Puppy mills now an issue in China

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November/December 2007:

HONG KONG, BEIJING, MELBOURNE –Humane societies and mass
media a world away from the U.S. joined U.S. counterparts in autumn
2007 denunciations of puppy mills.
Hong Kong SPCA spokeswoman Rebecca Ngan Yee-ling complained
to Simon Parry of the South China Morning Post that “The public is
encouraged to buy pedigree dogs by certain movies, as well as by the
influence of celebrities bringing their pedigree dogs into the
limelight.” She described pet shops as “an area of vast concern in
terms of animal welfare,” and noted that at times more than 40% of
the dogs arriving at the Hong Kong SPCA shelters are cast-off
purebreds.
Ngan blamed the influx of purebreds for a slump in adoptions
of mongrels, dropping total dog adoptions from 876 in 2003 to 751 in
2006, while the animal control shelter operated by the Agriculture,
Fisheries, and Conservation Department in fiscal 2007 killed an
average of 941 dogs a month, up from 875 a month in 2006.

The Chinese Busi-ness Morning View attributed a drop in
purebred dog prices and sales to stricter animal control law
enforcement in Beijing and other cities, and asserted that “The
business of pet-dog-related products, such as dog dress and dog
food, is sluggish too. Many shops are closed due to the no-longer
profitable market.”
Bloggers suggested that the real issue is that the first-time
pet acquisition market has stabilized, after years of rapid growth.
Hinting that the abuses long associated with commercial
breeding in the west are of concern in China too, the Liaoning
provincial dog trade association general secretary recommended that
breeders and sellers should refocus on producing healthier dogs.