• Missouri leads the nation in “problem” dog breeders for the 13th consecutive year, according to Humane World for Animals.
• Twenty-six Missouri breeders are included in the “Horrible Hundred” list, which details violations at commercial breeding operations.
• Advocates urge consumers to avoid purchasing puppies from pet stores or unvetted breeders to combat puppy mill cruelty.

For the 13th year in a row, Missouri tops the list as home of the most “problem” dog breeders, according to advocacy group Humane World for Animals — formerly the Humane Society of the United States. The list includes commercial breeding organizations in West Plains, Springfield, Bolivar and Cabool, with one being listed for a tenth time.

The list, called the “Horrible Hundred,” details violations or concerns at 100 commercial breeding operations across the country, based on inspection reports from state agencies and the United States Department of Agriculture.

Of the establishments included, 26 were in Missouri. The state with the next most is Ohio, with 16 operations listed. Missouri has topped the list since HWA began publishing it in 2010. The HWA notes that a state’s lack of inclusion on the list does not mean it does not have problematic breeding operations there, but that records or information were unavailable.

“It’s time to break this cycle of abuse that we continue to see year after year in Missouri puppy mills. Despite appalling conditions and suffering documented by inspectors, these operations continue to churn out puppies for profit,” said Cody Atkinson, Missouri state director for Humane World for Animals, in a press release. “We’re pleased with how well the Missouri Department of Agriculture is inspecting and documenting conditions at puppy mills, and we encourage the state Attorney General’s office to ensure that meaningful penalties are applied. In the meantime, we as consumers can take a stand against puppy mill cruelty by refusing to buy a puppy from a pet store or any breeder they haven’t personally visited and vetted.”

In addition to USDA and state violations, dog breeders are also included in the list if they sell puppies to Petland or affiliated pet stores, which is the only national chain of pet stores in the United States that continues to sell puppies, said the HWA.

The HWA defines puppy mills as dog breeding operations offering dogs for monetary compensation, in which the “physical, psychological and/or behavioral needs of all or some of the dogs are not being consistently fulfilled due to inadequate housing, shelter, staffing, nutrition, socialization, sanitation, exercise, veterinary care and/or inappropriate breeding.”

In Missouri, the Department of Agriculture requires an Animal Care Facilities Acts license for any person or organization that breeds dogs or cats or sells their offspring and harbors more than three intact females at a time. All licensed facilities are inspected at least once per year or upon complaint, according to the Missouri Animal Health Division website, and 18 field staff “ensure all covered facilities meet” Missouri’s standards for animal care and husbandry. The department also says that, in some instances, Missouri’s regulations on space, veterinary care and husbandry exceed that of the USDA.

The USDA requires anyone breeding pets for sale to be licensed, and inspects those licensees.

Which southwest Missouri breeders are listed?

The Horrible Hundred lists 26 Missouri breeders. Of those, 14 are based in southwest Missouri:

