EDUCATE OTHERS
THINGS WE CAN DO!!
PUPPY MILLS
In the United States, there are an estimated 10,000 puppy mills with 500,000 dogs kept solely for breeding purposes. Each year, approximately 2.6 million puppies are sold mostly online and in pet stores. There’s a lot to be done. Your voice and actions matter! Every effort—big or small— helps bring us closer to a world where the suffering of dogs in puppy mills becomes a thing of the past.
Here’s what we can do:
EDUCATE OTHERS
Talk to adults about the importance of never buying a puppy from a pet store or online unless they can visit the kennel in person and meet the puppy’s mother. Remember, one less puppy purchased from a puppy mill brings us one step closer to their eradication.
Give a classroom presentation about puppy mills.
Organize a school assembly focused on puppy mills and animal welfare.
Start an “Animal Welfare Club” to plan activities and raise awareness about puppy mills.
Encourage your principal and teachers to include animal welfare in the school curriculum.
Write an article about puppy mills for your school newspaper.
Share what you know about puppy mills with friends. Create and post educational videos on social media.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AND STATE LEGISLATORS TO SUPPORT LAWS THAT:
Ban the sale of puppies in pet stores.
Improve conditions for breeding dogs in large-scale breeding facilities.
Encourage better USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) oversight of puppy mills to document and follow up on violations.
RAISE COMMUNITY AWARENESS
If a pet store in your area sells puppies, organize or join a peaceful rally to educate people shopping there.
Submit a letter about puppy mills to your local media outlets.
SUPPORT RESCUE EFFORTS
Volunteer at local animal shelters that care for rescued puppy mill dogs.
Help organize animal shelter and rescue organization fundraisers and supply drives.
THE MEAT AND DAIRY PRODUCTS WE EAT
In 2024, Americans consumed 271-275 pounds of meat per person. That’s the approximate weight of a Giant Panda Bear!
Some of this chicken, beef, and pork is raised humanely. The majority is factory farmed.
In 2023, Americans consumed 661 pounds of dairy products per person. That’s a whole lot of milk!
Food animal/livestock farming is estimated to produce 12-14% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Here’s what we can do to improve animal welfare and decrease their impact on climate.
Talk to your parents, friends, and relatives about how to differentiate humanely and inhumanely raised chicken, pork, and beef products. This pertains to, not only how the animals are farmed, but also how they’re slaughtered.
Give a classroom presentation about the humane treatment of food animals/impact of farming on our climate.
Organize a school assembly about animal welfare/impact of farming on our climate.
Start an “Animal Welfare Club” to plan activities and raise awareness about food animal welfare.
Start a “Stop Climate Change Club.”
Encourage your principal and teachers to include animal welfare and the impact of livestock production on climate in the school curriculum.
Write an article about food animal welfare and/or livestock-caused climate change for your school newspaper.
Share your knowledge on social media.
CONSIDER CHANGING YOUR EATING HABITS
Try some new plant based foods.
Try eating one or more fewer meat meals during the course of a week.
Encourage the food shoppers in your household to source humanely raised meat and dairy products. Support your local farms, farmer’s markets, and grocery stores that carry Humane Certified products.
Pay attention to food labels.
Help with the grocery shopping in your household.
CONTACT YOUR LOCAL, STATE, and FEDERAL LEGISLATORS TO SUPPORT LAWS THAT:
Create stricter USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) regulations that oversee animal welfare in the meat and dairy industry.
Regulate agricultural production of carbon emissions.