Blog: Are we winning the battle against puppy mills?

If you’re engaged in the fight against animal cruelty, there may have been times when you’ve wondered: Is my work making enough of a difference?

During my nearly two decades with Humane World for Animals’ Stop Puppy Mills team, I’ve spent some sleepless nights worrying over that question. Were the humane laws we and our allies labored so hard to pass really working, or were commercial breeders just moving their operations to towns or states without such laws? Was the number of puppy mills truly declining, or were more of them just going underground?

In other words, were we fixing the leaks or just bailing out a leaky boat with a thimble?

In the animal welfare world, it’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day challenges and try to ignore any nagging doubts. But it’s important to pause every now and then, study the big picture and evaluate your impact. You may learn that you need to switch up your strategies, or you may gain reassurance that you’re on the right path.

With that in mind, the Stop Puppy Mills team recently conducted our own impact assessment, analyzing the U.S. puppy mill industry based on the best available data. What we found was encouraging.

44% fewer puppies are being produced by puppy mills that sell to pet stores.

The number of puppies produced by breeding facilities licensed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture has decreased an estimated 44% since 2020. Our estimate is based on the average number of breeding dogs per facility as well as the number of facilities nationwide that are licensed to sell to pet stores and online. These numbers declined from about 1,248,658 puppies produced in 2020 to 694,757 in 2025. That equates to 550,000 fewer puppies churned out by puppy mills each year.*

*For these numbers, we rely on the USDA’s public database. The USDA is the only federal agency that monitors commercial dog breeders, although it only monitors certain types of breeders and dealers. The agency is charged with inspecting all large-scale commercial pet breeders who sell to pet stores or brokers or who ship puppies to customers, sight unseen.

15% decrease in the number of commercial breeders licensed to sell to pet stores and online since 2020

15% fewer breeders are licensed to sell to pet stores and online.

According to USDA numbers, the total number of puppy mills licensed to sell to pet stores and online has decreased almost 15% since 2020. In August 2020, there were 2,887 USDA-licensed Class A (pet breeding) licensees; in July 2025, there were 2,461 Class A licensees, or 420 fewer dealers. (Breeders who sell to pet stores are far more likely to be puppy mills, because responsible breeders sell only to people they meet in person, as recommended by most national breed clubs.)

The number of puppy-selling retail stores has plummeted.

To determine our impact on puppy store numbers, we looked at Petland, the nation’s largest retailer of puppy mill dogs and the only U.S.-wide retail chain that still sells puppies. In 2008, when we first investigated Petland for its links to puppy mills, there were about 140 Petland stores across the U.S. In 2025, there are about 75 Petland stores still selling puppies. That’s almost a 50% drop over 18 years.

550,000 fewer puppies bred by U.S. puppy mills that sell to pet stores in 2025

Most retail sellers aren’t transitioning to online sales models.

To date, more than 500 localities and eight states have passed laws prohibiting pet store sales of puppies (as well as kittens and rabbits in some cases). While a handful of puppy stores that closed as a result of such laws moved to online sales, there’s no evidence that a large portion of them have done so. Pet stores that convert to online sales are required to get a USDA Class B license, and Class B license numbers have declined by more than 10% over the last five years. Most stores can’t simply transition from a retail model to an online model, because they cater to a specific type of customer who wants to meet their dog before purchase.

There’s no evidence that more breeders are operating “off the radar.”

We’ve long known that some commercial breeders will attempt to evade oversight by dropping their USDA and state licenses or maintaining only a state license. However, there’s no evidence that this is happening more frequently. Information on state-licensed commercial breeders isn’t available for every state, and many states don’t monitor puppy mills at all. But some of the largest states that monitor commercial breeders have numbers that are holding steady or declining.

For example, in Missouri, the state with the highest number of puppy mills, the number of state-licensed commercial dog breeders declined from 977 in early 2020 to 791 in early 2025. In other states, such as Ohio, the numbers have gone up; however, that rise occurred after we helped pass a state law in 2018 that made more breeders subject to licensure, so we believe it was a result of more unlicensed operators becoming licensed. By and large, our research indicates that USDA-licensed breeders aren’t simply dropping their federal (wholesale) licenses while remaining state-licensed, although that does happen in some cases, and we continue to monitor the situation and report violators.

The road ahead

Puppy mills are still a significant problem, but I hope the many animal welfare organizations, puppy-friendly pet stores and individual advocates who help us fight this cruel industry take heart in knowing that our work is moving the needle. The numbers are in our favor, but we can’t let up.

We’ll continue to work at the local and state level to end the sale of puppies in pet stores. We’ll continue to push for federal bills, including the Puppy Protection Act and the Better CARE for Animals Act, to increase care standards in USDA-licensed facilities and to ensure that federal authorities can take strong action against violators.

The fight against puppy mills is one we can win, and together, we’re on the road to get there.