The bid to stamp out puppy mills for good
A bill to ban intensive puppy farming in NSW hits fierce opposition from the state’s peak body for dog breeders, who insist the rules are “heavy-handed” and would hurt responsible breeders.
The Companion Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms) Bill in 2021, a signature policy of Animal Justice Party upper house member Emma Hurst, would limit breeders of cats and dogs to a maximum of 10 breeding females, consistent with Victorian legislation.
The bill, which is being co-sponsored by independent MP Alex Greenwich in the lower house, would also limit female cats and dogs to two litters, cap the age of male dogs used for breeding at six years old, and require a ratio of one staff member to every five animals.
“Puppy farms” or “puppy mills” refers to the intensive factory farming of dogs for the pet trade industry, often in huge sheds on rural properties.
The problem has increased during the pandemic. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) has confirmed many intensive breeders moved across the border to NSW after Victoria passed legislation.
“We’ve got these massive, large-scale puppy farms right here in NSW - somebody could have hundreds of female dogs and force them to pump out litter after litter for their entire lives,” Ms Hurst said.
“The pandemic puppy buying has really exploded the issue of puppy farms where people are able to make a huge amount of money because a lot of these dogs are selling for thousands of dollars each.”
Ms Hurst said the dogs often had behavioural issues from poor socialisation and health problems from in-breeding.
Dogs NSW president Lyn Brand said the legislation would affect good breeders, while not reducing underground puppy farming.
“We’re happy to cooperate with eradicating puppy farms - they’re abhorrent,” Ms Brand said. “But they’re untraceable because a lot of the people who are puppy farming don’t microchip all their puppies, and they’re meeting people in car parks to hand over the puppies.”
She said the limit of 10 breeding females would include animals that are not used for breeding but kept for shows - they would be disqualified from shows if desexed - and puppies that are older than 12 months. She also said limiting the number of litters could reduce genetic diversity in purebred dogs.
Dogs NSW recently started a petition on Change.org, warning the bill could “prevent normal families from getting their family pet from a reputable, responsible breeder”. Ms Hurst’s response, accusing Dogs NSW of providing “false and misleading information”, was sent to everyone who signed the petition and is posted underneath.
Ms Hurst has also had a petition in support of the bill on her website for several months and there are nearly 43,000 signatures so far.
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