Puppy farm crackdown laws attacked as ‘dog’s breakfast’

A CRACKDOWN on puppy farms has been slammed as a “dog’s breakfast” which will force responsible breeding businesses to shut down.

Jim Black with Harlo, the long-haired dachshund. Picture: Tim Carrafa

A CRACKDOWN on puppy farms has been slammed as a “dog’s breakfast” which will force responsible breeding businesses to shut down.

Dog-loving hobby breeders also fear new laws requiring them to register as domestic animal businesses will push up their costs, hurting them instead of stamping out rogue operators.

And the RSPCA has cast doubt on the State Government’s move to limit breeders to just 10 female dogs, admitting there is no evidence to support the cap.

A parliamentary inquiry into the proposed laws — which were a key Labor election promise — has heard a string of criticisms about the government’s lack of consultation.

Local councils will be responsible for enforcing the new regime but Municipal Association of Victoria chief executive Rob Spence said he was “struggling to interpret it and understand what the obligations are”.

“I have been around the system for 50 years, and this one sits at the top of my tree of cumbersome, poorly-put-together legislation,” he said.

“We think it is really difficult for anybody to really wrap their head around it.”

The 10-dog limit will mean the end of businesses including Banksia Park Puppies, owned by third-generation breeder Matt Hams, who said he would have to sack 25 staff and move to New South Wales.

Mr Hams said the laws were a “disaster” and could “make the problem far worse”, with strong demand for crossbreed puppies potentially spurring a growth in rogue backyard breeders.

“If the current code was enforced, there’s provisions in there to take care of a lot of the problems,” he said.

RSPCA Victoria chief executive Dr Liz Walker said there was “no scientific evidence to support an ideal number of keeping fertile dogs” but that the 10-dog cap could reduce the scale of suffering and would provide more clarity for the law to be enforced.

Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the RSPCA had “certainly recognised the relationship between scale and animal welfare”.

Pure breed peak body Dogs Victoria argued the changes would force small-scale breeders like Jim Black to comply with regulations meant for big businesses.

“It’s certainly not about profits, it’s a passion,” Dogs Victoria’s Sylvia Power said. “We aren’t the people that they need to be worried about. It’s the backyard breeders and the puppy farmers.”

Ms Pulford said the laws only required small breeders to comply with existing standards, but the government would consider changing the requirement for them to become “domestic animal businesses”.

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