The American Kennel Club -- distancing itself from the kind of unregulated and unsavory dog breeders depicted in her program yesterday -- published an open letter to Oprah Winfrey on its web site yesterday, praising the talk show host for devoting today's program to an investigation of "puppy mills."
Some excerpts:
"Thank you for your informative show today. We are very pleased that a renowned dog lover such as you has taken on the issue of unregulated dog breeders – an issue we work towards addressing on a daily basis.
"The American Kennel Club has always been a strong proponent of responsible breeding, which entails giving careful consideration to health issues, temperament and genetic screening, as well as to the individual care and placement of puppies in responsible homes ...."
"AKC spends over $6 million each year to inspect our customers, thereby ensuring the integrity of our registry and the proper care and conditions for dogs registered with us. In fact, of over 35 U.S. 'registries' we are the only one to conduct inspections, as well as being the only not-for-profit all-breed registry in the nation ....
"Unfortunately, there are many breeders who choose NOT to register with us specifically because of our high standards, and once they are no longer being inspected by the AKC, there is often very little oversight from state or federal entities. AKC supports scrupulous enforcement of the federal Animal Welfare Act, and state and local regulations governing the humane care of animals."
