A new investigation by Lady Freethinker (LFT) reveals that neglect, abuse, and appalling conditions remain rampant in Pennsylvania’s notorious dog breeding kennels and puppy mills — both licensed and unlicensed. This is despite years of documented violations and ongoing promises of reform.

Between June 2021 and April 2025, LFT researchers reviewed public records of state kennel inspections and citations. The findings are grim: at least 270 kennels across 36 counties were cited for illegal activity, with 134 citations for operating without a license and 142 citations for failing to keep kennels in sanitary and humane conditions.

READ THE FULL REPORT HERE

Horrors in Unlicensed Facilities

Unlicensed breeders continue to operate with little accountability. In Cumberland County, investigators found nine puppies trapped in sweltering enclosures where temperatures soared above 103 degrees, with no clean water and urine and feces covering the floors.

Several puppies in a filthy and unsanitary wooden enclosure

Photo Credit: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, via FOI request

Another unlicensed facility in the same county confined dogs in dirty plywood pens without access to clean water. In Chester County, puppies were shipped from an unlicensed breeder to a licensed kennel, where state wardens found sick dogs, ventilation problems, and carriers stained with blood.

In Indiana County, a state trooper’s welfare check uncovered 35 dogs in horrific condition, with their fur matted into painful clumps and their paws soaked in urine.

Photo Credit: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, via FOI request

And in Lancaster County — a known puppy mill hotspot — a breeder allegedly drowned four sheepadoodle puppies in manure because their fur color made them “unsellable.” Despite a petition from Lady Freethinker and years of court continuances, the case remains unresolved.

Licensed Facilities Also Failing

Even licensed kennels, which are supposedly required to uphold basic welfare standards, were found to be operating in shockingly inhumane conditions.

Small dogs kept inside filthy metal cage

Photo Credit: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, via FOI request

In Lancaster County, one facility repeatedly cited for ventilation and sanitation problems was still licensed in 2024, despite cruelty referrals for keeping a husky in nearly 90-degree heat.
Another kennel in the same county allowed feces to accumulate for years and failed to provide sanitary flooring.
A third was repeatedly cited for failing to provide shelter, clean enclosures, and adequate space for puppies as young as 10 weeks old.
In Cumberland County, wardens found dogs kept in a dank, windowless shed filled with waste and cobwebs.
In Adams County, inspectors documented rusting enclosures, freezing conditions, and feces throughout a facility that closed its breeding operation — in this case because the owners chose to, and not because of state enforcement.

Lack of Enforcement

The report warns that many kennels cited for operating illegally later became licensed, effectively rewarding violators rather than shutting them down. Judges often impose only probation in cruelty cases, rarely banning convicted abusers from keeping animals — even when they’re empowered to do so.

Lady Freethinker is calling on Pennsylvania’s dog wardens, prosecutors, and judges to take meaningful enforcement action: shutting down unlicensed operators, revoking licenses for repeat violators, and imposing real penalties for animal cruelty.

LFT also urges lawmakers to pass Victoria’s Law (H.B. 1816), reintroduced in August 2025 by Rep. Jeanne McNeill. The bill would ban the sale of dogs, cats, and rabbits from cruel breeding mills in Pennsylvania pet stores. Named after a German Shepherd who spent ten years in a cage being bred despite a painful genetic disease, Victoria’s Law would help end the pipeline of suffering animals.