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Just days after the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) released video footage of pet shop employees abusing and neglecting puppies, over 50 animal rights activists and local area residents staged a protest at the store, Chelsea Kennel Club. NY Animal Defenders, the grass roots group that organized the protest, said that the video taken by an undercover investigator at HSUS “shows violence toward and rough handling of young puppies, neglect of sick animals, failure to disclose illnesses to customers, and other shameful behavior.”

NY Animal Defenders said the purpose of the protest was to demand an immediate investigation into the businesses of Dana Derragh, who owns several pet stores in NYC, and for the immediate closure of Chelsea Kennel Club. Participants also used the protest as an opportunity to inform neighbors about the abuses taking place inside and to encourage the public to adopt dogs instead of buying them from pet shops, which sell puppy mill dogs.

Animal rights activists march through Chelsea to educate area residents about the abuses uncovered at Chelsea Kennel Club, a pet store that sells puppy mill dogs

“This is what happens when profit is placed ahead of animal rescue and welfare efforts – abuse, cutting corners to save pennies, and lying to customers,” said Leo Nardo of NY Animal Defenders. “Instead of buying an animal companion, New Yorkers should adopt at one of the city’s many animal shelters, which are full of dogs and cats who desperately need a home.”

Animal rights activists demand that NYC shut down Chelsea Kennel Club after video showing abuses is released by HSUS

A day before the protest, several activists entered the store to confront the owner and inform unsuspecting customers about the abuses.

Animal rights activists disrupt business at Chelsea Kennel Club, a pet shop caught on camera abusing animals

The NY Times reports that pet store owners in Las Vegas attempted to set their puppies on fire in order to collect insurance money: “Security video (see video blow) showed a woman letting a man in through the back door; he splashed a liquid from two gas cans around the shop, even into the cages, and ignited newspapers. The sprinkler system doused the fire, and firefighters rescued the dogs.

Being burned alive would have been a fitting end to a life in which puppies are kidnapped from their mothers and confined in cages at the puppy mills and in the pet store where they are ultimate sold as merchadise. With homeless shelters for animals killing thousands of healthy animals every year and rescue groups trying to find families for countless animals, why do municipalities even allow the sale of dogs and cats in pet stores? Thankfully, some cities, such as Chicago and L.A., have banned the sale of commercially bred pets. Last Chance for Animals offers advice on how to end the sale of puppy mill animals in your area.