bluedeer

You are right Karen15, the register is destined to fail because the vast majority of dogs that are bred in the state of Victoria at the moment (estimated to be between 70 - 80%) are bred by backyard breeders/illegal operators already, so keeping them from being inspected is keeping them hidden. Volunteer registers only work to police the breeders who WANT to comply. Again you are right in that there are still many dodgy breeders hiding as Dogs Victoria breeders while the rest of us trying to do the right thing and these ones will be used to highlight the "need" to make all breeders follow the same code of practice later on when this Government gets this dangerous Bill through the upper house. This is what they already tried to do last year and now they are using Dogs Victoria as the only body to give this legislation that will lump us in with puppy farmers credibility to get though parliament. Once they don't need us and want preference votes from Animal Rights political parties, they will remove applicable organisation status and we are in the same group as puppy farmers and BYBs. They don't need to go through the senate like they are doing now because the Bill has left them a loophole to let them do it. That's why the Bill needs to be thrown out and rewritten

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/getting-it-done-stamping-out-puppy-farms/ The Andrews Labor Government has taken a major step towards ending cruel and barbaric puppy farms with the introduction of amendments to the Domestic Animals (Puppy Farms and Pet Shops) Bill 2016. With $5 million from the Labor Government, RSPCA Victoria’s Special Investigations Unit has conducted 75 investigations, assessed more than 1,600 animals and referred 53 establishments to councils for further investigation. There have been 10 matters before the courts and the number of Domestic Animal Businesses has been dropping steadily. The amended Bill caps the number of fertile female dogs a breeder can own and register with their council at 10. Only those breeders meeting strict, additional requirements will be able to keep more than 10 fertile female dogs. Commercial dog breeders will be limited to an absolute maximum of 50 fertile female dogs, and will be required to apply for a special exemption. They will be subject to an audit by Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer and additional requirements including staff training and socialisation plans. Members of dog or cat applicable organisations, such as Dogs Victoria, will come under the new definition of a ‘recreational breeder’ and will no longer be required to register with their council, unless they have more than 10 fertile female cats or dogs. Victorians with 3-10 fertile female cats or dogs that are not members of an applicable organisation will continue to register with their local council as a Domestic Animal Business and comply with the Code of Practice for the Operation of Breeding and Rearing Businesses 2015 as they do now. Pet owners that breed from two or less fertile female cats or dogs are defined as ‘microbreeders’ and will not have to register as a breeder with council. The amendments also clarify the definition of farm working dogs, and simplify the new animal sale permit system. The dedication and hard work of our individual foster carers is also recognised through a new voluntary scheme to reduce animal registration costs and increase adoption rates. Traceability of cats and dogs will be improved significantly through the establishment of the Pet Exchange Register. Breeders, foster carers and members of the public advertising a cat or dog will enrol on the Register. New rules for advertising a cat or dog (for sale or give away) will require both a microchip number and a unique source number from the Pet Exchange Register, which will enable Victorians to verify pet advertisers for the first time. Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford “We’re getting it done and ending cruel and barbaric puppy farming.” “We’re finishing what we started – delivering on our election commitment to end puppy farming, ban the sale of breeders’ puppies and kittens in pet shops, and better regulate the online sale of dogs and cats.” The Victorian Labor Government has released the amendments to the Puppy farm and pet shop bill that is to go through to the upper house for debate and possibly pass see link below http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubPDocs.nsf/ee665e366dcb6cb0ca256da400837f6b/6A5D081FA18FD208CA2580490078C5FD/$FILE/Allan.pdf While Dogs Victoria management are trying to tell us that this is a win for us members there are a few things that the have either missed or are failing to point out to us in this animal rights written bill: -We will only be exempt from having to become domestic animal businesses so long as the government renews Dogs Victoria'a applicable organisation (AO) status which it can revoke at any time -Our code of ethics must be as strong or stronger than the code of practice including the monitoring of our members, breeding limits and frequency etc -Any BYB with 1-2 fertile female dogs is NOT subject to ANY inspections -Dogs Victoria are the only credible dog interest group giving their blessing to this legislation In my opinion this is not a win for Dogs Victoria members because we will be forever held to ransom by any future government or minister that can use the threat of revoking our applicable organisation status to get us to comply with whatever they deem better practice (concrete kennels separate to your house, etc). This current Labor Government is already developing thier animal and agriculture policies to appease animal rights loonies, so its not a far stretch to consider the idea that they would throw us under the bus "to make things fair for all victorian breeders" and remove our applicable organisation status if that gets them preferences from the greens or animal justice party. They have already directed $500,000 to the wishes of the Animal Justice Party to secure a few preference votes in the Northcote by-election so inventing a reason to remove our AO status would be pretty easy if they wanted to. Requiring our code to be "as good or better" than the code of practice means that the gov or just the minister can determine what better is and chip away at our code bit by bit until it is a carbon copy of the gov code of practice until we have to breed dogs under the same rules and conditions of the puppy farmers and backyard breeders. Both the RSPCA and the AVA have not come up with any scientific reasoning to support this legislation in the form that it is written and have predicted worse animal welfare outcomes from this bill as it stands. The Minister is continually using Dog Victoria as a crutch to say that we are all happy with it in a bid to sell it to the public. 12 months ago DV breeders were part of the "problem" that needed to be "fixed". My wife and I sat there at the big meeting we had in Bulla with hundreds of other members while the Ministers lackeys tried to convince us that the previous bill (that has now been amended with 30 pages of changes!) was great for us and we should keep quiet about it. We did not and by making a bit fuss about it we were taken seriously. WE ARE BEING USED BY THE MINISTER TO GET THIS LEGISLATION THROUGH THAT WILL BE TURNED AGAINST US WHENEVER THE GOVERNMENT NEEDS VOTES FROM THE ANIMAL RIGHTS PARTIES. We all need to write to all the members of the upper house to let them know that we want to see the problem of puppy farms and backyard breeders fixed with the right legislation that does not and will not affect registered ethical breeders. This bill needs to be scrapped and rewritten with proper consultation

