Breeder letter template 1

Dear *****

I am writing to you in regards to the Victorian Labor Government's Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Bill 2016, tabled for a second reading in the Victorian Parliament last week.

I am a current member of DOGS Victoria, and am an accredited and registered dog breeder, with **** dogs. We show and do dog sports, ***** (add other activities). We are what are classed as 'hobby breeders' - breeding one or two litters a year, focusing on improving the health, temperament and diversity of our chosen breed, ****** (say what you breed). We do all health and temperament testing, rigorously screen anyone who is looking for a puppy from us and keep in contact with our puppy owners. We have a contract with our puppy owners that means should they not be able to look after their dog any more, it comes back to us (regardless of age). We adhere to the Code of Conduct and ethics regulations as prescribed by DOGS Victoria and our State based breed club, as well as the State legislation around responsible and ethical breeding (under the Prevention of Cruelty for Animals Regulations, and the Code for Regulation for Breeding with Inheritable Diseases).

****(you can add a bit here about yourself if you like, such as your involvement in the local area and in the dog world - make it short, about 3-4 sentences at most).

Prior to the introduction of this Bill, I was unaware that the proposed changes by the Labor Government, supposedly aimed at large, commercial puppy farms, would affect my future participation as a Dogs Victoria member or my ability to be a hobby breeder. Indeed, Minister Pulford was quoted via the ABC 13th August 2016 saying "... the laws would affect fewer than 90 of Victoria's 10,000 breeders." All the publicity from Government to date has focused on publicizing an end to puppy farms and been no press given to the effect on small, registered pedigree breeders and our dogs. I understand from communications with DOGS Victoria that they were also unaware of the extent and nature of the changes proposed in this Bill.

However, this Bill does impact on us, and anyone in Victoria with a single, entire female dog. It affects all dog breeders, regardless of size and frequency.

As a ratepayer for ***** (list yours) shire, and the electorate of ***** (list yours), we have properly registered all our dogs and under the current legislation we remain within the limit set. However, the proposed changes will mean that we will be required to apply for a Domestic Animal Business (DAB) permit with the Council due to the owning of a "fertile" female that we show, as the previous exemption for members of 'applicable organisations' (which included DOGS Victoria members) will be removed.

The proposed legislation also requires any person who breeds a single litter and sells the pups, even if just once, to register as DAB. DOGS Victoria members who were small hobby breeders (less than 10 females) where previously exempt from this requirement. As we may have a litter at some point in the future, this will apply to us, but we only have until April 2017 (less than 6 months) to obtain a DAB. Other restrictions come in later (see below) but DAB registration requirement is fairly immediate.

To summarise, in to comply with the proposed rules, from the 10th April 2020 we can keep a maximum of 10 breeding females (noting that from 2020, the penalty for exceeding 10 fertile breeding females is 164 penalty units - approx $25,000.) if:

  • our council registers us as a Domestic Animal Breeding Business (DAB),
  • our council grants us an Excess Animal Permit and
  • the Victorian Planning Provisions permit dog breeding on your property.

The fee for registration of a DAB will be set by the local Council, but some Councils have been quoted in the hundreds or even thousands. It should be noted that obtaining a DAB is not an easy, with complex planning and zoning requirements. Many Councils have already informed DOGS Victoria members that they will not issue DAB permits, thus making it impossible to comply with the proposed regulations unless they desex their female dog (thus limiting their capacity to participate in conformation shows, which most DOGS Victoria members do) or they move.

A further problem is the requirement that a DAB must comply with the Code of Practice for the operation of Breeding and Rearing Businesses 2014.

There are a number of provisions in this Code which are fine, but the problem is that is it designed to regulate large commercial puppy farms - not small registered hobby breeders, whose dogs are seen as family. As such, it states that if you have 5 or less adult dogs - including males and desexed dogs - you may keep them in your home without building kennels that comply with the Code. However, any dogs over this will mean that you are required to build a large commercial style kennel, have provision for "staff" on the premises, and keep all dogs in these kennels which are minimal (cement floors, fenced runs, etc).

