Understanding the systematic and cruel exploitation of animals in the pet industry is another driver that has motivated many people to go vegan. The commercial side of the pet industry makes money by sell cute little baby animals to people, in the hope of then selling them all ancillary products and food they will require through their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the buying public often lose interest in the baby animals soon after purchase and dispose of the now one year old. There is no market for older animals because all the buyers want babies. This means that every year hundreds of thousands of baby animals are bred to satisfy the demands of the pet shops, and similar numbers of one and two-year-old animals are slaughtered because nobody wants them.
In the dog industry the breeders are referred to as puppy farms or puppy mills. They breed baby dogs as fast as they can and push their ‘product’ as hard as they can on the local pet shops.
Local government agencies run impoundment centers where the unwanted dogs end up. When the dog has been there for seven days and no one has turned up to take ownership, the dogs are killed.
The solution to this problem must start with destroying the public demand to buy cute little puppies from pet shops. If you want an animal to look after, go to your local animal shelter and adopt an unwanted adult. You will save them from an early death.