Animal Folks Minnesota

KEY MESSAGE: Minnesota is among the top producers of puppies and kittens in the United States, with some of the largest kennels in the nation.

As there is no State licensing or regulations for the dog and cat breeding industry in Minnesota, there are no records of total dog and cat breeders in Minnesota (i.e. number of breeders, who sells what, to whom, how much, when, death rates due to poor breeding practices).

USDA-licensed breeders operating in Minnesota, which represent a fraction of total breeders, are recorded by the federal government. While Minnesota does not have the most USDA-licensed facilities, our State is known for some of the largest kennels in the nation. Upon review of inspection reports (available through the Freedom of Information Act), several Minnesota puppy mills house more than 1,000 dogs each. A large kennel, for instance, may house up to 500 adult dogs (intact females and stud males) and produce unlimited puppies. A female, bred continuously, could have 2 litters per year with an average of four-six puppies per litter. Therefore, at any given time, a large breeder could easily house 1,000 or more animals.

Located across the entire State of Minnesota

These USDA-licensed commercial breeding kennels and dealers are located across Minnesota, from the NW corner in Kittson County to the SE corner in Fillmore County to the SW corner in Pipestone County to the middle of the State in Morrison County. The highest concentration of these type of kennels in Minnesota are in the Southwest corner of the State (Pipestone, Nobles, Murray, Lyon, Lincoln and Jackson counties) and in the middle of the State (Becker, Cass, Hubbard, Beltrami and Morrison counties). See commercial breeders.

Other dog and cat breeding kennels, not required to be USDA licensed, are located in all areas of Minnesota. Without State regulations, the total number of these facilities are impossible to track.

One non-licensed facility, in Sumter Township, for instance, recently applied to the McLeod County Board to expand its operations from 40 adult dogs to 96, with unlimited puppy production. (On a 3 to 2 vote, they were given the green light to expand.) Another dog-breeding facility, with 175 adult dogs, recently applied for a conditional use permit in Benton County; this business has been operating for 17 years. And another breeder in Stearns County recently had a barn fire, killing an “unknown number” of dogs. (One of the reasons people want regulations to stipulate types of heating has to do with fires. In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, many breeders use propane to heat their kennels; in the past few years, this has led to at least four fires where all of the dogs have died.)

Smaller backyard breeders are also found throughout the State, often in rural areas where animals (and barking) can be “hidden” from neighbors.

Smaller reputable breeders are scattered throughout Minnesota. As there is no required breeder licensing or criteria for performance, there is no master list indicating which breeders are reputable or inhumane.

Supporting links

Please email or call your State legislators today and ask them to take action. Ask them to help protect animals through the licensing and regulation of the dog and cat breeding industry.