New PETA Investigation Exposes Filth and Suffering in Vietnamese Puppy Trade

Hanoi – A new PETA investigation released today reveals the source of puppies sold in AZPET  and other pet shops across Vietnam: filthy breeding mills, where dogs are confined to cramped cages soiled with urine and faeces with nothing to do but pace, bark, and jump up and down in distress.

During visits to 10 breeding mills – including those certified by the Vietnam Kennel Association – PETA’s investigators documented that most dogs were kept indoors with no access to sunlight and little access to food or water. Many had matted fur and overgrown nails, some had bald patches and fungal infections, and one breeder confessed to shaving off the dogs’ fur instead of bathing them. Some dogs exhibited fear and anxiety and froze when approached by workers. Breeders confirmed that they cut off puppies’ tails because dogs with cut tails sell better, and one breeder confessed that their daughter had beaten one dog and broken another’s leg.

Breeders said the dogs were impregnated twice a year for five to six years. Some dogs were shaking and couldn’t stand properly, which breeders attributed to a calcium deficiency from constant breeding, nursing, and a lack of sun exposure. When they’re no longer able to produce as many puppies, the dogs are either impregnated once a year until they die of sickness or sold via Facebook or at live animal markets. At one live animal market, PETA’s investigators found puppies heaped together in a wire basket, smothering one another; dogs huddled and shaking with no protection from the rain; and dogs confined to soiled cages barely bigger than their bodies.

“Dogs in the breeding industry are treated like commodities, with no regard for their comfort, health, or wellbeing,” says PETA Vice President Jason Baker. “PETA urges everyone to remember the puppies huddled in fear in filthy cages and pledge never to buy an animal from a pet store or breeder.”

PETA notes that every time someone buys a “purebred” dog or cat, a dog or cat in need waiting in an animal shelter loses a chance at finding a home. Breeders and pet stores often sell animals to anyone willing to buy them, regardless of their ability or willingness to care for the animals. Due to these and other reasons, PETA urges prospective dog guardians to adopt from shelters, where millions of deserving animals wait for homes, and to have their animals spayed or neutered.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.