January NSW Puppy Farm Legislation Update
The amended puppy farm legislation that passed the NSW legislative council in November last year was a great compromise solution that would have achieved the objectives of eliminating puppy farming whilst still supporting the legitimate businesses that truly put animal welfare as their highest priority. Unfortunately, this amended legislation never made it to the NSW legislative assembly and will now lapse with the dissolving or the NSW parliament in the lead up to the March election.
This puts us back to the start of the legislative process again, the best-case scenario would be the new parliament picks up the already amended legislation proposal that PIAA now supports as its starting point. Unfortunately, the Animal Justice Party are again likely to attempt to reintroduce a more hard-line version of the bill. This threat is further magnified should the AJP become king makers with balance of power in the NSW legislative council after the election. PIAA stand ready to swing into action both during the election campaign and to again represent our members interest before the new parliament in April.
As far as other jurisdictions, Victorian legislation has been in place for almost 4 years now. Amendments secured at the time ensured responsible breeding businesses were able to continue to operate. Consequently we have seen no negative impact on dog keeping numbers in Victoria, although COVID boom makes it hard to fully analyse or make reliable correlations. Many of the amendments we had seen applied to the NSW legislation were the same amendments that were part of the Victorian legislation.
Pet stores selling puppies and kittens were banned as part of the Victorian legislation, primarily because the stores themselves were unwilling to accept greater regulation requiring higher standards and consequently lost the battle entirely. This has certainly led to an increase in puppy scams and consumer fraud in Victoria as the process of buying a puppy has become somewhat opaque and now lacks the legal consumer protections that previously applied to pet shop sales. In NSW PIAA member pet retailers actively support increased standards and regulations. This has been reflected in the amendments that were achieved that would allow pet retailers to continue to sell puppies and kittens provided they are members of a recognised industry association , independently audited each year and only purchased their puppies from registered breeders.
Both the Queensland and South Australian parliament are starting to make noise regarding reviewing and updating their current companion animal breeding laws. They have not yet developed a formal proposal, which is why the current battle in NSW is so critical. Queensland and SA are more than likely to use whatever legislation is passed in NSW as the starting point of their review into their own legislation.
I understand this is a complex, nuanced and potentially emotive issue to get your head around. It is however critical PIAA and the wider industry continue to support the ethical retailing and breeding of companion animals. The highest welfare standards, and greater accountability through legislation and regulations and enforcement is fully supported. This however cannot be at the cost of throwing out the baby with the bathwater. This alternative should the AJP be successful would see puppies and kittens becoming unaffordable and possibly completely inaccessible to the average Australian family. Any legislation that negatively impacts the dog and cat population in Australia and the public's easy access to companion animals will be bad for our entire pet industry.
It is also important to note with almost 70% of Australian households keeping a dog or cat, the majority support of the pet keeping public is also broadly aligned with the current PIAA position. That is, supporting the breeding and trade in companion animals in an ethical and responsible manner, ensuring adherence to the highest animal welfare standards. PIAA does not support or condone “PUPPY FARMING” Unethical and irresponsible breeders and retailers have no future in the Australian Pet Industry.