New York Congressman George Santos is constantly in the news — and typically not for a good reason. The latest in the Santos saga involves the congressman allegedly ripping off an Amish dog breeder. But inadvertently, it exposes a much broader and darker secret: Pet trafficking under the guise of “animal rescue.”
In 2017, Santos allegedly stole puppies from an Amish breeder in Lancaster County, Pa., after writing $15,125 in bad checks. A few days later, Santos held an adoption event on Staten Island through his animal rescue, Friends of Pets United.
Santos was charged with theft by deception, though the charges were dropped when he claimed his checkbook had been stolen.
But the broader deception is this: These puppies weren’t “rescued.” They were bought from a breeder despite the public being told this was an “adoption” event.
Santos held “adoption” events where consumers were misled with language like this: “Friends of Pets United has a puppy overload … We’ll be cuddling: Golden Retriever, Lab, Yorkie, Border collie, American Eskimo and Shepherds … #adoptdontshop.”
This adoption deception far exceeds one rescue, involving thousands of trafficked puppies yearly.
And in New York, pet trafficking is primed to explode.
In December, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a law prohibiting the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits in pet stores. While billed as a measure to stop puppy mills, it’s only going to feed black-market dog trafficking that has already taken off in New York — all while keeping mills in business.
How? Pet stores can still sell “rescued” animals. And that’s a loophole that will be exploited by unscrupulous traffickers.
In recent years, animal activists have passed bans on retail sales of pets in several states and numerous localities across the country. Concurrently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted increased pet trafficking.
According to the CDC, “Many dogs are bred irresponsibly in large numbers in ‘puppy mills’ overseas, where the risk of disease is high. Importers then fly them as cargo in large batches, claiming them as ‘rescue’ dogs, valued at $0 on their paperwork, and allowing the importers to evade entry and broker fees.”
“Operation Dog Catcher,” a program run by Customs and Border Patrol, has found dead puppies at JFK airport. And in June 2020, a Ukrainian International Airlines plane arrived in Toronto, where Canadian authorities found 500 crated purebred puppies. Many were dehydrated and weak, and 38 were found dead.
A 2018 Washington Post investigation also discovered animal rescues buying puppies from breeders at dog auctions in Missouri.
People want puppies — and if they can’t get them from a regulated retail store, the black market will provide them in a far less regulated way.
Did we learn nothing from Prohibition?
Prohibiting the sale of puppies at pet stores will not stop puppy mills from making a profit — it will have the opposite effect. That’s because these laws don’t address the problem by ensuring dogs come from good breeders. Instead, retail pet-sale bans lump good breeders with bad, creating a black market where people acquire dogs from other states or countries.
These laws screw the pooch in more ways than one.
There has been a significant increase in pet-related scams since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. New York’s pet-sale ban is going to make it worse.
George Santos may get his due. But there will be untold more George Santoses hoping to make a buck through phony animal rescue. Adopter beware.
