USDA Licensed BreedersWhen looking for a new puppy, many people check on their breeder to ensure they are running a quality facility and only producing quality pets. You have undoubtedly come across news reports and articles warning against purchasing puppies from illegal "puppy mills" operated by unlicensed breeders. However, don't be fooled into thinking that a legal, licensed breeder is guarantee of a quality puppy either. The USDA minimum standards are the bare bones needed for the animal's survival. However, many are not aware of the requirements of certain licenses and some are not required, or desired by the breeder. The USDA license is among these, many people are misinformed as to what a USDA license is, and assume that breeders must have this or they are simply running a poor quality, illegal kennel. This is absolutely not the case, and in fact, quite the opposite. USDA licensing is required by wholesale breeders, the USDA defines this as anyone importing, buying, selling or trading pets in wholesale channels. The USDA license is also required by commercial breeders, a commercial breeder is defined by the USDA as anyone breeding pets for the wholesale trade or selling dogs as breeding stock to other breeders. Not very many breeders fall into this category, and most that do are known as puppy mills. These places produce hundreds of puppies every year for the purpose of distributing them to animal brokers who then sell them at auctions or to pet stores. Breeders who sell pets directly to the pet owner do not require USDA licensing. This being said, you should in fact, beware of breeders who are willing to show you their USDA license as this raises the question, who else do they sell puppies to that requires a USDA license? MSNBC has even written a report informing consumers to beware of USDA licensed breeders. Many would suspect that obtaining a USDA license would be a lengthy, in depth process. They are breeding the puppies found at your local pet store, right? Wrong. Getting licensed by the USDA requires that you submit payment, a couple of completed forms and have your property inspected. This inspection is done annually and simply requires that the animals are housed, fed, watered, free from waste and protected from extreme temperatures. This being said, AFrenchBulldog.com is proudly unlicensed by the USDA. All of our Frenchies are kept in professionally custom built homes designed specifically to house animals, which are cleaned daily, with access to air conditioned and heated indoors, fresh food and water and access to inside, outside yard and daily social interaction with us and the other Frenchies. Newborn puppies and dams are housed in a separate building with the same features to allow them space and privacy from the others. All of our dogs are regularly checked by veterinarians and vaccinated before they make their way to their new homes and become apart of your family. We hope this has been helpful and insightful; the USDA license is very misunderstood and difficult to research. Even many who provide answers to those seeking information about the USDA license are often misinterpreting the documentation. For your own review, you can find the complete document entitled “Licensing and Registering Under the Animal Welfare Act” which explains who is and is not regulated by the USDA. You can also review the complete document pertaining to the standards of care for regulated breeders. |
