SAN ANTONIO – Undercover officers had staked it out for months, so it was quick when San Antonio police blocked the road as Animal Care Services swooped in, taking puppies out of illegal breeders' hands.
KSAT was with the officers on Saturday morning during a sting operation that served those breeders with thousands of dollars in criminal citations.
“These are pets that are unvaccinated and they are unsterilized, and in a lot of cases, they’re unhealthy. They’re putting that out into the community. We don’t need that. It’s morally wrong. It’s legally wrong. It’s despicable,” said Lisa Norwood, the Public Relations Manager for ACS.
ACS says it’s a problem that’s getting worse: illegal puppy breeders are bringing unhealthy animals into San Antonio and putting profit over health.
“When we do one of these operations, we’re going to go in, we’re going to get the pets out of harm’s way, and we’re going to make sure that the tickets that these folks are given underscore the point that what you’re doing is illegal,” Norwood said.
Saturday’s surprise sting on the side of State Highway 16 saw 24 animals taken into ACS custody, with three breeders served criminal citations.
“We had a total of five litters of puppies, everything from Huskies to Pugs to American Staffordshire Terriers,” Norwood said.
Breeders in San Antonio are required to have litter and seller permits by city code if they want to sell animals. Even then, it’s illegal to sell them on the side of the road.
After the animals are confiscated, those breeders can pay even more money to reclaim them with a sterilization order. If they don’t, the animals will be given to special rescue operations.
“We won’t stop. Backyard breeders need to be put out of business,” said Norwood. “They need to understand what they’re doing is legally wrong. It’s morally wrong. And when we catch you, and we will, you’re going to face citations of hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.”