Breeding Mills and Lack of Socialization Among Pets

Pets such as cats, dogs, birds and fish has been became our long-life friends since centuries. They play with us, mourn with us, refresh our minds from the turmoil of the modern life. But do we give what these animals deserve? Today many pets suffer from not socializing enough which blocks their fundemantal development at the early stages of their lives.

Sadly, perception of pets has changed over the last 20 years drastically. Rather than long-life friend, they became an accessoire on our lives today. Many people, especially the rich, buy these animals from breeders to tuck in their bags to show them off as a sign of prestige. But they forget about psychology and value of the animals as a living being.

One thing pretty much everyone can agree on is that puppy mills and kitten mills are horrific places and they need to be put out of business immediately. Most puppy mill puppies are sold in pet stores, which means buying dogs from pet stores puts money directly into the pockets of puppy millers. Their number one marketing strategy focuses on the purebreeding where the millers advocate that they have the purest breeds which are perfect in terms of health. But this is not the reality, sadly many breeds has their own chronic predisposition for certain diseases. For example, Labrador Retrievers are prone to diseases such as hip dysplasia and bloat, a disease in which the stomach becomes too full of water, food and air, leading to the stomach to twist. This easily leads to death. In order to stop this horrendous animal abuse,many advocate for adopting homeless animals from animal shelters and rescues, rather than buying from a pet store or breeder. These mills also causes over population, since they see animals as a product to profit. Because of this fact today there are many dogs or cats on the streets or in the shelters waiting for adoption. The more we buy the more this business grows and this only leads one thing; exploitation of these animals.

As it was mentioned earlier breeding mills and the perception of animals as an accessoire blocks these animals’ healty social development. They are either in the bags or in breeding farms or in the shelters waiting for the adoption. Even though there are such exploiters, there are also millions of animal lovers that give love and care they need. Their acts and decisions may prevent animals from becoming a profitable product. First of all do not buy, adopt. Adopting prevents exploiters to profit but more importantly helps animal lovers’ community which is important for social development of the animals. Because just like human beings they need to socialize with other animals. Just like us, they need to share their love and joy. Maybe an app like Tinder for animals is what we need. Owners would swipe the best furry paws for their pets and arrange them for a meeting? Such communities would also prevent pets become a monetizable products since true animal lovers would not pursue a profit from their best friends. What do you think about it?