Socialisation is minimal for dogs and puppies, and litters are supposed to be in a purpose built room in the kennel (when currently we, like most, have our litters in our house, in a spare room, where we closely monitor both mother and pups). We are also supposed to either sell or humanely euthanase our dogs once they are no longer in our breeding programs, not have them in our homes with us, on our couches. Finally, I am not allowed to be a registered breeder and involved in breed rescue, and I may not even be permitted to take back dogs that I have bred should the situation arise.

Conservative estimates that the costs for meeting the DAB and associated Code are around $40,000 - $60,000. Many small hobby breeders, DOGS Victoria members and others impacted by the proposed legislation will not have access to that level of finance.

While this legislation is clearly problematic, what is more concerning is that the Government has made a point of promoting this as a 'one size fits all' policy approach that targets all breeders - without understanding its full impact.

There is no State in Australia, let alone the world, which imposes such onerous conditions on purebred dog breeders. As with the greyhound ban that was recently overturned in NSW, the Government has not considered the far reaching effects to the community. Just on Minister Pulfords' figures, we believe around 9,910 breeders will be affected.

Service industries will suffer as small registered breeders give up breeding plans, and the void will be filled by large commercial puppy farms interstate, who will no longer be able to sell to Victorian pet shops and thus be looking at 'direct' sales to Victorian pet buyers. Working and service dog industries - many of which rely on pedigree breeders - will be impacted, and even working farms, who breed their own working dogs, will be required to comply if they have a single fertile female, and/or breed. Councils will have less revenue from registered dogs, but higher costs in terms of compliance and policing the regulatory red tape (which includes a centralised data base and regular compliance checks). Finally, events such as dog shows and dogs sports events (including working dog trials) - which bring in hundreds (even thousands) of people every year to regional and rural areas will decline as dogs age and are not replaced. It should be noted that even if an DOGS Victoria member chose not to breed but kept an entire dog (male or female) for purposes of showing or other sports, the removal of DOGS Victoria’s applicable status exemptions means they will be force to pay higher annual registration fees of over $200 per dog – which will be impossible for many to afford.

It has been said in Parliament that the applicable organisations have not been able to enforce their Codes of Ethics (COE) and thus do not deserve exemptions. On face value that is correct. However, it should be acknowledged that Government/s have not given an applicable organisation any regulatory authorization, such as right of entry, seizure or the power to prosecute. In order to enact its own rules on issues relating to legal matters (which include suspension, fining or expulsion) DOGS Victoria has always had to wait for any court action by the RSPCA or police and a guilty verdict before they could take any action on their COE.

Clearly, this legislation needs further discussion, debate and community consultation.We therefore respectfully request a Parliamentary review into this Legislation.

The likely consequences of this Bill are already having an impact, with dog breeders and owners deeply worried as the emotional, psychological and financial costs this poorly conceived legislation will have. Importantly, we also believe that alternatives have not been properly considered - such as setting limits on the number of litters and creating a Government approved accredited breeder program for applicable organisations to enforce with members (so, for example, in addition to breeder education programs, DOGS Victoria members with a kennel prefix would need to undergo an inspection by the DOGS Victoria compliance officer before being granted accredited breeder status, and no new prefixes can be issued without an inspection. Breeder renewals could also be linked to compliance inspections by DOGS Victoria).

DOGS Victoria and its registered ethical breeders do not support the large commercial puppy farms, and we worry a great deal over the proliferation of inexperienced, uneducated back yard breeders - both of which provide the fodder for our pounds and pet rescue organisations. We also want improved policing of animal cruelty and where there are cases of neglect, have these prosecuted fully. However, this legislation takes a sledge hammer to a walnut, and will have the greatest impact on those who are doing the right thing - those who are small hobby breeders, doing it for the love of our breed and not for profit; importing new lines, doing all necessary health and temperament testing; finding the best homes possible for our pups and taking responsibility for what we breed; being active in the dog community, supporting and educating the public on how to be responsible dog owners and mentoring new people in our chosen breed to do things the right way.

We respectfully ask that you take into consideration our deep concerns.

Regards

(your name)