Now Trump Enables Puppy Torture [View all]

[pnwmom]

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/02/now_trump_advocates_abusing_puppies_dont_wait_for.html

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is the latest government agency to purge information from its website, and it will affect how New Jerseyans buy their pets.

Our state is one of seven (along with New York City) that require consumers to buy their dog or cat from a reputable breeder - specifically, one that is registered with the USDA and has zero violations under the Animal Welfare Act. It was already having an effect on puppy mills and kitten mills, experts say, as it kept a check on breeders who abuse animals, with inspections from 9,000 animal-handling facilities (labs, breeders, fur farms, zoos, aquariums, etc.) posted on the USDA website.

Now all that data - inspection reports, research facility annual reports, and even lists of people licensed to inspect horses - vanished last Friday.

The USDA, citing privacy laws, added that it will "review and redact, as necessary, the lists of licensees and registrants under the AWA."

In other words, President Trump's USDA took down the tool needed to enforce the law in New Jersey, so now the unscrupulous breeders have carte blanche to torture puppies.

SNIP