worth a watch on youtube

More dogs from close and unregulated countries that are rabies free will come into Australia once laws like this come into effect throughout the country but until then more pups from other states will be just be sold into victoria where the prices will be higher. Supply and Demand. The problem with hoping that we keep our exempt status as an applicable organisation is that it is at best a stay of execution and no long term plan. Governments like simple solutions to complex problems because it is easier to sell to the public and win votes from those who know nothing about the topic or the unintended consequences of the proposed new rules etc. Sooner or later when the next DV breeder is caught doing the wrong thing, we will lose the exemption. The most logical solution would be to amend the code to allow breeders straight forward application to be a domestic animal business to be handled by a state department rather than the 72 local councils with their own rules, regs and interpretation of the law. or at least a clear and simple checklist that can be met by the fertile dog owner for automatic granting of a dab after property inspection to ensure the dogs have at least a general level of care. This would allow transparency and trace ability while still giving the state government a one size fits all system without the loopholes. I for one would rather this, than sending out another giant flashing beacon to all the shoddy backyarders to flock to Dogs Victoria to be exempt from being inspected etc I'm not sure how others feel?

Thanks for clearing that up Steve

The ANY VICTORIAN part seems to be a direct signal that a Dogs Vic membership does not provide an exemption from having to register as a domestic animal business and all the stuff that goes with that like kennels, concrete, inspections by council officers, and forced desexing of dogs not sold to another business etc. Any comment or advice from Dogs Vic management on here would be appreciated!!

http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/new-laws-to-stamp-out-cruel-puppy-farms/ The Andrews Labor Government is putting animal welfare first by ending industrial scale breeding of cats and dogs, with legislation set to be introduced into Victorian Parliament today. Victoria’s Domestic Animals Act will be overhauled to protect the welfare of breeding cats and dogs and give consumers certainty that their puppies and kittens have come from good homes. The Domestic Animals Amendment (Puppy Farm and Pet Shops) Bill 2016 will reform Victoria’s breeding and pet shop industries, delivering on Labor’s election promise. The proposed amendments will reduce the number of fertile female dogs a breeder can keep from as many as 350 to 10. Breeders will have until April 2020 to reduce their numbers by naturally breeding out their dogs. To crack down on backyard breeders, any Victorian who keeps a fertile female dog and sells her puppies, or who keeps three or more fertile female cats and sells their kittens, will have to register with their council as a domestic animal business. The Government will also establish a new central registry of domestic animal businesses, giving councils the information they need to determine who is eligible to register as a breeder and better police the new laws. Pet shops will no longer be able to sell puppies and kittens unless they have come from a registered pound, animal shelters or foster carer. This is consistent with the practice of many pet stores operating in Victoria and will close off a lucrative market for puppy farmers. Foster carers who look after relinquished pets while they wait for a new home will have clearer rights and responsibilities – they will be able to care for up to five animals at a time without having to register as a domestic animal business and will benefit from reduced council registration fees. Thanks to the Labor Government, there will be fewer homeless pets and more Victorians safe in the knowledge that their new dog or cat has been bred responsibly. Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford “We promised Victorians we would crack down on cruel and illegal puppy farms, and this delivers on that promise.” “Victorians love their pets, and we all want to know our furry family members have come from safe and caring homes, not from illegal and cruel puppy farms.” “This is the type of legislation Victorians who care about their animals have been calling for. Only the Andrews Labor Government will bring Victorians who need a pet and pets who need a home together.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/walkies-morsels-prove-poisonous-for-pooch/story-fnd134gw-1226550804780 SCAVENGING canines have been left bleary-eyed after inadvertently feasting on cannabis while on walkies in northwest England. Patch was one of several dogs "poisoned" after tucking in to a package left on a walking track in greater Manchester, British newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported. "Patch was just totally out of it," said owner Neil Rogers of his four-legged friend. "When I got home he just collapsed and couldn't do anything. I realised he had eaten something." Mr Rogers returned to the track and collected the package, the contents of which police later identified as cannabis. Veterinary surgeon Lorna Cook, who treated two of the intoxicated dogs, said: "I haven't seen anything like this before. "We had two dogs with similar signs in quick succession so we knew there was something suspicious. Both dogs collapsed and had dilated pupils." All the stoned pooches have reportedly made a full recovery.

