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LODDON Shire Council has defended its dog breeding inspection program, after it was revealed an illegal puppy farm in Pyramid Hill was not inspected for 16 years.
Dean Peace and his parents Phyllis and John Peace faced 200 animal cruelty charges in the Kerang Magistrates' Court last week, after raids on the property found 196 dogs kept in "filthy" conditions.
Magistrate David Faram questioned Loddon Shire representatives about the inspection of the property, who admitted 2012 was the first time they visited the site.
Dean Peace was issued a permit to start a dog breeding business in 1996.
Loddon Shire chief executive officer John McLinden said the council did not have an obligation to inspect dog breeding businesses.
"There was no obligation for council to undertake ongoing inspections under the Domestic Animals Act," he said.
"The code of practice refers to how the business should operate, and there are no obligations under that for regular inspections."
The council established its own domestic animal plan in 2006, which included a requirement to conduct annual inspections on animal businesses.
Despite this, Loddon Shire took six years to inspect the Peace property.
Mr McLinden said the shire did not have the resources to make proactive checks and had no reason to believe the Peace property was operating in an illegal state.
"The Peace property was inspected in 2012 and breaches of the code were observed," he said.
"We did not detect animal cruelty at that time. We have been working with the Peaces to resolve these issues, but formed the view that it needed to be taken further.
"After a subsequent inspection, the site was not adequate and that was when a raid was conducted with the RSPCA, some of the dogs were seized."
Subsequent inspections found multiple breaches to the Domestic Animals Act and the RSPCA also investigated, resulting in the seizure of all dogs by January 2015.
Loddon Shire is conducting other ongoing investigations into dog breeding businesses, Mr McLinden said.
He said laws giving councils the power to seize dogs would help force operators to comply with regulations.
Council powers extend to animal registration, payments and record keeping, as well as minimum pen sizes. They do not have power to enforce animal cruelty charges.
Anti-puppy farm group Oscar's Law founder Debra Tranter said the council had "failed in its duty of care" for the 196 dogs at the Peace farm.
"It never would have gotten that bad if council had conducted regular inspections," she said.
"How can they say there wasn't a problem there when they didn't check? No one was to know how bad it was."
The RSPCA received "independent footage" of the puppy farm, leading them to launch an investigation with Loddon Shire and Victoria Police.
Ms Tranter said the warning signs should have been clear during the initial council inspection at the site in Pyramid Hill.
"If the first inspection was in 2012, then I don't see how it could have taken years from then for the dogs to be seized," she said.
