Petland, the largest pet shop chain in the country has more than 100 locations in the United States and dozens more in foreign markets – Canada, China, Mexico, France, Japan, Israel and South Africa. The Ohio-based chain buys a large number of dogs from the Hunte Corporation – the largest dog broker in the country. CAPS worked undercover for six months at Hunte Corporation and investigated some of the puppy mill breeders selling puppies to Hunte. The footage collected by our investigator during that time was prominently featured in two documentaries. (links).
For several years in the early 1990’s, Canadian animal activist groups participated in our North American protests against pet shops selling puppy mills dogs the weekend before Christmas. The main protest targets were Petland and PJ’s Pets, both of which stopped selling animals in 2012. CAPS contributed to CBC’s “Marketplace” for a March 2009 story about pet shops and puppy mills. This national consumer newsmagazine expose featured a CAPS pet shop complainant who purchased a sick puppy at a PJ’s. Her puppy was brokered by Hunte and bred by a puppy mill in Missouri that was investigated by CAPS.
