Animal Liberation Queensland objects to Bundaberg puppy farm

A dog owner, who bought her chihuahuas from a Bundaberg breeder behind a proposed puppy farm, has spoken out after a Queensland animal liberation group gathered thousands of objections to the plan.

A proposed puppy farm at Wallaville has had hundreds of objections submitted to Bundaberg Regional Council after a call to action by Animal Liberation Queensland.

Registered chihuahua breeder Kanche Kennels has applied to have 100 dogs on site at a time, including 49 breeding dogs.

The application, currently in the public consultation phase, was first put forward in June last year.

It requests a material change of use of the property near Bundaberg and lists the “dwelling units” as one existing 11x12m barn style shed and includes photos of outdoor “day” runs with trampoline-type structures for shade.

The application states dogs will be able to run in eight separate areas plus the “front yard at times”.

However, Animal Liberation Queensland is concerned about the proposal and its “failure” to address animal welfare concerns, including what would happen to redundant dogs.

Executive director Chay Neal told the Bundaberg NewsMail the organisation strongly objected to the application to keep up to 49 adult chihuahuas and any offspring they may have – a total of up to 100 dogs at a time.

“Puppy farms are increasingly falling behind public expectations for the way we treat animals,” he said.

“Recently, the Sunshine Coast council rejected a proposal for breeding puppies.

“There have been several other examples where other councils around Australia have made similar decisions in recent years.

“We hope that more and more councils will take a stand against inappropriate developments.”

Mr Neal said thousands of dogs were dying annually because there are not enough homes for them.

“Puppy farms exist to breed dogs for profit, so naturally profit comes before animal welfare,” he said.

“Animal welfare laws in Queensland have not kept pace with expectations.

“Puppy farm breeding dogs are often kept in close confinement for much of their lives, pumping out litter after litter.”

Mr Neal said organisations such as the RSPCA could not enter puppy farms unless strong evidence of cruelty could be presented.

“There is basically zero oversight or inspections of such facilities, so many dogs end up suffering in horrid conditions,” he said.

Current state legislation does not place a cap on the number of dogs allowed to be kept on puppy farms, with no restrictions on litter limits or the age of the mother dog.

An aerial view of the property housing the proposed site.

A mother dog can be bred from her first season, usually at six to nine months, with back-to-back litters up until she cannot produce any more pups.

It is legal for puppy farms to kill any dogs that are no longer required by any means so long as they are deemed “humane” and vets are not required to be present.

Mr Neal said the proposal at Wallaville had more than 1600 objections submitted to Bundaberg Regional Council in a three-day period last week.

The breeder who put forward the material change of use application for the puppy farm, Gerry Moran, told the NewsMail that objection to her proposal was “ridiculous”, but did not wish to comment any further.

However, a customer of Ms Moran’s came forward to say she believed the breeder was doing the right thing by her animals.

Lea Wannenmacher said she obtained her two chihuahuas Miki and Gracie from Ms Moran’s kennels, and that both dogs were well taken care of.

“Gerry moved to Gin Gin about five years ago and purchased the above property for the purpose of having her kennels,” she said.

Ms Wannenmacher's chihuahuas, Miki and Gracie, from Kanche Kennels.

“She has continually worked with the council during this time to do everything that they required for her to have her permit.”

Ms Wannenmacher said she believed Animal Liberation Queensland was running a “smear campaign” against Ms Moran.

“I am now concerned that the ALQ have started a smear campaign against her and have put out a petition to gain signatures from all of their members who don’t even live in the area,” she said.

“As I understand it the application for permit is put out so that neighbors to the property aren’t impacted by the change of use zoning

“I believe it was zoned farm land previously.”

Ms Wannenmacher said it was a concern that the people lodging objections were not residents of the area and had never visited Kanche Kennels.

“Gerry is an incredible woman and has devoted her life to improving the breed and breeding the most beautiful chihuahuas with delightful natures,” Ms Wannenmacher said.

The dog owner said she wanted the objections from Animal Liberation Queensland ignored as they had “been signed by people who only want to disrupt anything to do with any animal breeding”.