Breeders, pet shops face tighter regulations amid crackdown

PET shops will be banned from selling designer puppies and kittens while hobby breeders will face tighter regulations online in the latest bid to stamp out puppy farms in Victoria.

PET shops will be banned from selling pedigree puppies and hobby breeders will face tougher restrictions in order to sell online, as part of a new animal welfare crackdown in Victoria.

The latest legislation to shut puppy farms and force drastic change across the industry by 2020 will be introduced into state parliament today.

The maximum number of animals a commercial breeder can own will be slashed from 150 to 50, and all large operations will require ministerial consent and regular inspections.

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Mum-and-dad breeders with three or more animals in their care will also face tougher restrictions, including having to join a registered organisation such as Dogs Victoria.

Any breeder advertising puppies and kittens for sale online must sign up to a new statewide register.

Ava loves her puppy farm rescue dog Gwynneth the Shih Tzu. Picture: David Caird

The proposals are designed to stamp out dodgy backyard operators who are flouting the rules and keeping animals in abhorrent conditions.

Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford said: “We’re finishing what we started — delivering on our election commitment to end puppy farming, ban the sale of breeders’ puppies and kittens in pet shops, and better regulate the online sale of dogs and cats.”

The new move comes after the Labor government’s election promise to overhaul puppy farms was controversially aborted last year.

Breeders had rallied against the proposed law — which included limiting the number of breeding animals to 10 — saying it was a “dog’s breakfast’’ and would decimate the industry.

Ms Pulford said she was confident the new amendments would be supported across Victoria.

“We’re getting it done and ending cruel and barbaric puppy farming,” she said.

If passed, potential buyers will also be targeted, with an advertising campaign to stop unsuspecting owners from fuelling black-market trade.

Current commercial breeders will be required to reduce their total number of dogs to 50 by 2020.

RSPCA chief executive Liz Walker said she was delighted by the changes, including the statewide sale register.

“Right now, we can’t account for where up to 70 per cent of the puppies born in Victoria every year have been bred — that’s around 60,000 puppies a year,” she said.

“If we don’t know where a kitten or pup was bred, we can’t know what conditions they have been living in, it might be perfect or horrifically cruel.

“The first step in putting an end to poor-welfare breeding in Victoria is to map where puppies and kittens are being bred,” said Dr Walker.

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