Petland Statement Regarding PETA Demand

For nearly 60 years, Chillicothe-based Petland has helped families find healthy, well-socialized puppies from responsible, professional breeders. Our mission has always been clear: to connect people with pets through education, transparency, and the highest standards of animal care.

Unfortunately, big-money fund raising groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and Humane World for Animals, formerly Humane Society of the U.S., have long recycled their decades-old talking points to make false accusations about Petland to generate donations during the holiday season. Each year, PETA and its counterparts amp up their fundraising rhetoric, making false accusations about Petland.

As a highly ethical, transparent company, Petland is excited to share our truth with those we value most – our customers, friends and neighbors – and most of all the pets we provide for you.

Petland has not received a letter from PETA.

Also, understand that a cease-and-desist threat is not a lawsuit. Seeing PETA’s complaint on its website, we understand that PETA, a radical animal rights activist group, has decided it wants Petland to stop using the terms “adopt” and “adoption” in some of our paperwork and programs, including our Adopt-a-Pet program that has found homes for over 350,000 homeless pets. These words are not copyrighted by PETA or any other entity and can’t be because they are part of the public domain.

PETA also states that by Petland using the common words adopt and/or adopting, “unsuspecting customers” are being “duped” into thinking they are rescuing dogs when purchasing their next pet. When in reality, there is zero discussion with our customers that identifies our pets as anything but what they are – healthy pets from reputable and responsible breeders.

Committed to the health and wellbeing of animals, Petland only collaborates with responsible local hobby breeders and federally licensed breeders who adhere to state and federal regulations. Apart from hobby breeders, any breeder working with Petland must be licensed and inspected by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and is required to maintain a record of zero direct USDA citations within the past two years. Additionally, Petland representatives conduct regular breeder visits, attend multiple state breeder conferences, and sponsor the annual Ohio breeder education symposium.

The breeders who supply Petland (see photos following) provide clean, climate-controlled, spacious kennels with outdoor access, human interaction and socialization. The antiquated rhetoric that PETA and other activist groups continue to spout in their accusations shows they haven’t kept up with the times; and they have clearly never visited a reputable breeder.

Petland has long been the target of activist groups like PETA and Humane World for Animals, which have spent years making false accusations related to puppy mills in order to generate donations. Unfortunately, while these holiday-timed campaigns generate hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, most of the funds raised go to these non-profit’s executive salaries, lavish facilities and slush funds. As admitted in their tax documents, these activist groups rarely give more than 1 to 3% of funds raised to help homeless pets in local shelters.

Petland is a transparent and ethical company. We are extremely proud of our community efforts, including our “Adopt-A-Pet” program where we partner with local animal shelters, rescue groups and community members to find home for homeless pets. To date, Petland has found homes for more than 350,000 pets.

Here in Ross County, Ohio, Petland, Inc. provides all food to homeless dogs at the Ross County Humane Society. This ensures shelter pets maintain a consistent diet and avoid the discomfort that comes from abruptly switching from one food brand to another. Additionally, every adopted dog goes home with a free back of Petland’s Heartland Natural dog food and a $50 Petland gift certificate to shop for supplies, toys and treats.

Petland is also a strong supporter of the new Ross County Humane Society facility, having made sizable donations to help with this much-needed expansion.

For six decades, Petland has been in this community and has always stood for integrity, compassion, and care – and we’ll continue to do so, for pets, for people, and for the truth.

To learn more about Petland, visit www.petland.com/cares
Maria Smith, Director of Communications
Petland, Inc.