By Jesse Graham
A HEALESVILLE dog breeder has raised concerns with the Victorian Government’s new puppy farm law, which she says punishes small and ethical breeders doing the right thing.
But Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford said the law was being amended, to make sure breeders doing the right thing had “nothing to fear”.
The Mail reported last month that the Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farm and Pet Shops) Bill 2016 was to be introduced to the Victorian Parliament.
The bill will mean breeders can only keep up to 10 fertile female dogs – reduced from 350 – with a deadline of April 2020 for breeders to reduce their numbers.
Any breeder with fertile female dogs who sells their puppies, or who has three or more fertile female cats and sells their kittens, will have to register as a domestic animal business with their local council.
Pet shops will only be able to sell puppies and kittens if they have come from a registered pound, shelter or foster carer under the legislation.
Healesville’s Kirsty Tite is a breeder of Brittany dogs and owns three adult female breeding dogs and six puppies, which will be finding new homes and families across the world.
She said that Brittany dogs were carefully bred and monitored to avoid genetic disposition towards hip dysplasia, and that her dogs were brought up with love, attention and training on her large property.
When dogs are sent overseas or across the country, she said she worked to train them to get used to their carriers with toys and blankets to help comfort them.
Ms Tite said that she, as a registered breeder with Dogs Victoria, already had a high level of requirements for her breeding and that the new law would force her to register as a business through the Yarra Ranges Council.
“It just leaves a really, really sour taste in my mouth,” she said.
“Out of all the breeders I know, a lot of them would never qualify, because of where they live – a few of them have actually contacted me … and are saying, ‘Kirsty, you’re the only chance there is for Brittanys – there’s not very many that have got the land you’ve got’.
“(But) I won’t do it. I won’t treat my girls as a business.”
Eildon MP Cindy McLeish said the legislation was “a mess”, and would lump breeders in with puppy farms.
“It casts doubt … over the legitimacy of what legitimate breeders like Kirsty are doing,” she said.
“It’s almost as though they don’t want anyone to be able to buy a dog from a breeder anymore – the only place you can get a dog is through the RSPCA, or lost dogs’ home or that sort of thing.”
Ms McLeish says there has been a parliamentary inquiry into the bill, which will report back by 6 December.
Responding to questions from the Mail, Ms Pulford said the bill would deliver on the government’s promise to “crack down” on puppy farms.
“Recreational breeders who are working within the current rules have nothing to fear from this change,” she said.
“For those who are currently falling short, we are providing some additional time for them to make sure they are applying the standards expected by dog lovers across Victoria.”
She said the bill would be updated to create a “Recreational Breeder” category, for breeders with nine or fewer fertile female dogs, between three and nine fertile female cats, all of whom are registered with an applicable organisation, such as Dogs Victoria.
The recreational breeders will have an extra 12 months before being required to register, and would have to be compliant with the Code of Practice for the Operation of Breeding and Rearing businesses 2014.
