The United States Department of Agriculture removed inspection records of animal facilities, including dog breeders, from its website.
In a statement, the USDA says the agency decided to remove the information after a comprehensive review, citing personal information, privacy concerns and ongoing litigation.
The Humane Society of the United States says the information provided in the inspections is vital to potential pet owners.
"We're not talking about state secrets here. We're talking about animal welfare inspection reports. This is data that should be up on the internet so that people could find it at their fingertips," said John Goodwin, Senior Director of Campaigns Against Puppy Mills at the Humane Society of the United States.
Some animal shelters are concerned the move may result in more dogs coming to their facilities because people may unknowingly buy a dog from a puppy mill.
"A lot of people are not aware of where puppies in pet stores come from. They typically are in a puppy mill," said Casey Waugh of Wayside Waifs. "[the puppies] never touch the ground. They never see the sunlight. They're never used to walking on a leash, so when those people get the animals in their homes, it's hard for them to acclimate into family life. A lot of these animals are going to be surrendered into shelters for things that could’ve been preventable."
Missouri tops the list for worst states for puppy mills according to the Humane Society.
"Missouri was number one state in our last 'Horrible Hundred Report,' in fact 30% of the puppy mills in our 2016 report were from Missouri," said Goodwin.
While the U.S. Department of Agriculture has changed its reporting tactics, the number of inspectors Missouri inspectors for potential puppy mills has dwindled.
In September, 2015, 41 Action News reported the number of Missouri inspectors was 14 with two veterinarians.
Currently, there are 11 inspectors and 3 vets.
That staff is responsible for doing routine inspections of larger breeding operations statewide as well as investigating any illegal activity like puppy mills.
Funding for that staffing falls under the “animal health program” line item in the Missouri Department of Agriculture’s budget.
Governor Eric Greitens has proposed cutting the department’s budget from about $48 million to about $44 million.
However, the governor proposes keeping the animal health program at roughly the same funding level as the current budget year.
At this point, it’s unclear what impact, if any, the governor’s budget proposal would have on inspector and vet staffing.
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Brian Abel can be reached at brian.abel@kshb.com.
