesota has no State law to regulate dog and cat breeders, it has no authority to take action where the USDA has failed.