• B&H Kennels in Dora was listed for “dodging” state inspections. This is the second time the business has been listed in the report;
• PugPekinPoo-Tzu in West Plains was listed for repeated violations including lice and fleas on dogs, failure to remove a growing mass from a dog and a “decade-long history of sick and injured dogs.” This is the fifth time the business has been in the report;
• Culver Lane Kennel in Hartville was listed for not taking a French bulldog with “crusty bumps with yellow fluid” and hair loss to get care and for selling to Petland. This is the second time the business has been in the report;
• Indian Ridge Kennel LLC and I-R Kennels in Pleasant Hope was listed for not treating bulldogs with oozing eyes, not providing adequate veterinary care and for selling to Petland. Additionally, in October 2024, the USDA license under Indian Ridge Kennel was cancelled and a new license was issued at the same address. This is the first time the business has been in the report;
• C&J’s Happy Tails Kennel in Joplin was listed for repeated reports of poor conditions, revocation of USDA license and for being listed as a breeder for Petland. This is the first time the business has been in the report;
• Missouri White Tail Labradors in Springfield and Mount Vernon was listed for being an unlicensed facility; violations of dogs in the cold, without drinkable water, excessive fecal accumulation and more at a facility previously denied a license. The owner, Angela Kostron, was also found to be bringing pregnant dogs to a children’s daycare facility that she operates and having them give birth there. This is the first time the business has been in the report;
• Monarch Kennel in Bolivar was listed for having issues during six different USDA inspections over 15 months, including dogs outside without shade, dogs in the cold and a dog’s outdoor shelter not being tall enough for the dog to stand up in. This is the third time the business has been in the report;
• Orchard Kennel in Cabool was cited for violations it had in previous years, such as not providing clean water, animals in enclosures that were too small and dirty conditions. This is the second time the business has been in the report;
• Ratepa Kennels in Bolivar was listed for “hiding dogs” at an unlicensed location, a repeat violation of a dog with untreated dental disease, performing procedures like tail docking without veterinary oversight and selling to Petland. This is the second time the business has been in the report;
• Rocky Top K-9s and Thunder River Pets in West Plains was listed for repeated issues with very thin nursing mother dogs; puppies being lethargic, thin or sickly; and dropping its USDA license and changing its name but continuing to offer puppies online. This is the 10th time the business has been in the report;
• Jet Kennels in Wasola was listed for the USDA finding more than a dozen dogs in need of treatment, the breeder euthanizing two dogs rather than treating them and giving away others, and at least a decade of severe, recurring violations. This is the fifth time the business has been in the report;
• Wynter Knights Kennel & Grooming in Stockton was listed due to state photographs showing “disturbing conditions,” dogs that were fed raw deer heads and the owner being referred to Attorney General’s office for potential legal action by the Missouri Department of Agriculture due in part to the fact that she only corrected nine of the 32 violations of the Animal Care Facilities Act the MDA says she accumulated. This is the first time the business has been in the report;
• Price’s Pets in Niangua was listed for repeated offenses, with the USDA finding thin puppies with scabs and “large areas of flaky skin” and thin animals found previously. This is the fourth time the business has been in the report;
• Weatherly Dachshunds in Hermitage was listed for having a dog with a two-inch open wound in the jaw/throat region due to a suspected snake bite but not taking the dog for veterinary care. This is the first time the business has been on the list.

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What is being done to try to prevent puppy mill violations?

In 2010, Missouri voters passed a ballot measure called the Puppy Mill Cruelty and Prevention Act, which specified living conditions for breeding operations and capped the number of animals a business could use for breeding. However, in 2011, lawmakers passed a bill sponsored by then-state-senator Mike Parson that struck down parts of the law, including the cap on the number of breeding dogs.

A Missouri state representative has filed a bill in the 2025 legislative session that would regulate commercial animal breeders.

Rep. Doug Clemens, a Democrat from St. Ann, filed HB 185 in January. The bill has been read twice but is not scheduled on a House calendar, according to the Missouri Legislature’s site. He previously filed the bill in 2024, and tried to attach it as an amendment to legislation that would have forbidden municipalities from banning pet stores that sell dogs, according to reporting from the Missouri Independent.

Clemens’ bill requires commercial breeders to maintain healthy breeding practices on all animals used for breeding. They also must complete specific requirements prior to selling any animal.

The bill also forbids dealers and pet shops from obtaining animals from a commercial breeder that has violated any state or federal law or regulation relating to the care or keeping of animals for the previous three years, or that has been found guilty of animal abuse or neglect. It would also make knowingly purchasing animals from a breeder in violation of the requirements a class A misdemeanor, and if a pet shop or dealer has been found guilty of a third offense, it “will have its license revoked and be prohibited from selling animals.”

The bill would also require each animal purchased from a dealer or pet shop to be warranted as free from genetic or major medical conditions for one year from date of purchase.