Guest guest Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 This is a point I like to make about "papers" and what they mean. Jack Sh*t. All they do is verify that both parents of the puppies were the same breed. In 1987 a reporter for Parade magazine, Michael Satchell, asked William F. Stifel, then the president of the American Kennel Club, whether the AKC would register a blind, deaf, three-legged purebred pup with hip dysplasia and green fur. According to Parade, Stifel said, "We would register the dog. AKC unfortunately does not mean quality." A pure-bred dog breeder must register each new litter of pups with the AKC. Per litter the American Kennel Club charges a $25 processing fee, plus $2 per puppy, plus $20 for the AKC official litter certificate, plus $30 for the litter to be listed on the AKC Web site. These puppies get sold and now it's time for the AKC to charge the pup's new owner a registration fee. It starts with a $20 basic registration fee. If additionally you desire the puppy's pedigree and a lost and found certificate and some other "services," the new pup owner can spend up to $62 with the AKC to register the same pup recently registered by the breeder. In 2006 the AKC registered over 870,191 dogs. At that time the basic fee to register a dog with the AKC was just $15. In 2006 the AKC realized profits in excess of $13 million. Most of that came from puppies bred in Missouri. Sales for the fiscal year 2008 exceeded $73 million. Missouri leads the way in registered commercial dog breeding businesses with 1,525 USDA registered breeders. It is estimated Missouri has over 3,000 additional breeders not registered with the USDA, but still paying fees to the AKC to register their litters. Oklahoma runs a distant second with 575 commercial breeders registered with the USDA. The AKC has voiced opposition to a Missouri ballot initiative slated for the November 2010 ballot that will address the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills. This proposed ballot measure would add new standards of canine care to the ACFA statute. Specifically the measure would require: Sufficient food and clean water, necessary veterinary care, sufficient housing, including protection from the elements and eliminating wire-floored cages, sufficient space for dogs to turn and stretch, lie down, and fully extend their limbs, regular exercise and adequate rest between breeding cycles. Missouri's puppy mill industry is the American Kennel Club's cash cow. The AKC benefits financially from the registration of puppies bred and sold under horrific, inhumane conditions. The American Kennel club profits by exploiting that desire we have to somehow prove with papers and pedigrees that we have the best dog in the world. We owe it to all of those "best dogs in the world" to not let the AKC control the debate and confuse the issues. More information on the ballot initiative can be found at the Web site for Missouri Alliance for Animal Legislation www.maal.org Sources: - Puppy Mill Watch: http://www.nppmwatc h.com/AKC. html - Best Friends Animal Society: http://network. bestfriends. org/campaigns/ puppymills/ news.aspx? pID=6508 - Missouri Alliance For Animal Legislation: http://www.maal. org/Puppy- Mills.asp - The Humane Society of the US: http://www.humaneso ciety.org/ news/press_ releases/ 2009/12/missouri _ballot_initiati ve_launch_ 121409.html - The Politics of Dogs: Criticism of Policies of AKC; The Atlantic, 1990, http://www.uwsp. edu/psych/ s/275/Breed/ AtlanticAKC90. pdf - The Peta Files: http://blog. peta.org /archives/2008/ 02/why_is_ the_akc. php - Registration fees from the AKC Web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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