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DOG breeders in central Victoria have welcomed the state government’s decision to reassess its proposed puppy farm laws, fearing they could have unfairly impacted small-scale breeders.
Agriculture Minister Jaala Pulford announced the backdown on Tuesday after a parliamentary committee heavily criticised the reforms – and it became clear they would not make it through parliament.
The plan to reduce the number of fertile dogs to 10 for breeders was described as having “no clear scientific reason”, while there were fears the tougher laws would place a financial burden on councils.
The committee – comprised of three Liberal, three Labor, two Greens and one Shooters, Fishers, Farmers MP – also found there was a “significant lack of genuine consultation”.
The government will instead redraft the laws, to be introduced to parliament in the first half of 2017.
Woodend dog breeder Judith-Ann Robertson, who produces several litter of Chow Chows per year, said existing legislation should be sufficient, but it needed to be enforced properly.
“I have no issue with the government’s plans to crackdown on illegal farms and unregistered backyard breeders,” she said.
“The three pieces of legislation that already exist should be sufficient in providing oversight, monitoring and compliance.
“The biggest thing is to consult and collaborate with major and minor stakeholders to enforce the current legislation.”
Under the proposed laws, Ms Robertson believed she would have to spend almost $250,000 to make her operation compliant. She has three breeding females, a neutered male and desexed female.
During the parliamentary inquiry, a number of councils were critical of the consultation phase.
RSPCA chief executive officer Liz Walker suggested a new compliance strategy was needed to run alongside the new laws.
“The sheer scale of the number of domestic animal businesses means that the compliance and enforcement model need to be developed,” she said.
“This new bill really does need a whole new compliance framework, which we are very happy to have a discussion with the authorities about.”
The RSPCA agreed councils would face a “considerable scale increase” and they might not be able to transition quickly.
In a statement, Ms Pulford said existing laws would be used to crackdown on unscrupulous operators while the new laws were being devised.
“Other animal welfare and enforcement issues that have been identified during development of the Bill will be dealt with, in the first instance, by more rigorous enforcement of existing provisions,” she said.
“We will work with applicable organisations to improve their codes of ethics in preparation for their re-application of exempt status in April 2017.”
There are an estimated 5000 pure dog breeders in Victoria, and 200 commercial breeding facilities. The RSPCA is currently investigating 44 properties in Victoria.