Undercover Investigation Exposes Severe Abuse at AKC-Linked Puppy Mill

A recent undercover investigation by Humane World for Animals has uncovered disturbing new evidence of abuse at a large-scale dog breeding facility with long-standing ties to the American Kennel Club (AKC).

Earlier this month, Humane World for Animals revealed that one of its investigators spent two months this fall working undercover at Sportsman’s Kennels, a commercial dog breeding operation in Long Island, New York. The facility openly advertises that it has been “breeding AKC pups since 1962,” reinforcing the dangerous perception that AKC registration is a marker of responsible breeding.

Sportsman’s Kennels has appeared on Humane World’s Horrible Hundred Report five times for repeated animal welfare violations documented in state inspection reports. Despite this extensive history, the American Kennel Club has failed to cut ties with the breeder. Now, the undercover investigation has exposed a level of neglect and suffering that goes far beyond what had previously been documented.

According to the investigator, hundreds of dogs of roughly 20 breeds were kept in a patchwork of plastic bins, steel cages, and chain-link kennels. Some dogs were confined to spaces so small they could take only a few steps and barely turn around. Dogs deemed no longer profitable were isolated in small, dimly lit rooms, left alone for hours at a time and provided only the bare minimum needed to keep them alive. Meanwhile, dogs still being used for breeding were kept in areas that reportedly reeked of feces.

The investigation documented dogs with open sores, missing and severely matted fur, including cases of dogs covered in dried blood and feces. Cockroaches were observed in food preparation areas and in spaces where pregnant dogs were housed and gave birth. Workers were filmed spraying insecticide near pregnant dogs without protective gear and without regard for the health of the animals or their puppies. Employees were captured on camera describing the operation as run down and stating they would never personally purchase a dog from the facility, suggesting that the poor conditions were well known among staff.

Unfortunately, the dogs suffering at this disgraceful facility in Long Island represent just a small fraction of the millions of puppies born each year in large-scale breeding operations that prioritize profit over animal welfare. Sportsman’s Kennels is not an outlier. This kind of treatment is tragically common at puppy mills across the United States, where mother dogs are bred repeatedly with little concern for their physical or psychological well-being, and puppies are sold with hidden health issues resulting from overbreeding and inadequate care. These businesses are driven by greed, and the dogs pay the price for that relentless pursuit of profit.

The American Kennel Club should have cut ties with Sportsman’s Kennels years ago based on its repeated animal welfare violations. In light of this undercover investigation, there is no justification for continuing to support this type of cruel and negligent business. But this issue goes beyond one facility. By allowing puppy mills to register dogs and use the AKC name as a marketing tool, the organization helps legitimize and sustain an entire industry built on suffering and deception.

If the AKC truly stands by its claim that “everything we do, we do for the dogs,” it must stop propping up these operations altogether and refuse to lend its brand to breeders who abuse and exploit animals.

You can speak out against this dog abuse by joining more than 5,000 members of the Species Unite community in calling on the American Kennel Club to stop supporting puppy mills once and for all.