Whether you are an animal lover or not, many people can't help but smile when they see a cute puppy in a pet store window. However, if the animal came from a puppy mill, it might not have you smiling anymore.

Currently, Wisconsin has about 30 USDA licensed commercial breeding facilities and 23 of them are located in Clark County. These are better know as "puppy mills."

On Saturday, protesters from around the state gathered outside of the Horst Stables in Thorp to get the message outt hat puppy mills are not a humane way to raise animals.

According to Eilene Ribbens-Rohde, the executive of No Wisconsin Puppy Mills, she said, "Puppy Mills are breeding facilities where animals are bred solely for profit, solely to turn a buck, and usually in conditions that are not adequate for the animals. And just basically an industry about money. It's not about improving a particular breed of dogs. It's not about producing great quality pets for people's homes. It's about the money!"

The protesters talked with law officials before the event to make sure that they were not doing anything illegal. The protest was intended to be peaceful; however, chaos errupted quickly!

Coming up Sunday on NewChannel 7 at 10, we'll have inside video of what happens a these puppy mill auctions and how violence quickly errupted at the recent protest in Thorp.