Unfortunately time and time again

I think you have hit the nail on the head with that one Without a point of comparison we cannot see if the rates of healthy dogs PTS have improved or not. Does anyone know what the percentage of dogs that are dumped already have a chip? I think these figures would go a long way into finding out where these dumped dogs are coming from in the first place. I know from anecdotal evidence from council rangers that the vast majority of dogs that they pick up here in Vic are not chipped which would indicate to me that BYB are the main source of these dogs.

Hey SSM try a dedicated arabic language conversion program with the internet articles :)

Done :)

I had a look at the forum on Don Burke's site and one of their members are planning a dog park with tunnels, sand pits and even a swimming pool for the dogs. I wonder if all their members go to these lengths or if this is a one off? If this is the way these large "breeders" are going, at least they are planning good facilities for their dogs compared to some of the dingy places that the Animal Liberation turkeys keep promoting. I am not a fan of breeding for a profit but I would much rather see all these types of places go this way rather than trying to hide their dogs from view. As Steve has stated many times on this forum, these people and their dogs are not going away and it is much better for the dogs if they are monitored by government authorities than not. It's easy to blame the gardener for the popularity of the "designer breeds" but in truth there is no central body promoting these breeds but there are an enormous number of these dogs out there and it is their owners who do the promoting. Most of these owners that I have come across while out with my dogs genuinely love their dogs and are more than happy and proud to tell people that they have a cross or hybrid or designer dog or whatever else they call them and recommend them to other people who ask about them. Just as there are some terrible ANKC breeders that I wish the state bodies (DogsVic etc) would get rid of, there are those that indiscriminately pump out poorly bred "pure bred" and x breed pups. The emphasis needs to be on the health and welfare of the breeding dogs and puppies that they are breeding in terms of health and temperament as that is essentially what is the difference between an ethical breeder or not. If the oodle breeders are building their own dog parks with pools for the dogs etc, it is going to be a losing battle trying to convince joe public that they don't care about their dogs like we do. Speak to enough members of the public who are only interested in a family companion and don't have any interest in shows etc and they could not care if their dog is a pure breed or a xbreed. They just want a healthy dog that will fit in with their family's lifestyle. Trying to convice them to choose a purebred because they have a family tree on a "piece of paper" is lost cause unless that "piece of paper" hold value as a sign of a reputable breeder.

so cute

I've been pretty happy with using Amazon and going though ebay also brings up a few titles I would not have searched for on my own.

I agree with you Christina on this point. Every time dumped dogs are a topic in the media, the dumpers are made out to be victims and are treated as if they are innocent children. The message going out to the public is "if you dump your dog it's not your fault". At least this time, for once the RSPCA has laid the blame on the right group (byb) who produce these dogs. Speak to a few animal rangers from different councils and they will tell you the same story of how the vast majority of dumped dogs that the owners dont collect have no chips. This tells me that these dogs did not come from the ethical ANKC breeders, or even pet shops or "registered breeding facilities" that all chip their dogs because they are the only ones being checked, but from the thousands of little backyarders. My little rant is not to praise the pet shops or commercial breeders but to highlight that if the powers that be want to fix the problem of dumped dogs they have to start where the real beginning of the horrible cycle is and that is the bybers.

I think you've got it right

"not usually very smart" and "really dopey". That is gold :laugh: a good result in the end though

:D

Fantastic

The candy cane loopies are great

same here

If the onlooker saw the dogs jump from the ute then maybe they got the rego number of the ute and the police can charge the owner?