Pennsylvania promised to clean up its puppy mill problem. Nearly two decades later, abuse and neglect continue at state-licensed breeding kennels while the people responsible face little more than warnings or small fines.

A new 2025 investigation by the nonprofit Lady Freethinker found dozens of licensed facilities with repeated violations, from filthy conditions to untreated medical issues. Yet many continue operating with minimal consequences. The problem is not the law, it is the lack of enforcement.

Pennsylvania’s 2008 Dog Law reforms were once considered a national model. But those protections mean nothing if the state fails to act. Chronic underfunding, staff shortages, and lack of public transparency have allowed inhumane breeding operations to persist under legal cover.

We are calling on Governor Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to:

• Increase funding for kennel inspections and humane enforcement
• Hire more officers to monitor and investigate breeding operations
• Require annual public reporting on violations and follow-up actions

Dogs in our state are still suffering, confined in cold, dark sheds without proper care, while breeders profit off their misery. Pennsylvanians deserve better. We are one of the top pet-owning states in the country, and we have the laws to protect animals. Now our elected officials must provide the resources and oversight to make those laws real.

Please sign and share this petition to demand that Pennsylvania finally follow through on its promise to end puppy mill cruelty. Enforcement is not optional. It is the backbone of any humane system.