Task Force tackles puppy smuggling

For the second consecutive year, the Border Puppy Task Force, made up of 17 Californian animal law enforcement agencies, spent two weeks at the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry- from Nov. 27 to Dec. 10- to gather statistics on the animals transported from Mexico to the United States.

Task force participants include the City of Los Angeles Animals Services, County of Los Angeles Animal Care and Control, Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Los Angeles, and Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

During the operation, humane and animal control officers interviewed people with animals and gathered data on their cargo. Drivers were asked to provide veterinary health records and were then cleared for entry, sent back to Mexico, or made to relinquish their animals. In severe inhumane circumstances, animals were impounded.

The findings show that the number of underage puppies smuggled in from Mexico to the U.S. appears to have dropped from last year. However, several underage puppies were seized in the operation and transported to the County of San Diego Department of Animal Services, which provides animal control services to the affected border areas. The puppies ranged in age from 1week to 3 months old.

"Even though the number of underage puppies seized during the operation dropped from last year . . . we are concerned that smugglers are finding new ways to bring puppies over," said County of Los Angeles Deputy Director Michelle Roache. "The only way to truly end this problem is for consumers not to purchase puppies at swap meets, parking lots or by answering ads."

Annually, thousands of underage puppies, many to breed, are brought into the U.S. for resale via the border crossing stations. Many are later discovered to be sick, potentially creating a health epidemic for animals and people in the U.S.

Adding to this problem are the inhumane breeding and transportation issues, an overpopulation problem, and the thousands of dollars people may spend on veterinary bills for a puppy in poor health, which often dies.

The situation may call for new laws to protect people and animals. Some of the issues are the threat of rabies, zoonotic diseases that can transfer to humans, new disease epidemics, inhumane living and transportation conditions for the animals, and fraudulent business transactions by dealers and brokers with unsuspecting buyers.

The task force is following up on contacts made during the border operation and exploring the feasibility of maintaining a longterm presence working with border patrol officers to monitor animal smuggling.

The Border Puppy Task Force is a consortium of California animal welfare and law enforcement agencies working together for the wellbeing and protection of animals that are brought from Mexico into the U.S. through Californiaentry border points.