Animal Legal Defense Fund Files Complaint with USDA against Airedale Terrier Puppy Mill in New Mexico

Undercover Video Footage Shows Deplorable Conditions at Torrance County’s Southern Roc

For immediate release

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media@aldf.org

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – After receiving a series of complaints from individuals who adopted from and/or visited McIntoch’s Southern Roc puppy mill, the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) sent an undercover investigator who captured video which confirm the allegations. Today ALDF filed a complaint against the breeder with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) identifying numerous violations of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) readily visible in video footage taken on their premise.

Southern Roc, which is operated by Southern Sollars, does not meet the minimum standards of care laid out in the AWA. When not frozen over, water provided to the dogs is dirty and green, from algae. The “shelter” provided is cobbled together with scrap plywood and sheet metal and does not protect the dogs from the elements like rain and wind, when temperature regularly plummet below 30 degrees at night. The pens are flimsy wire fencing which have sharp edges that could easily injure the dogs.

The desolate dirt pens are filled with excessive amounts of feces, and trash and debris litter the premises, including a discarded toilet. The Airedales’ fur is matted and dirty, and the dogs visibly shiver in the cold temperatures.

“We are asking the USDA to shut down Southern Roc and bring charges against Sollars for her flagrant disregard of the law—and the abuse the dogs have endured,” says Stephen Wells, Animal Legal Defense Fund executive director. “We have offered our help with rehabilitating and placing the dogs after they are confiscated.”

Southern Roc is also operating without a license from the USDA, which is required under the AWA. According to ALDF’s investigator, Sollars offered to sell him an Airedale Terrier puppy for $1000.

Photos and BROLL from the investigation are available upon request.